FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• NO BUCS’ BEST BETS THIS YEAR: The COVID-19 pandemic has not only negatively affected businesses like PewterReport.com across the country, but also affected with our ability to accurately hit on some Bucs’ Best Bets during our draft coverage. The reason?

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: LSU athletics

Very few pro days due to the COVID-19 quarantine. The pro days are a great source of intel for PewterReport.com where we tap into our national contacts across the country to get info on which players the Bucs might be targeting.

After hitting on several Bucs’ Best Bets like inside linebacker Devin White, cornerback Jamel Dean, defensive tackle Vita Vea, offensive lineman Alex Cappa and wide receiver Chris Godwin over the past three years, we missed on correctly identifying one this year. Oh, well. There’s always next year when things get back to normal – hopefully.

• BUCS FLOOD THE RB POSITION: While Tampa Bay didn’t flood the offensive line, as I expected, the team did flood the running back position with the selection of Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the third round and the selection of Louisiana’s Raymond Calais in the seventh round. Bucs general manager Jason Licht has now drafted three running backs in the last three years, including the selection of Ronald Jones III in the second round in 2018.

Bucs RB Raymond Calais – Photo courtesy of College Pressbox

Yet Jones, who is just 22 years old, is the most experienced running back on the roster as he enters his third season in the NFL and first full year as the starter in Tampa Bay. Will the Bucs sign a veteran running back like Carlos Hyde, Devonta Freeman or Chris Thompson to help bring some experience to the position? It doesn’t sound like it.

“I don’t know that we need one, but that’s something we’ll probably end up talking about because we are always talking about whether it makes sense to add a guy to our room or are we confident with it?” said Bucs director of player personnel John Spytek. “We get to spend a lot more time around guys like RoJo and Dare [Ogunbowale] than guys like you [in the media] are allotted to. I’m not saying we know more or that we’re the smartest guys in the room, but there is a reason why we do things. We’re not just going to add a vet just to add a vet. At some point you have to roll with the guys you have. At some point you have to bet on the guys you already have in the building.”

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• WINSTON HEADS TO RIVAL SAINTS: Former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston, a five-year starter from 2015-19, signed a one-year deal with NFC South rival New Orleans for a meager $1.1 million base salary to battle Taysom Hill for the right to back up Drew Brees this year. That’s a far cry from the $20.92 million Winston made last year in his fifth-year option in Tampa Bay.

Here are a couple of relevant Winston tweets that hit Twitter this week as he made his way from Tampa Bay to the Big Easy.

Jameis Winston on learning:

“Being a quarterback, you have to be a student of the game, so now I actually get a chance to dive into that more. I actually have a Hall of Fame quarterback that I’m learning from opposed to trying to learn by myself, or use Google.”

— Amie Just (@Amie_Just) April 29, 2020

Wow. So is the implication that Dirk Koetter, Todd Monken, Mike Bajakian, Bruce Arians, Byron Leftwich and Clyde Christensen didn’t teach Winston in his five years with the Buccaneers? He did it all on his own, or used Google to learn how to play quarterback at the NFL level? I like Winston and respect him as a player and a person, but that comment was a slap in the face to all of his former coaches if you ask me.

Jameis Winston has completed 10 career passes to Saints players.

Taysom Hill has completed 7.

— Master (@MasterTes) April 26, 2020

That’s not a dig, Winston supporters. That’s a fact. If Winston doesn’t beat out Hill for the No. 2 quarterback job in New Orleans this year, as Teddy Bridgewater did last year, his NFL stock will continue to plummet.

As The Athletic’s Greg Auman points out, Winston leaves Tampa Bay as the team’s most prolific passer, but it’s a stunning fall from grace from a player that led the league with 5,109 passing yards and was second in the NFL with 33 touchdown passes to go to the Saints to possibly be the third quarterback.

Jameis Winston’s rank in Bucs history for career records:
Passing yards: 19,737 (1st)
Passing TDs: 121 (1st)
QB wins as starter: 28 (3rd)
QB career starts: 70 (3rd)
Passing INTs: 88 (2nd)
QB rating: 86.9 (2nd – min 20 starts) https://t.co/le91fyEcYq

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) April 27, 2020

What’s even more humbling is that Winston is on track to make less this year than Bucs backup quarterbacks Ryan Griffin ($1.75 million) and Blaine Gabbert ($1,187,500) in 2020.

• BIG YEAR FOR BUCS’ BIG TEN SCOUT: Tampa Bay’s first five selections in the 2020 NFL Draft had all played in the Big Ten conference. Iowa right tackle Tristan Wirfs was the Bucs’ first-round pick, Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. was selected in the second-round and running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, even though he was from Vanderbilt, he played his first two years at Illinois. The Bucs’ fourth selection came in the fifth round with Minnesota wide receiver Tyler Johnson, followed by Nebraska defensive tackle Khalil Davis.

Bucs director of college scouting Mike Biehl – Photo by: Scott Reynolds/PR

So who is the Bucs’ Big Ten scout responsible for doing a lot of the work on the majority of this year’s draft class?

“Antwon Murray – he’s actually a local guy from Lakeland,” said Bucs director of college scouting Mike Biehl. “He played at Boise State (defensive back from 2007-11) and came on with us four years ago. He obviously had a big year.”

• BUY NEW BUCS GEAR – AND SUPPORT PEWTER REPORT! The Bucs unveiled new, improved uniforms, which are a throwback to the Super Bowl era look, and have been a huge hit with the Tampa Bay fan base. Personally, I love the all-pewter look.

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• A POST-DRAFT PEWTER NATION PODCAST: Pewter Reporters Mark Cook, Matt Matera, Taylor Jenkins and yours truly recorded a post-draft episode of the Pewter Nation Podcast on Wednesday, April 28 where we discussed the Bucs’ 2020 draft class and also about Jameis Winston landing with the NFC South rival New Orleans Saints. Make sure to give this one a listen!

Pewter Nation Podcast – Episode 190: Bucs Draft Recap; Winston A Saint

There is no better time to listen to a new Pewter Nation Podcast, which is presented by Chris Garrido of Westshore Financial, than right now or early Saturday morning during your workout or while running errands. The next Pewter Nation Podcast will be recorded next week. Stay tuned!

The popularity of the Pewter Nation Podcast continues to grow. In addition to listening to the Pewter Nation Podcasts on PewterReport.com you can also subscribe to the free podcasts at PodBean by clicking here and on SoundCloud by clicking here. And of course the Pewter Nation Podcast is also available on iTunes. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode.

• PFF LOVES THE BUCS’ 2020 DRAFT: Several media outlets have given Tampa Bay’s 2020 draft rave reviews and positive grades, including Pro Football Focus, which gave the Bucs an A-minus for their draft haul. According to PFF, the Bucs drafted three players ranked on their Top 50 Big Board, including Minnesota wide receiver Tyler Johnson. Six out of the seven Bucs draft picks were among PFF’s Top 250 players.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Draft, PFF Big Board rankings

9. Tristan Wirfs OT
38. Antoine Winfield Jr. S
146. Ke’Shawn Vaughn RB
48. Tyler Johnson WR
239. Khalil Davis DT
NR: Chappelle Russell LB
205. Raymond Calais RB

Grade: A- pic.twitter.com/0FLf5dWPgd

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) April 27, 2020

PFF’s Mike Renner offers up his analysis on Tampa Bay’s first-round pick, Iowa right tackle Tristan Wirfs, in this 2020 NFL Draft Profile video. Check it out.

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