Monthly Archives: April 2020

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Riddle’s Rundown: Winfield Was A Steal In The Second Round

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On day 2 of the draft, most fans were begging for a RB, but GM Jason Licht was to busy noticing that Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was still on the board at the 13th pick in the second round. Licht wasted no time in drafting Winfield Jr., who many considered the best player on the board at the start of the second day. A few teams had him grading out as the best Safety in this draft, so now you understand why Licht didn’t go RB.

Winfield Jr. is a second-generation player. His father, Antoine Winfield Sr., was an elite cover 2 CB for the Vikings for many years, and it appears he has taught his son well. At 5’9″ and 203lbs, Winfield Jr. is short for a Safety, but he makes up for it with his speed 4.45fyd, athleticism, and his ball-hawking approach to the position. He played at Minnesota while in college and didn’t get as much coverage as an SEC player, but he still put up solid stats. In his 2019 season, he had 83 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 3 sacks, with 7 ints 1TD, and 2 FF.

Safety has been a weakness on this team for a long time, but Winfield Jr. looks like he can hold down a Safety position for a long time and was an absolute steal with the 13th pick in the 2nd round.

Players and Rumors

Tyler Johnson: 5th Round Gem?

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Now that the Draft is in the books, let’s focus on the 161st pick: University of Minnesota wideout, Tyler Johnson. Immediately after the Bucs named their selection, Bucs fans were quite impressed with the selection. It’s hard to argue when your team picks up the player who owns school records in receiving yards (3,305), 100-yard games (16), and touchdown receptions (33). I’ll admit I didn’t know much about this guy when the pick was made, but I can say I am happy with this type of pick especially when you open his draft profile on the Buccaneers Mobile App, the first words you read are “Contested-catch warrior“. When you read about Johnson, you see descriptions such as “rebound champ“, including “impressive knowledge of body control to keep defenders away from the football” it’s easy to see why Jason Licht and Bruce Arians did exactly what they did last year and “took the best player available” and that seems to be a good thing for the tandem.

With Perriman gone, can Johnson be a viable replacement?

When the Bucs signed Breshad Perriman last season, it was solely to help with the over the top speed that was being lost due to the departure of diva wideout DeSean Jackson. Perriman had a shaky first half of the season, causing many to call for the team to get rid of the wideout, but by end of the season, many were singing praises of the 7th year receiver. Fast forward: Perriman has signed a deal with the Jets, but the Bucs still have a room full of receivers. Drafting Johnson doesn’t automatically mean he will be the third receiver on the depth, but it definitely puts players, such as Scotty Miller and Justin Watson, on the hot seat (the first needing to be on the edge of his). Johnson is the type of wide-out that can help the Bucs on the outside and inside as he played all 3 while in college.

Last year, Miller spent much of last season hurt, and when he was on the field, he seemed to struggle in his first season while only making a few splash plays. Watson, who is in going in his 3rd season and has yet to truly make much of an impact when given the opportunity. Both Miller and Watson have the capability to be a vital asset with Tom Brady, as the 43-year-old quarterback has found previous success with his check-down receivers.

It’ll be interesting to see how things progress if OTA’s and Training Camps are able to happen, especially if the NFL teams are able to roll out virtual training. Until then, check out the Bucs App to learn more about Tyler Johnson and other draft picks. Stay tuned to Bucs Life Media for up-to-date coverage and breaking news of your Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Fan Feature

Tampa Comes Away With A Few Gems

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Getting the negatives behind us

I’m going to get the negatives out of the way right away and move on to what I feel were positives in the Buccaneers’ latest Draft. 

To me, this draft was about settling four positions of need: Offensive Tackle, Running Back, Safety, and Quarterback. My feeling is that they desperately needed to go out and get another RB1 to pair with Jones as a big one-two punch. This would also provide insurance in case Jones were to go down injured. You still would have a capable force worthy of respect at the position, able to do many of the same things that made Jones the starter. At quarterback, with this being such a deep year for them, the Bucs could have picked one up late and let the young man learn under the G.O.A.T. for two seasons. Then post Brady in Tampa wouldn’t be such a worry point at quarterback. Instead, they picked up a good blocking back that can catch in Ke’shawn Vaughn out of Vanderbilt. He is a “one move and done” back that had very few runs over twenty yards last year at Vandy. Not to mention, he is almost as slow as Peyton Barber was at a 4.52 40 at the combine. All this with better, faster, more agile backs still on the board. I’m sorry, but he’s going to have to show me what made him so special to our coach and front office to reach for him in the third round. No quarterback was drafted, with Anthony Gordon still there in the 7th round. The Bucs passed.

