Overall good draft. And PR did an amazing job covering it.
My concerns are with corner and MLB.
We are not better than we were last year in the corner room from starters down to reserves. And that’s without injuries.
I’m also worried about MLB. Yes, I’ve been all for getting rid of Devin for 2 and 1/2 years, but our depth is a huge question mark. Dennis couldn’t stay healthy last year and all we have to rave aboard two pick 6 plays in OTAs and training camp. That’s not enough to tell me anything.
Corner is the deepest position the squad and McCollum and Dean are the starters with Hall as the reserve. Tavierre Thomas can play boundary with zone looks in a worst case scenario that the top three CBs go down due to injury. But most NFL teams do not have CB depth that deep on the boundary.
MLB is a huge concern. Hoping we get some veteran camp fodder.
The team likes what they saw from Russell and Britt in starting action as both outplayed Devin White, and Dennis is in the mix. Most likely not unless there is an injury IMO.
@alldaway - huh??? Corner is our deepest position? Then we’re in more trouble than I thought. First, we may have lost our best cover corner when healthy in Davis. Second, Dean gets hurt too much as it is. Third, I’m still not sold on Zion. He got better and at least somewhat tackles now. But receivers get too much separation on him when in man. And lastly, Thomas will not play outside corner unless we’re in big trouble. He’s too small for Bowles liking. If he doesn’t win Nickel position, he may not make the team.
I hope this works out:
Buccaneers Acquire 6-Foot-7 Wide Receiver
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers/rumors-zach-mathis-north-dakota-state/#:~:text=Getty%20Todd%20Bowles%20will%20bring%20in%20Tampa,April%2027%20according%20to%20KPRC 2's%20Aaron%20Wilson.
he Tampa Bay Buccaneers obtained some extra height at wide receiver with rookie minicamp around the corner.
Tampa native and 6-foot-7 wide receiver Zach Mathis received a rookie minicamp invite on April 27 according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Mathis played for North Dakota State from 2018 to 2023, and he tallied 95 receptions for 1,392 yards and nine touchdowns in his career.
“He’s a huge back-shoulder-throw threat because of his length,” former NDSU head coach Matt Entz told the Fargo Forum in August 2023. “He runs probably better than most people think, when you have a kid that’s [6-foot-7] and has good speed he can stretch the field and create some mismatch problems.”
Entz, who now coaches linebackers at USC, worked with current Buccaneers offensive lineman Cody Mauch and defensive back Josh Hayes while at NDSU. Mathis played with both, and he also competed with former Bison and now-NFL quarterbacks Trey Lance and Easton Stick.
For Mathis, returning to Tampa gives him the chance to play for the organization that fielded two of his favorite players. He told Bison Illustrated in 2023 that both former Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks and fullback Mike Alstott worked with him on 7-on-7 football teams.
“That was pretty cool,” Mathis said. “I always looked at Hines Ward [too] because I was a big [Pittsburgh] Steelers guy. And then, lately, like when I got to high school, because I didn’t start playing football until high school.” Entz, who now coaches linebackers at USC, worked with current Buccaneers offensive lineman Cody Mauch and defensive back Josh Hayes while at NDSU. Mathis played with both, and he also competed with former Bison and now-NFL quarterbacks Trey Lance and Easton Stick.
For Mathis, returning to Tampa gives him the chance to play for the organization that fielded two of his favorite players. He told Bison Illustrated in 2023 that both former Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks and fullback Mike Alstott worked with him on 7-on-7 football teams.
“That was pretty cool,” Mathis said. “I always looked at Hines Ward [too] because I was a big [Pittsburgh] Steelers guy. And then, lately, like when I got to high school, because I didn’t start playing football until high school.” “I looked up to Keenan Allen’s game and technique for sure. And Christian Watson, he gives me a lot of advice,” Mathis added.
Mathis played alongside Watson, now with the Green Bay Packers, for four seasons in Fargo. The Packers took Watson, also a Tampa native, with a second-round pick in 2022, and he has 69 receptions for 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns in his young career.
Zach Mathis Showed Promise at Pro Day
Mathis didn’t match Watson’s dominance at NDSU, but the former Berkeley Prep standout showed promise in the Bison Pro Day during March. He didn’t make the NFL combine before that nor get projected as a late-round pick.
