The Bucs’ biggest recent draft mistake was the selection of center Graham Barton in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Don’t get me wrong—Barton has the potential to be a solid offensive lineman for years to come. However, that doesn’t justify selecting him where we did, especially considering the circumstances of that draft year. As former Bucs coach Bruce Arians once said, “You draft for need, you get fired. Draft the best player.”
Was Barton truly the best player available, or did we draft him out of a mistaken sense of need? I argue it was the latter. I don’t believe center was as pressing a need as many in the media, fans, and even some inside One Buc Place suggested. Robert Hainsey has proven to be a capable center, showcasing his skills last year as the starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he anchored an offensive line leading to the 11th-best offense in the NFL.
Jags’ Robert Hainsey
Last season, Barton did some commendable things, notably filling in for the injured Tristan Wirfs at left tackle during the early part of the 2025 season. Not every center can make that adjustment, but it raises the question: is Barton a true center? If not, why are we playing him at that position?
I doubt we would have seen much difference if Hainsey had been the Bucs’ center for the past two seasons. In fact, he might have performed even better. Hainsey was a two-time captain at Notre Dame, much like Barton at Duke, and at 27 years old, he was entering his prime.
If I had to choose between the two to start a team today, I’d select Barton for his youth—he’s only 23. But that doesn’t justify drafting him where we did. We took him in the first round with the 26th overall pick. A center selected in the first round, needs to quickly accumulate Pro Bowl seasons. Quality centers can often be found in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th rounds, and many long-term starters have emerged from those later rounds.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
You might wonder who was available with that 26th pick. Some of the names taken shortly after Barton included DT Jer’Zhan Newton, DT Braden Fiske, CB Cooper DeJean, and CB Renardo Green—all productive players at positions where we needed help. I’d take any one of them, along with Hainsey, on our roster right now.
Let’s consider another angle: what if we had been willing to pursue someone high on my board instead of simply picking at #26? General Manager Jason Licht has been hesitant to move up in the first round over the last five years, opting for players who fall to our pick. While that can be a safe strategy, when a top-10 talent drops close enough to warrant consideration, a willingness to trade up is essential. CB Quinyon Mitchell fell to the 22nd pick, and Edge Chop Robinson to the 21st—both within range to move up if the other team was open to it. But my ideal move would have been to trade up for the 18th or 19th pick to grab Jared Verse, my top Edge player in the draft. I consistently maintained during that draft season that if he fell below 15, we had to go after him. That opportunity arose, yet we did nothing, despite Edge, like every year for the last 4 years, was our biggest need. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice a few quality players to secure difference-makers.
Rams’ Jared Verse
In 2024, we had four draft picks in the first three rounds (92 picks). One of those was 2nd rounder Chris Braswell. This illustrates how poor decisions can lead to more poor choices. By selecting a center in the first round, we felt compelled to address our edge issue with our next pick. However, second-round Edge players often struggle to produce early in their careers, especially as you move further from the top 15 picks. Centers, on the other hand, typically do not have the same production drop-off.
We can’t say for certain how the Bengals or Rams would have responded to a trade proposal from us, but the Bengals ended up selecting OT Amarium Mims—a pick that seemed more like a necessity than a strategic choice. That quality could have been found at the 26th pick. The Rams ended up selecting Verse, but given their many needs that offseason, perhaps they stumbled into a good pick. We’ll never truly know.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Every pick is crucial. Every missed first-round pick can have long-lasting repercussions. If missed, you may find yourself repeatedly drafting for that position, or you could lose a player who doesn’t sign a second contract, depriving you of essential building blocks. It’s critical to hit on first-round selections. If we had taken Barton or even Jackson Powers-Johnson in the second round, I wouldn’t have minded at all. However, spending a first-round pick on a center who may or may not be playing out of position has not been a win for the Bucs thus far. Had we secured Verse, we wouldn’t be discussing the need to trade for a Maxx Crosby or sign a pricey free agent like Trey Hendrickson. Every pick carries weight and implications.
Hindsight is always 20/20. At the time center was a massive need and I and most people were perfectly good with the pick.
There was someone in Bakers lap very often that year with Hainsey
Interesting article than for posting
So, I am going to try to frame the parameters you lay out:
Every pick is crucial. Every missed first-round pick can have long-lasting repercussions. If missed, you may find yourself repeatedly drafting for that position, or you could lose a player who doesn’t sign a second contract, depriving you of essential building blocks. It’s critical to hit on first-round selections. If we had taken Barton or even Jackson Powers-Johnson in the second round, I wouldn’t have minded at all. However, spending a first-round pick on a center who may or may not be playing out of position has not been a win for the Bucs thus far. Had we secured Verse, we wouldn’t be discussing the need to trade for a Maxx Crosby or sign a pricey free agent like Trey Hendrickson. Every pick carries weight and implications.
Missed first-round picks can have long lasting repercussions. AGREE
Barton is NOT a missed first round pick YET though because "Barton has the potential to be a solid offensive lineman for years to come.."
BUT "that doesn’t justify selecting him where we did," so the point is we could have done something else. AGREE
And that something else would have been trading up for Verse, in part because that position was a greater NEED and Verse is quite a player
So, in your scenario what does the trade up for Verse cost the Bucs? We swap 1st and give them our 3rd? The Tykee Smith pick? and we take Barton in the 2nd if he is there, but if not we forgo a C in the draft and maybe find one in FA?
