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About the Author: Joshua Queipo

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Josh Queipo joined the Pewter Report team in 2022, specializing in salary cap analysis and film study. In addition to his official role with the website and podcast, he has an unofficial role as the Pewter Report team’s beaming light of positivity and jokes. A staunch proponent of the forward pass, he is a father to two amazing children and loves sushi, brisket, steak and bacon, though the order changes depending on the day. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 2008 with a degree in finance.
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The Bucs have spoken glowingly of their 2024 NFL Draft class. It was the feature for their last episode of the team’s insider web series “In The Current”.

And on Friday night that draft class was finally on display for the world in their first preseason game. And after watching the All-22 tape of the game, I have to say, Bucs general manager Jason Licht and his scouting department must be plenty pleased with the early returns on their investment.

I wanted to give a quick review of each player from the draft’s inaugural performance.

Bucs C Graham Barton

After a 2023 season where the Bucs interior offensive line stood out as one of the biggest holes on the roster, Graham Barton has a lot riding on his impressive shoulders. The first-round pick played 18 snaps and looked brilliant throughout his time on the field.

First off Hayden, I know a whole timeline of people who were asking for these. But I digress. Barton’s calling cards in college that led to his premium draft status were his grip strength and his leg drive. Both were on display in a big way in Cincinnati. In addition to those key skills, he showed great timing on double teams, moved to the second level with ease, showed plus targeting and a finisher’s mentality.

That finisher’s mentality will quickly endear himself to a fanbase that yearns for a return to former center Ryan Jensen’s days of putting defenders on their backs with regularity. Barton had his best reps as a run blocker but looked just as comfortable in pass protection where he went a clean 11-for-11, not allowing a single quarterback pressure. His footwork and speed looked good, and his hand fighting looked even better.

Tampa Bay OLB Chris Braswell

Among a group of shining lights Chris Braswell may seem like a dim bulb after the first preseason game. But I would like to stress the fact that, despite his second-round draft status, he is very much the rawest player in the Bucs draft class. He played just 1,013 snaps in college. Among the team’s seven draft picks that is dead last in total snaps. He will take time to develop, not unlike 2023 third-round pick Yaya Diaby.

With that said, Braswell had a quiet night. Here is a quick cutup that shows many of his reps against Bengals offensive tackle Amarius Mims (Braswell is #43).

Bucs Olb Chris Braswell

Bucs OLB Chris Braswell – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

He had 18 pass rushes, including six true pass sets (where he wasn’t double-teamed, the quarterback took a full drop and did not throw a screen pass, and he didn’t stunt/loop). Braswell recorded one pressure which resulted in a quarterback hurry along with a 5.9%-win rate per Pro Football Focus. The win rate is very low and Braswell had little effect as a rusher on the night, but he was not without positives.

From a development standpoint Braswell flashed two pass rush techniques, a long-arm and a push-pull. The push-pull was actually on a run-play, but nevertheless knowing he is aware of the technique bodes well for future use in pass-rushing situations. Both had a reasonable amount of success.

He also flashed power as one way he can win against NFL talent, as his lone pressure came from a bull rush converting speed to power. As a run defender he set the edge and was constantly moving towards the ball, although he failed to record a tackle on defense.

The concerns, from a very small sample size, were that he did get bodied a couple of times from players on the move including a chip from a tight end that sent him over a gap and a pull from a backside guard that displaced him on a gap run, and that he showed little-to-no bend when trying to win outside on the edge as a rusher. These will be areas that need more monitoring in the future.

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan

Jalen McMillan has had an impressive training camp, and his first NFL game action met that camp hype. His route running was crisp, and he created easy separation. He only played 10 snaps, but in that limited sample he flashed several key traits. McMillan’s route running was as advertised. The best example was his stem on a dig route leading to his 19 yard long for the night.

What was even more promising in my opinion was his second catch of the game. It wasn’t anything special. Just a four-yard hitch. But the conditions spoke to a concern I had about him coming out of Washington. After losing his footing on his break, McMillan was forced to make a difficult grab while falling to the ground and an opposing defender jumping over his back to make a play on the ball.

Despite those conditions he was still able to secure the catch showing he can make tough, grimy plays. If he can do that consistently in the NFL he will easily outperform my draft projection of him and prove to be one heckuva steal for the Bucs.

The best part of his night is that he could have had an even better statistical night. Beyond his two catches for 23 yards, he was open on a crosser that might have gone for a touchdown. Quarterback Kyle Trask opted to throw to tight end Devin Culp in double coverage instead. But if he had just extended his read to the next option (McMillan), the post-game rhetoric may have had the third-round receiver garnering just as much praise as Barton.

Tampa Bay RB Bucky Irving

Last year the Bucs struggled to get any production from the running back position past starter Rachaad White. If this game was any indication of the future, those concerns should be tempered this year. Irving showed patience, vision and burst. All three were calling cards of his in college.