“Mathis was recorded between 4.58 and 4.63 on his 40-yard dash, which may not sound like a great time for a wide receiver, but considering his massive size, his ability to be ‘faster than slow’ will turn a few heads for teams looking for possession and red zone weapons,” wrote Ross Uglem of 247 Sports’ Bison Report. “Mathis posted good jumps as well for a player with his tremendous length.”
“He possesses good hands as he displays above-average manual dexterity that enables him to possess a catch radius that allows him to catch the ball with his hands away from his body,” NFLDraftDiamonds.com wrote about Mathis. “He is very good in contested catch situations as he boxes out CB with ordinary ball skills and high points the ball before making the catch.”
“He is above-average at adjusting his body to the ball on passes thrown off-target. He does a solid job of working his way back to the QB on broken plays. He is a sufficient run blocker as he shows the willingness to block and displays solid physical toughness,” NFLDraftDiamonds.com added. Matthew Davis covers the NFL for Heavy.com, focusing on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis
Get to know @NDSUfootball latest phenom WR: Zach Mathis (@Zachmathiss)
6’7” and dominated Missouri State on Saturday (160 yards, 26.7 YPC, 2 TD)
“I looked up to Keenan Allen’s game and technique for sure. And Christian Watson, he gives me a lot of advice,” Mathis added.
Mathis played alongside Watson, now with the Green Bay Packers, for four seasons in Fargo. The Packers took Watson, also a Tampa native, with a second-round pick in 2022, and he has 69 receptions for 1,033 yards and 12 touchdowns in his young career.
Zach Mathis Showed Promise at Pro Day
Mathis didn’t match Watson’s dominance at NDSU, but the former Berkeley Prep standout showed promise in the Bison Pro Day during March. He didn’t make the NFL combine before that nor get projected as a late-round pick.
“Mathis was recorded between 4.58 and 4.63 on his 40-yard dash, which may not sound like a great time for a wide receiver, but considering his massive size, his ability to be ‘faster than slow’ will turn a few heads for teams looking for possession and red zone weapons,” wrote Ross Uglem of 247 Sports’ Bison Report. “Mathis posted good jumps as well for a player with his tremendous length.”
Zack Mathis Has Skill but Faces Tall Order to Crack Buccaneers Roster
Big target. Big catch. That’s Zach Mathis.
NFLDraftDiamonds.com noted qualities that Mathis brings to the next level — albeit he will have his work cut out for him to make the team. The Buccaneers have a deep receiver room with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Trey Palmer, Deven Thompkins, and Rakim Jarrett plus the addition of Jalen McMillan in the draft.
“He possesses good hands as he displays above-average manual dexterity that enables him to possess a catch radius that allows him to catch the ball with his hands away from his body,” NFLDraftDiamonds.com wrote about Mathis. “He is very good in contested catch situations as he boxes out CB with ordinary ball skills and high points the ball before making the catch.”
“He is above-average at adjusting his body to the ball on passes thrown off-target. He does a solid job of working his way back to the QB on broken plays. He is a sufficient run blocker as he shows the willingness to block and displays solid physical toughness,” NFLDraftDiamonds.com added.
@alldaway - huh??? Corner is our deepest position? Then we’re in more trouble than I thought. First, we may have lost our best cover corner when healthy in Davis. Second, Dean gets hurt too much as it is. Third, I’m still not sold on Zion. He got better and at least somewhat tackles now. But receivers get too much separation on him when in man. And lastly, Thomas will not play outside corner unless we’re in big trouble. He’s too small for Bowles liking. If he doesn’t win Nickel position, he may not make the team.
We are going to have to agree to disagree.
Dean and McCollum are the starters. I do agree that Dean is often injured but that is why they brought in Hall who they view as starting caliber. They also are training Hayes and Isaac on the boundary. Based on how the draft went it seems the team is more comfortable with boundary CB and they felt they needed to address nickel CB. Right now boundary CB is the deepest on the team in terms of depth and players with starting experience. I can't think of another position that comes close. ILB? Britt, Russell and LVD but McCollum and Hall have more starts than Russell and Britt even though they both did better than D. White when they had a chance. Interior DT? Vea and Gaines are pretty much it and I guess Gholston counts as he can kick inside in a pinch. Safety? Whitehead is back and to team with Winfield. Merriweather is the reserve and Izien will be cross trained at safety too.
