Bucs’ Best Bets: Tight End

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 1-3: Dayton TE Adam Trautman

It’s doubtful the Bucs will draft a tight end this year, and most likely won’t select one before Day 3. But for the purpose of the Bucs’ Best Bets exercise, if Tampa Bay were to draft a tight end on Day 2, Trautman would be a great choice. At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, Trautman has ideal size to both block at the line of scrimmage and as a move Y tight end off the line of scrimmage, in addition to being a viable target in the passing game. Some NFL Draft analysts expected Trautman’s 40-yard dash time of 4.8 to faster, but his three-cone drill time of 4.76 shows great quickness and agility, which aids him in getting open and creating separation from defenders.

Trautman totaled 178 receptions for 2,295 yards and 31 touchdowns in his Dayton career, and had 43 catches for 537 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore with 41 catches for 604 yards and nine TDs the next year. As a senior, Trautman exploded for 70 catches for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns, while averaging 13.1 yards per catch. That production has him regarded as the second- or third-best tight end in this draft, and a solid third- or fourth-round pick. What makes Trautman so appealing is the fact that he is such a willing and effective blocker in addition to being a weapon as a receiver. If the Bucs plan on moving on from O.J. Howard or Cam Brate via a trade in 2020, Trautman has the tools to develop into a starter sooner rather than later.

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 4-7: Georgia TE Charlie Woerner

If the Bucs select a tight end at all it would likely be late in the 2020 NFL Draft for a couple of reasons. First, the team doesn’t really have a need to add another tight end to a group that includes Howard, Brate, Anthony Auclair, Tanner Hudson, Codey McElroy and Jordan Leggett. Second, this is not a good group of talented tight ends in this year’s draft. The Bucs will likely add a tight end for training camp competition, but it likely won’t happen until after the draft with an undrafted free agent. But if Tampa Bay was going to draft a tight end late, Woerner might be a good choice.

The Bucs want to upgrade their running game and a tight end like Woerner could help in that area. Woerner was used as a blocking H-back and was also split out in the slot as a Y tight end to help block for Georgia’s perimeter run game. Woerner has blocked for the likes of Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift during his four years with the Bulldogs and has some room to add more size to his 6-foot-5, 244-pound frame. His 4.78 time in the 40-yard dash turned some heads at the NFL Scouting Combine, and he’s a competent receiver with 34 catches for 376 yards (11.1 avg.) with one TD in his Georgia career.