I was thinking this the other day and it seems clear that the Bucs draft strategy to quickly turn things around is the following:
1. Need to add trench players on offense and defense. I am not talking about waiting till the 5th round of the NFL draft to develop or have for depth. If the Bucs are serious about competing they need to draft an OL and DL within the first four rounds of the NFL draft that can push for serious playing time. Bucs have plenty of depth players along the OL/DL but not enough starting caliber players IMO.
2. It would be tempting to draft a WR between rounds 1-4 but given how much cap space is allocated to the position it doesn't make sense. Furthermore, the staff is higher on Thompkins and Geiger than even the PR staff wants to admit. Both Thompkins and Geiger are going into year 2 as WRs and I think they might make a huge jump in terms of understanding and playing speed. Also, I rather see the Bucs sign a vet WR to the current group than draft a WR late in the draft that is raw. A WR drafted late will not contribute much or has little chance of beating out Thompkins and Geiger. If we are talking about the 5th/6th spot in the depth chart at that point we are talking about special teams and nothing to do with developmental WR prospects.
3. Other than WR the obvious holes on the current Bucs roster are at safety, tight end and nickel back. It is a safe bet to say the Bucs will be drafting a true strong safety to line up opposite of Winfield JR and a true nickle back. I also believe the team will be drafting another TE because Canales will want to run a lot of 12 personnel.
4. Drafting an edge rusher should be a top priority but it may prove to be difficult.
5. A dark horse position that hasn't been talked about enough is the Bucs drafting a RB. In fact it might happen in a higher round than most want to admit. White, Edmonds, Vaughn and Laird are a fine four but if Canales wants to add another dynamic back for a balanced offense he will make it known to Bowles and Licht.
So what does anyone else see as the Bucs draft strategy to fix the issues with the current roster?
Please no early RBs or WRs. Like you said, draft the lines/edge, ILB and nickel.
Yeah I was thinking as long as the Bucs don't draft RB or WR in rounds 1-3 they would be having a fairly good draft up to that point. With the signing of S Ryan Neal that helps puts less urgency to draft a safety in rounds 1-3 and it can wait till the 5th round now. As long as the Bucs focus on trenches rounds 1-3 I think they will be in position to compete in 2023 for the division. Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans have put together pretty good trenches respectively but if the Bucs play their cards right they could be tops in the division once more when it comes to trench play.
Signing Ryan Neal IMO eliminates Bryan Branch as the 1st round pick. Interesting that we possibly lose Keanu Neal and Logan Ryan and sign Ryan Neal. Hope he is a combination of each player's best football talents!
I agree that drafting OL and DL should be the priority. OT first, DL/Edge second and TE 3rd.Right now we have 1 pick each in round 1,2 and 3. By trading down the Bucs can have a late 1st round and two 2nd round picks. . There is a lot of talent in the 2nd round! Possible trade targets could be the Bengals, Giants, Chiefs and even the Steelers.
Canales is taking over the least productive rushing offense in the league. What are they going to do to adjust the personnel to fit his offense now that the main free agency wave is over? The tackle position is the obvious choice, but it won't stop there. You want to improve the last place running game, but there's more to that then just adding a running back.
I think the OP was right to say that WR may be an area they choose to add, one who can be utilized as a runner, even if it's only once a game. If a wide receiver gets one carry a game, how many times does he go in motion and fake the run or have it as an option for the QB? A dozen? Just guessing. But my point is that having that threat of the wide receiver running is part of having a more successful running game. Gage was utilized as a runner in college, but not in the pros. Amon Ra St. Brown had 106 catches, but he also had 9 rushes for 10.6 yard average. Is there a Braxton Berrios type of player, a small 4th WR who can create some trouble for defenses? Berrios had 9 carries for 10.1 yards per carry. But if he had nine rushes then there were 100 more times the defenses had to worry about him being set in motion and couldn't stack it up in the middle for the running back.
