With a mini-bye week of sorts for the Bucs at right around the half-way point of the season, I thought it might be a good time to check in on the team’s 2022 draft class. In stark contrast to the 2021 class, the team has had to lean heavily on its rookies this year.

Several of the newcomers have even become de-facto starters due to injury. And the early returns show a group of solid contributors who may be lacking in star talent. Let’s take a look at each player in order of where they were drafted and grade their performances relative to their draft position. We’ll also consider performances from the rest of the 2022 class at their position.

We’ll start here with the Bucs’ picks from day two the draft.

DT Logan Hall

Hall was the Bucs’ first selection in the draft, taken No. 33 overall after a trade back left the team without a first-round selection. By the end of training camp, the hopes were for the young lineman to be able to see action in only the most advantageous situations with the Bucs boasting a deep group of interior linemen ahead of him in Vita Vea, Will Gholston, Akiem Hicks, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches.

Bucs DL Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

However, fate has conspired against that plan. Hicks was injured in the season opener and hasn’t played since. Gholston has shown serious decline and is currently playing less than half of the team’s defensive snaps. Nunez-Roches is a solid early-down run stuffer, but he lacks the pass rush ability to be a consistent force in that area of the game.

This has left the Bucs relying on Hall to be their second-best interior pass rusher. And as you would expect with rookies, Hall has been inconsistent. He had a coming-out game of sorts against the Packers in Week 3 as he logged four pressures, two quarterback hits, one hurry and the first sack of his career.

But he has had many more low-impact games than high. These past three weeks have been especially rough. Over that time span, Hall has three tackles and just one pressure across 70 snaps. During that stretch, the Bucs’ run defense has been exposed as well.

The task was a tall one for Hall, who flashed some really good traits coming out of Houston. But his transition to the NFL level has required him to add mass while making a large jump in competition at a position that has notoriously been difficult for rookies to acclimate to. Overall, Hall has logged eight tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks across his first eight games. Per Pro Football Focus, he has generated seven pressures over 159 pass rush snaps, which translates into a pressure rate of just 4.4%. He has flashed potential, including this really fantastic rep against All-Pro Zack Martin.

Buccaneers rookie DL @loganhall_ is going to be a PROBLEM! Watch what he does to the best Guard in football Zack Martin 👀 #Bucsfilm2022wk1 pic.twitter.com/QKPtfAchDx

— Commissioner Cheah (@StevenCheah) September 13, 2022

Looking at Hall’s contributions within the context of other defensive tackles in the 2022 class, things look a bit brighter. He has logged the most snaps of any interior lineman drafted this year, out-snapping the two defensive tackles taken ahead of him in Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt. He leads the class in pressures and sacks as well. His PFF grade falls to eighth (minimum 80 snaps) when comparing to the rest of his draft mates.

Overall, Hall has produced at about the level one could reasonably expect of him coming out of college. Flashes of a high-end pass rush ceiling, with a lack of consistency while being a liability in the run game.

Overall Grade: C

OG Luke Goedeke

Goedeke was a relative unknown when the Bucs traded back into the second round to select him out of Central Michigan. At this point, he may be the most infamous rookie Tampa Bay has. Goedeke was thrust into a starting role after an injury to center Ryan Jensen took Robert Hainsey out of the competition for the starting left guard job. Goedeke beat out Brandon Walton and Nick Leverett for the starting role in what was deemed a close battle. Since then, he has struggled to the tune of being perhaps the worst starting guard in all of football.

Bucs LG Luke Goedeke – Photo by: USA Today

While many in Bucs fandom have already labeled him a bust, the truth is more unwritten. Much like Hall, the path to the starting role was one that was predicated on an injury that put him out over his toes (pun intended) before he was ready. Coming out of a MAC program, switching from tackle to guard and moving from the right side to the left, Goedeke should never have been on the field this year to begin with.

If given the same path that Hainsey was the last year, Goedeke most likely could have impressed the fanbase in 2023 with a full year to get his body and technique right. Alas, that has not happened, and Goedeke has been the culprit of many a-busted play for a struggling offense that has failed to score enough points.

Factor in the performances of other rookie guards taken after Goedeke and things get even worse for the young blocker. Ed Ingram, who was taken just two picks after Goedeke, has graded out well as a starter for Minnesota, while Dylan Parham, Cordell Volson, and Spencer Burford have all performed better than the Bucs’ rookie guard as well. Personal draft crush Jamaree Salyer has performed admirably (albeit as a tackle after injuries forced him outside) as well.

There are two potential saving graces for the much-maligned offensive lineman. First, he was objectively solid in his most recent outing against the Carolina Panthers. Secondly, Leverett has impressed in Goedeke’s absence due to injury. Hopefully the Bucs coaching staff recognizes that Leverett is the better option right now and name him the starter going forward this season, giving the rookie the opportunity to improve in the background as Hainsey did last year. This would allow him to focus on improving his game without the pressure of having to perform at an extremely high level in what could be quarterback Tom Brady’s final season in Tampa Bay.

Overall Grade: D-

RB Rachaad White

White was a training camp darling for Bucs media and fans alike. Showing a fantastic combination of speed, burst, explosiveness and hands, he had a skillset many were salivating for. And to start his rookie campaign, the Arizona State product has shown flashes of each of those tools and more. After working his way up the running back depth chart from fourth to second during training camp, each week he makes a case to chip into incumbent starter Leonard Fournette’s workload.

White’s 3.0 yards per carry may leave the average box score watcher scratching their head as to why there is so much hype surrounding the electric rookie, but those who watch can see he is a dynamic playmaker waiting to be unleashed. And if you don’t believe me, here is a clip of just what I am talking about.

For the season, White has 30 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown along with 17 catches for 128 yards. He has contributed as a kick returner as well, bringing out 8 kicks for 189 yards. That does, however, include an extremely unfortunate fumble to open the Chiefs game that immediately put the Bucs in a hole.

Looking at the rest of the draft class, there appear to be several talented rookie backs flooding the NFL this season. Granted, two of them were drafted ahead of White in Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker. Both have shown to be capable of being NFL starters early in their young careers.

Similarly, Dameon Pierce, who was taken the round after White, has entrenched himself as a powerful and explosive starter in Houston. Tyler Allgeier, Isaiah Pacheco and Brian Robinson Jr. have all flashed solid skillsets in similarly small sample sizes to White. With the exception of Pierce, it is difficult to say any of the backs taken after White could have been better plays at the time.

Overall Grade: C+