TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been on a youth movement since Tom Brady’s retirement, going from the oldest NFL roster by average age in 2022 to the youngest entering the 2023 season. This movement comes with high expectations for young players, including this year’s draft class.
The Bucs are hoping this current group of rookies will be key contributors this fall as Tampa Bay plays a tough schedule, featuring all four teams that competed in last season’s conference championship games.
After mandatory minicamp this week, they’ve made a good impression on the coaching staff.
“It’s one of the smarter draft classes, as far as catching onto the scheme, that we’ve had,” head coach Todd Bowles said after Thursday’s practice.
First-round selection Graham Barton is likely to see the most action out of this year’s rookies. The former Duke Blue Devil has taken plenty of first-team reps at center, working to earn respect and gain trust from his offensive teammates.
“When I’m in the huddle, [I] try to be assertive, knowing the offense so when we get up to the line of scrimmage and there’s a confusing look or something, I’m the one who knows the answers,” Barton said.
“I think he’s learned a lot, I think he’s eager to get in pads and really show what he can do physically. He’s a smart guy,” Bowles said.
To better understand the offense, Barton consistently goes over his notes from meetings. He finds that to be his best method of studying the depth and detail of offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s playbook.
One of his fellow rookies goes the extra mile. Running back Bucky Irving had backup quarterback Kyle Trask record an audiotape of play calls for him to listen back to.
“[I’ve been] pretty much just locking in every night, going over my plays, having the voice audio and hearing the plays, talking through what I’ve got and being able to come out here and execute it,” he said.
The Bucs are now on summer break and will take the next few weeks off. They will reunite at the AdventHealth Training Center for training camp in late July.