Now, onto the positives/gems of our draft

One bright shining selection was the one at the #13 spot obtained through the Niners, allowing us to ensure the selection of Tristan Wirfs of Iowa. It’s been said that the Dolphins were trying to move up to that spot to get Wirfs out from under us. I guess the Dolphins forgot John Lynch was a Buccaneer. Lynch reportedly let it slip to the Bucs; the Dolphins intentions and Licht quickly brokered a deal to prevent it. Let’s hope he’s all they say he is and justifies the extra draft pick it took to get him. One thing I will say is that Wirfs is a beast. He’s incredibly strong up top and all over, often manhandling lesser men like dolls. He may or may not be able to do the same thing in the NFL. The point is: He’s very strong, having been a wrestler in college. Draft Grade A-

Safety Winfield Jr. plays bigger than his size

Then in the second round, instead of going running back with Cam Akers or Dillon out of B.C., the Bucs went Safety. It’s hard for me to stay mad at the pick. They got a top two or three player at the position, maybe even better than that. Time will tell. Antoine Winfield Jr. out of the University of Minnesota is a smaller sized Safety, but he makes up for it in pure ball skills and competitive nature. He’s going to be a gamer if he can stay healthy. The team is definitely expecting big things from him, and the thought is that he will deliver. Draft Grade B+

Bucs can’t resist Tyler Johnson still on the board in the fifth

Having no fourth-round picks, as they gave them up for Gronkowski and moving up to get Wirfs, the Bucs took a very talented receiver in Tyler Johnson also out of the University of Minnesota. Having put together an outstanding senior campaign, Johnson finished with 86 receptions, 1,318 yards, and 13 touchdowns in 13 starts. He was tied for seventh in the nation at the position. The fact that he was still there in the fifth round must have made the Bucs giddy. Not that they really needed another great receiver at this time. But the fact that he was still there so late, the Bucs couldn’t ignore him. If for no other reason than the value of the selection, so late in the draft, the Bucs earn a Draft Grade of A for Tyler.

wrapping up

So those are the high points of our draft. This group isn’t going to challenge last year in terms of overall talent, but they should be able to help us get better, and maybe even over the hump and dare, I say into a Super-Bowl? Go Bucs!!

Buccaneers

Deez 2020 Draft Day 3 Review

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THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

The 2020 NFL Draft has come to an end, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can start looking towards the new season (if we even have one). I’m sure that none of you expected this draft to happen the way it did, but it’s over now, so let’s review how Day 3 went for our home team.

The Bucs entered Day 3 after hitting home runs with their first and second-round picks and addressing a BIG need in the third. Unfortunately, they had no fourth-round picks after trading one away for new tight end Rob Gronkowski and the other away to move up one spot in the first round. So, their first pick on Saturday came at #161 in the fifth round with the three more picks following that being the 194th in the sixth, the 241st in the seventh, and the 245th in the seventh. Some people were anticipating some kind of trade, whether it involved OJ Howard or not, up into the fourth round, but it never happened. Instead, the Bucs rolled with their four picks they started the day with.

ROUND 5

Image Credits: John Autey | John Autey photography

Day 3, for the Bucs, started out with a BANG! After losing Breshad Perriman in free agency, the Bucs had a need to fill that third receiver position, and boy did they. They got lucky once when PFF’s highest-rated receiver in the FBS fell to them with that 161st pick. I had the Bucs taking Minnesota’s star receiver Tyler Johnson in the fourth round, so to get him in the fifth was a gift. At 6’2″/205lbs, he’s a Chris Godwin clone with decent speed and great hands. He’s a route technician and very dangerous after the catch. Now, who does that sound like? This guy should step in right away and compete for that #3 WR with Scotty Miller. In his final two years in Minnesota, he finished with 164 catches for 2,487 yards and 33 touchdowns, averaging over 15 yards per. TheDraftNetwork.com had him ranked as their 15th best wide receiver in this draft, and he was the 21st wide receiver off the board. They had him ranked 81st out of all the players in the draft, and he was the 161st player off the board. He was an absolute steal in the fifth round!

ROUND 6

Image Credits: Eric Francis | Eric Francis Photography

The Bucs had one more position that really needed to be addressed in this draft, which was a defensive tackle. Even though they re-signed Ndamukong Suh and Rakeem Nunez-Roches this off-season, they lost Beau Allen to the Patriots in free agency. They solved that issue when Nebraska’s Khalil Davis fell to them with their 194th pick in the sixth round. At 6’2″/305lbs, he ran a blazing 4.75 forty and put up 32 reps of 225lbs at the NFL Combine. In his last two years at Nebraska, he played 23 games finishing with 85 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks. What he lacks in length, he makes up for in power, quickness, and hustle. While he may not end up as the eventual replacement for Suh, but I think he’ll be a solid, productive addition to the d-line rotation. According to TheDraftNetwork.com, he was the 15th ranked interior defensive lineman in the draft. He was the 22nd interior defensive lineman off the board and the 194th player picked. I feel like the Bucs got another steal here with Davis.