Interesting. Definitely hard to say what is right now, even with the benefit if hindsight, so extra tough then.
Robert Hainsey has proven to be a capable center, showcasing his skills last year as the starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he anchored an offensive line leading to the 11th-best offense in the NFL.
Hainsey was better than most people around here gave him credit for. But I think it’s a bit much to say he “anchored” Jacksonville’s OL.
As we saw in 2024, Coen is pretty masterful in putting his OL in positions to succeed. Barton is a better player than Hainsey.
After Barton was getting quite a bit of hate on here, I keyed in on him the last four or five games. He was very, very good. His most ardent detractors weren’t able to back up their criticism with very many plays. He’s very athletic and excellent out in space. He’s definitely got things to work on, so we’ll see how he continues to develop. But he’s the least of the issues as a first pick over the last five years for this organization.
Barton played LT at the NFL level in a pinch. That tells me everything I need to know where his arrow is pointing and that is upwards.
But he’s the least of the issues as a first pick over the last five years for this organization.
A rare moment of agreement
Barton is going to be an average or above average center. It is what it is... Would love to be wrong and watch him crush it.
And tbf I was wrong another Goedeke who came on strong his third year...
So here's hoping.
This right here - agree 100%.Barton played LT at the NFL level in a pinch. That tells me everything I need to know where his arrow is pointing and that is upwards.
I think Barton is better suited as a Guard than a Center but I would not yet call his drafting a mistake - not by a long shot. The guy has talent. This whole team on the offensive side of the ball was a trainwreck after the first 6 games. I think that is more on coaching than anything Barton would have done.
Would anyone trade JPJ, Barton or Zabel for Hainsey? If the answer is no that is sufficient. Truthfully the Bucs have a Hainsey like player for a fraction of the cost which is Bredeson.
The idea is that the decline from a Barton to a Hainsey is less significant than the drop-off from a Verse to players like Anthony Nelson, Chris Braswell, or JTS.
I’m not claiming that Hainsey is a standout player, but he can contribute to a solid offensive line. You can’t disguise a weak edge, especially when there’s a lack of pressure.
And drafting a center in the first round is a luxury, when you have some many other needs. The decision has had an affect on the make up of the team and drafting decisions since.
The decision has had an affect on the make up of the team and drafting decisions since.
This is TRUE and the most interesting aspect of the point you're making.
As you just read Bowles suggest, drafting is about the intersection of ability (BPA) and need so many times when someone says "we could have draft 'X'" the reality is that we would never have done so because of a commitment to a player already on the roster. But, your argument is about an Edge player (obvious need) and includes the argument that not only did we draft Barton instead of hypothetically moving up to get Verse but then we took a 2nd round edge who looks to be a bust. I dont know that those two moves are linked necessarily, but the 2nd round pick was bad. And we do not have a dominant edge player. But, that is a problem - as Biggs correctly points out - that goes back beyond the Barton pick and Barton is ceretianly not a bust and actually seems to be a solid player, so maybe you're merging two things (Barton v Verse) that are slightly mismatched? Barton was a good pick. we still need an edge.
Drafting a center or interior OL is not a luxury anymore in round 1.
J. Scheider subscribed to that notion for years drafting interior OL in the late 3rd round and middle rounds for the Seahawks. He finally broke his "formula" and took Zabel round 1 and instantly the Hawks looked better along the OL. Bradford and Haynes have been mixed bags for the Hawks but if you have a guy that can anchor the middle as an alpha you take them without hesitation. Barton is the Bucs alpha and it showed why when he was forced to play LT and how vulnerable Mayfield was with trash up in his face as the bruises and bumps started to slow down Mayfield.
Also Verse isn't going to perform as well for the Bucs as the Rams because of different schemes and player support. Verse is surrounded with fantastic talent that helps him achieve his job and we saw a glimpse of that with Diaby having a competent player opposite of him in Reddick. If Diaby played for the Rams could he put up more sacks? If the answer is yes that means the Bucs need to improve their front seven more.
@alldaway - I don’t agree that Verse wouldn’t play as well for us (aside from occasionally having to drop into coverage). Him having Vea and Kancey in the middle would be huge. Diaby isn’t Verse. Mounting up pressures in a scheme that blitzes a high percentage is different than getting pressures playing in standard four man rush. Blitz packages can put an edge in a one on one with a tight end or even a running back. That’s different. Give me a Verse over an average interior offensive lineman any day.
At the time I prefered JPJ over Barton, and when JPJ started falling I was hoping that Licht might trade up to grab him so that Barton could transition to LG rather than C. Alas that didn't happen and here we are. I think Barton has a lot of upside still and can ultimately grow into a foundational piece of the OL in his third year. I had hoped it would happen last year, but given the amount of injuries to the OL and the musical chairs that was being played to start the season really stunted his growth as he didn't have what would be his first full ofseason to develop his technique at C seeing as Wirfs was out after offseason surgery. I don't feel that the Barton selection really set the team back, especially when looking back at the JTS and Logan Hall selections. I'd argue that those selections set the franchise back more so ( Even though Hall was a second round pick ) there were other more suitable choices available over him at the time. Again I'll blame the defensive staff, and their complete lack of development of both players over that 4 year period.