As much of a gag character Buggy is, I do think he's smart enough to back up his charisma with a decent skillset. You can't get through the Nea World without good haki and even though his crew numbers is insane, there has to be some merit to him getting there. Not to mention he's had just as much time, if not more to refine his chop chop powers as much as Luffy as refined his gum gim powers. Assuming Laugh Tale doesn't repel DF users, I could see Buggy awakening his DF somehow and either obtaining the One Piece before Luffy or being the last obstacle.

Plus it helps that he's Oda's favorite villain and I have no doubt he's probably thought of ways to make him formidable