I worry a little bit that our focus starts leading to players with higher floors, but lower ceilings.
I'm still not crazy about the first pick. Perhaps he will make me eat my words after a few years. My grade overall is a B-, or perhaps C. Like another poster commented, perhaps the Bucs have added depth if other young players already on the team develop. As with all drafts, time will tell.
Did you watch JSN play as a rookie for the Seahawks?
JSN feasted because teams focusd on Metcalf and Lockett so much. Egbuka has Godwin and Evans along with McMillan who feasted a bit last year as a rookie and he will be better too.
Egbuka is basically a more athletic version of Hines Ward and his ceiling is very high. Egbuka A+ blocker, route runner, hands and has a great feel for attacking downfield between the hashmarks.
This is going to be an offense to watch for the Bucs that may go down in the record books.
Could be fun…I'm still not crazy about the first pick. Perhaps he will make me eat my words after a few years. My grade overall is a B-, or perhaps C. Like another poster commented, perhaps the Bucs have added depth if other young players already on the team develop. As with all drafts, time will tell.
Did you watch JSN play as a rookie for the Seahawks?
JSN feasted because teams focusd on Metcalf and Lockett so much. Egbuka has Godwin and Evans along with McMillan who feasted a bit last year as a rookie and he will be better too.
Egbuka is basically a more athletic version of Hines Ward and his ceiling is very high. Egbuka A+ blocker, route runner, hands and has a great feel for attacking downfield between the hashmarks.
This is going to be an offense to watch for the Bucs that may go down in the record books.
Did you watch JSN play as a rookie for the Seahawks?
JSN feasted because teams focusd on Metcalf and Lockett so much.
I'm not sure I'd categorize 63 receptions, 628 yards, 10.0 YPC, and 4 TD's as "feasted," but it was a solid rookie season. As the first WR off of the board, he was pretty much 9th or 10th among all rookie WR's with those numbers. Solid rookie year for sure, but nothing to write home about.
And then he busted out last season with 100 receptions, 1,100+ yards, & 6 TDs.
Did you watch JSN play as a rookie for the Seahawks?
No, I did not watch JSN play as a rookie, but I did check his stats. He produced 15% of the receiving yards for the Seahawks in his rookie season. If that's the best Egbuka can do his rookie season I would have rather the Bucs address their defensive needs. Super Bowl windows aren't very big, and I believe the Bucs offense (w/o Egbuka) is primed to open that window. It's their defense that is keeping it shut.
Like I said initially, time will tell, and I hope Egbuka will make me eat my words. However, since the title of the thread asked for my thoughts--here they are.
In his rookie season, JSN only played about 600 snaps. He didn't start until about halfway through the season when Metcalf got hurt. Lockett and Metcalf were always going to get the snaps that season because it was Pete Carroll's last.
They changed coaches and offenses for 2024
His snap-adjusted production in 2023 would be about the same as his 2024 production (900+snaps)
Egbuka had more sustained success at OSU, right? I think JSN was injured his last year.
How do you really identify guys with character vs. guys who are just for show.
https://www.buccaneers.com/news/character-evaluation-process-leads-to-draft-success-buccaneers-brass
But White wasn't a bad guy or disliked
Umm…he wasn’t the most liked character in the locker room, champ.
But White wasn't a bad guy or disliked
Umm…he wasn’t the most liked character in the locker room, champ.
yes, agree.
I would add (for Trask) that the Bucs version of "character" is not "nice guy," its team leader, loves football and, most importantly, ability to overcome adversity. The last part is why consistent production is a good sign.
White is sort of the opposite of many of those traits.
Hardy Nickerson terrified some people (lol), but boy did he fit the mold. LVD is, of course, the perfect example of the quieter version.
"Tampa Bay had taken two talented edge rushers off its draft board due to character concerns. It was widely reported that Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. had some attitude issues within the Volunteers program, yet the Falcons traded next year’s first-round pick to move back into the first round to get him. We’ll see how that works out in Atlanta. The Falcons will pair him with fellow first-round edge rusher Jalon Walker out of Georgia.
The other edge rusher was Marshall’s Mike Green, who fell to Baltimore in the second round. The nation’s leading sacker had alleged sexual assault allegations in both high school and at Virginia before transferring to Marshall."
It would suit me fine if he contributes half of that total. That means things will be clicking along just fine.Did you watch JSN play as a rookie for the Seahawks?
No, I did not watch JSN play as a rookie, but I did check his stats. He produced 15% of the receiving yards for the Seahawks in his rookie season. If that's the best Egbuka can do his rookie season I would have rather the Bucs address their defensive needs. Super Bowl windows aren't very big, and I believe the Bucs offense (w/o Egbuka) is primed to open that window. It's their defense that is keeping it shut.
Like I said initially, time will tell, and I hope Egbuka will make me eat my words. However, since the title of the thread asked for my thoughts--here they are.
Licht saying 20 plus off their board based on character, but also that its not a black line
"“I don’t know, probably 20. Maybe more,” Licht said. “Probably more. … I’ll have to look that up.”
“We have a long process of defining who we’re taking off [the draft board] and who we’re not,” Licht continued. “Now just because a guy, maybe people don’t like him, or he’s a d-bag or an asshole, we’re not just going to automatically take them off. It’s got to affect their football character and it’s got to affect the team. There’s a lot of people that fit that description that are very good football players and maybe it works in their favor. And there’s a difference between a bad guy and an immature person, and we’ll take immature and help them develop. But, you know, we just don’t want people that are going to affect the locker room in a negative way that affects the performance of others and the team.”
“I’m very comfortable with him [at] outside [cornerback]. He can start corner in this league probably for anybody, and he can play inside as well,” Bowles said of Parrish, after emphatically noting that Parrish is not being targeted only as a nickel corner.
“So that’s the beauty of him. He’s not just a nickel. I think he’s an outside corner first and then a nickel second. So the fact that he plays inside is just a bonus for us.”
Wow that sounds easy. Just draft the guys with good character! But of course it isn't. How do you really identify guys with character vs. guys who are just for sho
Definitely difficult, but very important. I think the Bucs do it by looking for some basic traits like team captains and production, but also by interviews and and lot of talking with coaches and other players. Even then they obviously have misses, but at least they are trying to narrow the scope of the misses by looking beyond just measurables. Kudos to them.
Licht says "it was about five years ago." That is probably just a rough recollection, but it is interesting because of Devin White. Devin White's primary issue is/was his character and specifically that he does NOT love football. Lots of physical skills, but not the kind of guy Licht is focused on now. ironically, Bruce Arians specifically said that White was the right pick because he loved football. Maybe White was the turning point, but he was playing well in 2020 season, obviously, so maybe not.
More recently, the Bucs sort of questioned McMillan's character a bit early last season. He responded well, but then they went big at WR this draft. Imperfect process for sure. Either way though the picks this year seem to suggest they have an actual method and are sticking with it.
I wouldn't say its difficult at all, once you get to that level you realize who shares the same passion and really loves the game vs the money, who wants to go to work everyday, practically obsession. Its the guys that beyond highly motivated they see this game as life and death obviously its not, but when you hear tom brady, LT, Will Campbell, Brian Dawkins "imma take his soul (takeo)Spikes" talk about dying to get the job done those guys are psychos but you need those psychos to have that edge, to make dominating inevitable.
Eventually you get money and you have more free time and people admire you once you make it there, but can you continue to be that psycho, that savage that had no money, no admirers, but having just the game.
You can also see it in the film who are smart/cerebral players are but then have a bit of psycho in them, guys who lay it all on the line thats the right mix. But these guys are good guys off the field as well, I think of Suh being a good example.
Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war