I think the Bucs may make a trade to obtain a 4th round pick, and they could spend a 4th or 5th on a#4 WR. The Bucs have had those speedy guys like Miller, Grayson, Darden, but much to the chagrin of the fans, they haven't had more than an occasional running play for the WRs. Julio Jones got five carries, which was tied for 20th in the league. Two of those were in the first game against Dallas. Of course he's gone. Godwin had 3 attempts for 5 yards. Evans had no attempts. So unless they bring back the Gage's college running skills, they have to draft somebody who can create that threat.
Zay Flowers may not be around after the 2nd, but Tyler Scott or Nathaniel Dell are prospects likely to be around Day 3.
All signs are pointing at us drafting a OT in the first round - which I'm OK with and my top choice. We've had the worst run game in the NFL it seems like for 3 years straight and its time we fix that, seriously. A new scheme would help but having another tackle that actually plays through the whistle and is nasty will help as well. I know Canales popped up in that tape and starting laughing watching 76 loaf countless times and thinking zero chance we could run a outside zone scheme with him. That gap would be shot before the back even haves the ball.
That being said, after round 1 I hope we attack OLB/CB in some fashion. Need a NCB that can cover quick twitch WR's and my fav prospect for that is Clark Phillips. Good chance he won't make it to our pick though. Teams pop that tape on him and going to be reminded of Asante Samuel Jr. who was taken at 47 because of his size.
My ideal first two picks would be Darnell Wright and Phillips. Round three best pass rusher available to give depth with Shaq/JTS.
Is there a Braxton Berrios type of player, a small 4th WR who can create some trouble for defenses?
There was
https://www.buccaneers.com/video/scotty-miller-rush-td--bucs-panthers-week-18-big-play
Yes, and I think fans were many calling for more plays like that. Miller had a total of 8 carries in four years with the Bucs. I hope the new OC will have that as part of the arsenal. But they could have kept Miller around. It wasn't like Adam Humphries who parlayed free agency into a nice contract. Miller signed for only $1.2 mil with the Falcons. Apparently nobody including the Bucs wanted him that badly. I don't think he was really that good at the receiving part of being a wide receiver.Is there a Braxton Berrios type of player, a small 4th WR who can create some trouble for defenses?
There was
https://www.buccaneers.com/video/scotty-miller-rush-td--bucs-panthers-week-18-big-play
Yup, he never learned the proper way to catch a pass. All he had to do was watch Chris Godwin and duplicate his technique.
I'd like Bucs to target Edge Rushers like Will McDonald IV and Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the 1st or 2nd round.
I'm ok with exploring Wirfs at LT, Goedeke at RT, and addressing o-line later in the draft.
Also, maybe a wildcard, but I'm opening up to the idea of drafting a QB like Will Levis or Hendon Hooker if they're available at #19. Our QB situation stinks. Mayfield or Trask will not be the answer, and I think the QB position is one of the weakest positions on this team right now.
Heck no on the 1st round QBs! I say roll with what we got this year and if we fall on our faces we will be in a better position next year to grab a legit QB. Build the line now. If we roll with wirfs and goedeke I say grab a G in the first 2 rounds. But would much rather a 1st round tackle. Then still need an edge, nickel, and will need some ILBs really soon.
Draft the O-line first, then the QB. Next year should be loaded with QBs with a good half dozen or more legitimate guys. Why scrape the barrel for a QB when he wouldn't be any better than the ones we have in house, at least as a rookie?Heck no on the 1st round QBs! I say roll with what we got this year and if we fall on our faces we will be in a better position next year to grab a legit QB. Build the line now. If we roll with wirfs and goedeke I say grab a G in the first 2 rounds. But would much rather a 1st round tackle. Then still need an edge, nickel, and will need some ILBs really soon.
Hooker in the 3rd, yes.
Earlier? Fuck no
Phillips out of Utah would be a great 2nd round pick.
We need to consider drafting a LB in thr 2nd or 3rd round to replace White and David.
So ideally we go
Rd1 - OT or the Georgia DT
Rd2 - Phillips, BPA, LB
Rd3 - Hooker, BPA, LB
Rd4 - WR, LB, BPA
Rd5-rd7 - BPA, special teams contributors (I usually like CBs and safeties at this stage)
Build the trenches. Thats what all successful NFL franchises do. Don't F around drafting a QB, that would be so stupid to do.