Bucs have three starting caliber CBs on the boundary. I am not sure you can say that for many other positions on the squad. Tykee Smith and McMillan are rookies and the hope is they can prove to be starting caliber. If they do that makes safety and WR deeper but they are rookies that haven't played a down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztuiy9KNQK8
MLB is fine. Britt has been better than White for awhile, White was just living off draft status.
Hall should start at the CB opposite Dean.
Disagree. I expect some regression from David and while Britt was better than White... I still see this as a huge gap.
Hope I'm wrong. I didn't see any value on taking a TE late but not sure what there was available in terms of LB late either
Way too many rose-colored glasses on in this post. Corner is not a strength aside from starts made. That doesn’t mean we are above average at that position. And Hall has 5 total tackles and 1 interception over the last 2 seasons. Not games… seasons.
I agree with JC that David will probably regress somewhat, because he eventually has to. And Britt has some weaknesses.
Just highlighting the weirdness of all the talking heads.
According to an NFL.com writer, the Bucs had almost the worst draft in the league (27th) . .. because it was GOOD . . but boring:
The first-round selection of Graham Barton could have been sponsored by OSHA, seeing how universally it was lauded for safeness. Truthfully, the Duke left tackle does appear to have a versatile skill set that could fit in any environment. In Tampa, he’ll probably man the pivot, where he played as a true freshman in Durham. Unfortunately, he can’t simultaneously play left guard, which remains a soft spot on the depth chart. But that high-floor pick kind of set the tone for the rest of the draft, as the Bucs continually hit singles with exceedingly solid picks. Stuck behind a murderers’ row of pass rushers during his first three years at Alabama, Chris Braswell finally got his opportunity this past fall and took full advantage, leading the SEC with 56 pressures. After turning heads at the Senior Bowl, Braswell enjoyed a nice workout at the NFL Scouting Combine. There could be some untapped potential here. In Round 3, Licht appeared to target the slot, offensively and defensively. Jalen McMillan struggled with injuries this past season, but in 2022, he actually led Washington in receptions and receiving touchdowns — yes, over Rome Odunze. Tykee Smith’s a versatile safety/nickel who’s much more physical force defender than sticky cover man, but he could see significant snaps Year 1 in the slot.
One more pick I’d like to spotlight, as it underscores the radically decent feel of this draft haul: fourth-rounder Bucky Irving. The Oregon running back was a consistent vessel for “FORGET THE TESTING!” pleas from impassioned draftniks over the past couple months, and for good reason. On film, he’s a compact, shifty, generally fun mighty mite of a ball-carrier. But a slow 40 time and inexplosive jumps in Indy sunk his draft stock.
It was a little weird - isn’t this ranking kind of where you should be if you’re picking at the 26th spot in nearly every round?
Being able to get a player like Barton, at #26, yet no appreciation for a team that did well enough over the last 3 seasons - means NOT to having a top pick…
Potential value in every round afterward is more than boring - it is better than what we all expected would happen.
Building the trenches may not be sexy, but it indicates that your team is pretty solid/healthy. Not just because you won a weak division, but that you’re also competitive outside the divisional games, while playing a tougher schedule than your divisional rivals, and getting deep into the playoffs.
Solid/boring = good/inproving - faster than the media expected.
Getting a solid/boring rating from a guy who is solid/boring (at best), and from one who seems incapable of jumping off the deck of a sinking-ship publication…is what exactly?
This guy will not be remembered, or missed.
Looking forward to this season!
According to an NFL.com writer, the Bucs had almost the worst draft in the league (27th) . .. because it was GOOD . . but boring:
Always fun to watch writers piss down their own leg compiling this stuff.
MLB is fine. Britt has been better than White for awhile, White was just living off draft status.
Hall should start at the CB opposite Dean.
Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Hall starts over Dean. But it really depends on who show smore splash plays on the perimeter.
I wouldn't say for a while but down the stretch Britt showed his worth while White just faded.
I wouldn't say for a while but down the stretch Britt showed his worth while White just faded.
No doubt. He showed what a disciplined run defender can do. Much credit to him.
That said, Bowles and most others DCs would still take White (or at least a more versatile LB) over platooning with Britt, as we will likely do listening to the coaches.
