Bruce Arians spoke to the media after the Bucs traded up from Pick 14 to Pick 13 in the first round and drafted offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs out of Iowa.

Arians spoke about Wirfs as a person and what he can bring to the Bucs’ offensive line room, believing that the athletic tackle will make a really good fit among Tampa Bay’s group of offensive linemen. He also spoke about the Bucs’ tight ends following the addition of Rob Gronkowski.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians – Photo by: Getty Images

On the struggles of getting a rookie offensive lineman caught up to speed:
“One thing is not to force it, let him come along at his pace. He’s coming from a program that’s so similar to what we do set-wise, pass protections, run-game wise. He’s extremely well-coached so I think he’s ahead of the curve that way and it should allow us to put him in the lineup when he’s ready. We’re not going to just throw him out there until he’s ready.”

On what he knows about Wirfs personally:
“I can honestly say that I don’t think I’ve ever seen [an offensive lineman] do the things that he does athletically, as far as numbers. On the tape, he’s a powerful, powerful run blocker, extremely light-footed. You see everything that you’re looking for, it’s just when is he going to be ready? We did spend a lot of time talking to him, we did virtual interviews, did everything to get to know him and he’s a very, very humble, quiet young man. I really, really like the guy and I think it’s going to be a really good fit.”

On whether he was tempted to take a wide receiver:
“Not really. We had these four tackles very high on our board. I really like some of our young receivers, guys that played a little bit at the end of the year. Johnathan Franklin and some of those guys, Justin Watson. And there’s so many receivers in this draft. I think later in rounds you’re going to find guys that could legitimately be a two or easily a three.”

On if he got antsy watching tackles come off of the board before their pick:
“We were getting a little frustrated but everything worked out extremely well and we didn’t have to give up too much to go and make that flip and we got the guy that we really, really liked.”

On what the phone call with Wirfs was like:
“He’s not a real excitable guy, but I could tell in his voice that he was pumped. To have a chance to come in and compete right away and play with the guys that we have, we have a great group in the offensive line room, and I think he’s got a really nice bond with Harold Goodwin and Joe Gilbert, our two line coaches. He was excited, really excited.”

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski – Photo by: Getty Images

On what Rob Gronkowski brings to the Bucs’ locker room:
“A winner, a proven winner, great passion for the game. He has a history of really taking care of his room, making sure that if any young player needs help, he’s going to help him. But a proven winner, a guy that knows what it takes, and for he and Tom [Brady] to be together, I think it’ll be great for our culture.”

On how he’ll get the ball to all of his offensive weapons:
“There’s definitely enough balls to go around. [If not], next week we’ll get you some balls. I think this group, especially the leader of the group, is all about winning. We haven’t had that problem since I’ve been here. Guys don’t how many balls they catch, they just want to win.”

On his plan for Cam Brate and O.J. Howard after acquiring Gronkowski:
“I like both of those guys and we use three tight ends in our sets sometimes, but each and every one has a redeeming quality that helps us win. I think it’s a great room. I think Tanner Hudson and [Codey] McElroy, those are young guys, too. That’s a really, really strong room and you have Jordan Leggett. I don’t know if anyone has a better tight end room than us. I love playing tight ends. I know I get this thing that we don’t throw to them but when I had Heath Miller he went to the Pro Bowl. It’s going to upgrade everybody, competition breeds success.”

On if this is a lucky run getting his defense back, the tackle he wanted along with Brady and Gronkowski:
“I think it might have switched a little bit, I don’t know. We have two days to fill some spots on this roster that can really, really help us improve and we’ll knock on wood that we stay healthy and let’s go play.”