"Our No. 1 impact rookie, you might not believe this — it is David Walker," Barber said. "I didn't know anything about him until we picked him, and then you go and look at what he did... when you put the film on, you're like, 'Holy cow, this dude has the mentality.' It's kinda like this underdog mentality that makes people respect him."
Pick your rookie . .
Benjamin Morrison.
Several good options tho could be just about any of our draft picks.
"Our No. 1 impact rookie, you might not believe this — it is David Walker," Barber said. "I didn't know anything about him until we picked him, and then you go and look at what he did... when you put the film on, you're like, 'Holy cow, this dude has the mentality.' It's kinda like this underdog mentality that makes people respect him."
Pick your rookie . .
“I think the first thing that jumps out is kind of how smart he is,” Nelson said of Walker. “His intuition of the game, that type stuff [is solid].
“He’s able to pick up the playbook, understand what people are trying to do to him.
Bucs Wire
Emeka Egbuka, WR – Ohio State (Round 1, Pick 19)
Egbuka is expected to make an immediate impact. With Chris Godwin recovering from injury, despite many expecting him to be available in Week 1 of the regular season, and Mike Evans entering his final year of his contract, Egbuka could quickly rise in the receiving chart. He’s a technical route runner with blocking skills and experience in a pro-style system, which increases his chances of contributing early.
I am going with Egbuka. Even with Godwin slowly working his way back from injury and McMillan potential ascension I think Egbuka transforms the Bucs offense into a full fledged juggernaut. Egbuka is a threat with his horizontal and vertical game and the use of motion will showcase this skill set very well in this offense.
K. Johsnon/Palmer were supposed to provide that type of horizontal and vertical utility on jet sweeps, WR screens, seem deep posts/go routes. Egbuka can do that easily which will allow Godwin to do his work underneath in the slot, Evans on the boundary with McMillan.
He has to be on the outside looking in, but it would be pretty cool to see Watson make it and be a contributor. He said this recently about the Bucs culture
“I’ve been talking to my other college teammates; some of them haven’t had the same experience,” Watson said. “I feel like everybody here is helpful. … Literally everybody is trying to drag everybody along, you know, get’em to where they can perform their best even if it may be their competition.”
K. Johsnon/Palmer were supposed to provide that type of horizontal and vertical utility on jet sweeps
I was as big of a pumper for Palmer as this board could offer and I think he's toast.
Both of them do not have speed that translates. No shiftiness.
Trade Palmer if we can imo
UFAs. . . . oh my . . .
Bucs Already Impressed With C Jake Majors
In recent seasons, the Bucs have had success perusing through hundreds of undrafted free agents and finding gems. Think defensive back Christian Izien, running back Sean Tucker, wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, safety Kaevon Merriweather, and outside linebacker Markees Watts. Each has contributed at times and added crucial depth on the roster.
Lots of impact rookies. No mention of Dean?
"They took cornerback Benjamin Morrison in the second round and then added another corner in the third round by selecting Jacob Parrish. During an appearance on the Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast, General Manager Jason Licht said that the two rookies have shown enough for him to think that they’ll join fourth-year pro Zyon McCollum in playing significant roles in the secondary this year.
“Those guys have been equally as impressive,” Licht said. “It’s been fun to watch. I don’t want to already stamp them, but we feel very, very good about them helping us out a lot this year. Plus Zyon’s having an amazing offseason as well, so there’s not going to be — Very few teams, I think, have three young corners with that much talent right now.”
This is quite a statement by Ronde when you think about what he's actually saying. "Impact rookie" means Walker is going to be the biggest difference maker this season as a rookie. If you take a quick look at the depth chart there are some other guys he has to hop over. Diaby, Reddick, Nelson and Braswell. I'm not the expert on the positions and the different options for defensive alignments, so please explain to me how Walker is going to get on the field enough to be impact rookie.
"Impact rookie" means Walker is going to be the biggest difference maker this season as a rookie.
I think hes' saying OF the rookies he is the one who could have the biggest impact, not that a rookie will be the biggest difference maker on the team
I understand that."Impact rookie" means Walker is going to be the biggest difference maker this season as a rookie.
I think hes' saying OF the rookies he is the one who could have the biggest impact, not that a rookie will be the biggest difference maker on the team
Lets look at last year's snap count
Diaby 70%
Nelson 51%
Braswell 29%
Reddick 2023 saw 74% of snaps in 2023
Roughly speaking, lets just say Diaby and Reddick each get 70% of the snaps. That leaves a total of 60% to divide between Walker, Nelson and Braswell. We aren't paying Nelson $5 mil a year to play special teams. The Bucs are expecting improvement from Braswell. He's not a bust yet... right? He has to get 20 or 30% of the snaps.
Question: How do you divide up that 60% between Walker, Nelson and Braswell so that Walker becomes the biggest impact rookie on the team? What am I missing?
If Walker outplays Braswell then Walker plays more snaps. That is how it goes. Walker could make a big impact if he is used as a situational rusher on third downs and starts to generate sacks and fumbles. You are not putting Nelson out there on third downs and Diaby/Reddick have to come off the field at some point for a breather.