TAMPA, Fla. — Here is a look at the seven new Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
I won’t get into the undrafted free agents, but general manager Jason Licht says he believes all of these guys can make the roster, especially when you consider special teams.
Let’s go through the picks and see how Tampa did starting with its first-round selection in Joe Tryon.
This guy is a physical specimen at 6-foot-5 weighing 260 pounds. He is built like Jason Pierre-Paul and will most likely replace the USF product after the season. If he didn’t opt out, he might have been taken higher. It is certainly a position of need so I’m giving this an A.
Now for the sexiest pick of the group Kyle Trask. This is a bit complicated for me. On one hand, I get it. Brady isn’t getting any younger and Ryan Griffin plus Blaine Gabbert equal career backups. So, I have no problems going quarterback, however, there are still question marks about how good Trask can be at the next level. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians vehemently disagrees on any doubts about his arm strength.
"If you watch that Georgia game and that comeback, throwing those balls – he throws dimes down the sideline," Arians said. "I have no question [about his arm strength]. He can make every throw that we want."
I’m giving it a B for believe in Bruce and Brady to help him blossom as a backup.
These next two picks I’m big fans of starting with Robert Hainsey out of Notre Dame. He actually played two years of high school at the IMG Academy. I think he’s a super safe pick. He can play anywhere on the offensive line and I would be shocked if he doesn’t get a consistent starting gig at some point in his Bucs career. Grade: A
Jaelon Darden is such a fun guy to watch.
Bruce Arians said he reminded him of Emmanuel Sanders. Not that the Bucs are desperate for receiving options, but they are in need of speed. Despite his small stature, this guy is super quick. He also runs beautiful routes. I don’t care what level of competition you’re playing, when you score 31 touchdowns in 21 games – eyes are going to widen. At the very least he should help on punt returns.
Grade: A
I’m not going to go into the last three picks too much. K.J. Britt, Chris Wilcox and Grant Stuard are all pieces brought in to help special teams, which for Arians and company – is an immediate need. No letter grade here, but I certainly have zero complaints about the picks.
Overall, I think this was an A- draft. My only knock is I don’t know the ceiling for this group, but that’s OK. This draft was about grabbing depth and developing raw talent, and that’s what we’re looking at.
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