Irving gained 28 yards on just six carries for a 4.7 average and added a touchdown. Most importantly he showed he was comfortable running zone concepts where he can choose his gaps based on the blocking and defensive movement ahead of him. He wasn’t shy to commit to the hole designed for the run, but if the yards weren’t there, he was able to find a secondary option that could yield better results. More importantly, he showcased his best college trait which was avoiding tackles and gaining yards after contact.

Bucs Rb Bucky Irving And C Graham Barton

Bucs RB Bucky Irving and C Graham Barton – Photo by: USA Today

Irving forced two missed tackles and picked up 20 of his 28 yards after contact. From an efficiency standpoint that translates to a 33% missed tackle forced rate and 3.33 yards after contact per carry. Compared to all running backs with at least 50 carries last year those marks would have ranked 2nd and 13th, respectively.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that on his one pass blocking rep he executed his assignment well. It’s just one play, but it illustrates that he should be okay in crucial situations that call for him to stay in and help the pass protection against blitzes.

It’s important not to make too sweeping of a conclusion from six carries, but the signs are encouraging that what he showed in college can translate to the NFL level. And more importantly, when paired with the expectations for Irving in year one to be a complimentary back who isn’t necessarily role-specific (like a 3rd down or goal line-only back) it appears upon first blush that Irving will fill the teams needs for him nicely.

Bucs DB Tykee Smith

Like Braswell, Smith had a mixed back for an inaugural outing. Let’s get the bad out of the way. He got beat in man coverage on a slant/cross where he gave up inside leverage and let the receiver run away from him for a big catch and run and was also flagged for a defensive pass interference. But even in those bad reps there are sparks of good.

The clip above was a 3rd and 17 situation and the Bucs were running cover-3. Smith was responsible for the hook/flat. Almost immediately after the snap he was able to pass off the slot receiver inside and understand that the tight end escaping to the flat didn’t matter within the context of the down and distance. Instead, he was able to quickly process that Bengals receiver Tee Higgins would be pulling a one-on-one with the field corner and quarterback Joe Burrow would likely be looking to exploit that matchup. And he was right. That shows a high level of football IQ to diagnose a play within the context of the down and distance and then fight against muscle memory to go make a play.

Beyond those two plays I liked what I saw from Smith. He recorded four tackles on defense, helped stall two Bengals drives with openfield tackles of players who had caught the ball short of the sticks on third down, and played gap sound in the run game.

Tampa Bay LG Elijah Klein

Elijah Klein, the sixth-round pick out of UTEP has been receiving a ton of praise from the moment after he was drafted and everyone except Brandon Thorn and Duke Manyweather said “Who?” He played 64 snaps on offense and had plenty of positive reps that helped him earn an 84.4 grade from PFF. He looked to be most comfortable as a run blocker, getting on double teams and pushing defenders backwards.

Bucs G Elijah Klein

Bucs G Elijah Klein – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I was most impressed with Klein’s ability to get out of his stance and engage the second level on zone concepts. He has displays plus power and strength as a blocker when moving forward. He still needs to work on his targeting in space and his hips showed stiffness when he attempted to adjust to linebackers trying to shed him.

As a pass blocker I was pleasantly surprised with Klein’s pro debut. He was quick to get his hands on defenders and showed plus foot movement to continually re-anchor and try to maintain balance throughout his blocks.

While I am sure the team is very happy with the performance overall, I do believe there are several areas they will want to see improvement from him before he is given a chance to earn a starting spot (likely next year rather than this). Pad level in pass protection was the biggest area I saw needing more consistency. That combined with maintaining his hand contact through the rep will help to elevate his game.

And while I saw a high football IQ in how he moved and anticipated defenders’ attacks, it didn’t stop him from allowing a few opponents to cross his face. Still, the performance he put on as a late-round pick had to be very rewarding for the Bucs coaching staff as he is legitimately the least scouted (publicly) player of the bunch.

Bucs TE Devin Culp

Culp was forced into an early exit from the game to be evaluated for a concussion. But prior to that he was having a solid game. It won’t show in the stat sheet as Culp only caught one of his four targets for six yards. His three non-catches were non-competitive reps as two were deflected by defenders and the third was an overthrow on an out-and-up where he was open for a first down. It was the “soft skills” portion of his game that was more eye-opening in my opinion.

Coming out of college there were a couple of knocks on him that allowed the Bucs to pick him in the draft’s final round, but he has raw athleticism. What was lacking from his game was consistent hands (15% drop rate in college) as well as a reputation as a blocker.

The good news from Friday night’s game was that despite only catching one of his four targets he had no drops. And as for him blocking take a look at No. 82 laying out the corner at the end of this catch and run.

And it wasn’t just in space where he excelled as a blocker. He had some plus reps in line as well. If he continues to show he can hold on to the ball when given a chance to catch it and be a plus blocker he has a defined path to making the roster and becoming a developmental player with a shot at starting in the future.

All in all, it was a great day for the Bucs’ 2024 draft class. With the second preseason game against Jacksonville upcoming all seven rookie will look to build upon these week one successes as they hope to be crucial contributors this season.

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