ROUND 7

Buccaneers

Deez 2020 Draft Day 2 Review

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JUST TRUST THE PROCESS!

That’s what I had to keep telling myself all night. Now that I’m over the shock of these Day 2 picks, I thought that I would sit down and write a rational review of the Buccaneers’ decisions for the second and third rounds.

The Bucs began this second day with the 45th and 76th picks of the draft, and that’s where they stayed. No trade-ups. No OJ Howard trade. Just their original second and third-round picks. Most people, including yours truly, assumed that their second-round pick would be a running back. It was their second-biggest need behind the right tackle, in my opinion. To a lot of fans surprise, two of the top five running backs in this draft were still on the board when the Bucs went on the clock with the 45th pick. They had their choice between Ohio State’s KJ Dobbins or Florida State’s Cam Akers. So who did they go with?

A Safety.

Instead of drafting for need, Jason Licht decided to go with the best player available. That player was Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr. That’s right, folks. Despite having Jordan Whitehead, Mike Edwards, Andrew Adams, Justin Evans, Deiondre’ Hall, and D’Cota Dixon already on the roster, they chose to add another safety with their second-round pick.

Do I sound bitter? I’m not.

I’ll admit, I liked the player but HATED the pick initially. I wanted a running back and was stoked to see those two guys sitting there when the Bucs pick came up. It was a no brainer pick to me. With Peyton Barber gone, the Bucs running back room is suddenly pretty thin. Sure, they have Ronald Jones II, who drastically improved from year one to year two. But behind him is NOTHING. They still have kick returner TJ Logan and third-down back Dare Ogunbowale. They also added an undrafted guy named Aca’Cedric Ware. But that’s it. At this point, if Jones gets hurt this season, they’re screwed.

But I get the pick.

Winfield Jr. should’ve been one of the first safeties off the board in the first round, but maybe he slipped into the middle of the second round because of his size. At 5’10″/195lbs, he’s not a big safety. But the dude can play football. He was referred to as a “dog that hunts” by one of the guys at TheDraftNetwork.com because of his knack for ALWAYS being around the football. He’s got instincts. He’s a ballhawk. He’s a big hitter. He can play the run. He can play in coverage. He can play up, on the line, or he can play deep. He’s literally everything you could want in a versatile safety. He will likely be the Bucs new starting free safety with Jordan Whitehead as their strong safety.

This pick told me two things.

First, the Bucs didn’t view running back as the big position of need that almost everyone else thought it was. They are apparently happy hitching their wagon to RoJo and riding him until the wheels fall off. That’s fine by me. I thought they should’ve done that last year instead of playing musical backs between him and Barber every series. It also told me that they could be looking for a veteran free agent running back sometime after the draft. There’s quite a few still out there that would be relatively inexpensive options like Carlos Hyde, Lamar Miller, or Devonta Freeman. There’s still a chance they add another back on Day 3 like Miami’s DeeJay Dallas, Florida’s Lamical Perine, or Baylor’s JaMycal Hasty, but I’m not counting on it.

The second thing that this pick told me is that the Buccaneers could be preparing to move on from the oft-injured Justin Evans. He’s only played in 24 games over three seasons with the Bucs, including missing the entire 2019 season. He’s coming off of surgeries on BOTH feet, and it’s been up in the air on whether he would even return to football. Jason Licht said that they still have hope that Evans will be able to come back and compete for a spot in training camp. But this pick looks like an insurance policy just in case he doesn’t.

The Bucs did address their running back need in the third round when they took Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn with their 76th pick. Yeah, I know. Who? This pick was a little bit of a surprise to me, because Utah’s Zack Moss was still available and he was ranked much higher than Vaughn on almost everyone’s draft board. Except for the Bucs apparently. Rumor is that Tampa was interested in Memphis RB/WR Antonio Gibson, but the Redskins grabbed him at the start of the third round with their 66th pick. Now the Bucs needed to find another option for their new third-down back, and Vaughn was it. If you compare their numbers, Vaughn has very similar statistics to Zack Moss, except he did it in the SEC Conference.

Moss Career Stats: 712 att, 4,067 ru yds, 5.7 ypc, 38 tds, 66 rec, 685 rec yds, 10.4 ypc, 3 rec tds

Vaughn Career Stats: 572 att, 3,296 ru yds, 5.8 ypc, 30 ru tds, 66 rec, 648 rec yds, 9.8 ypc, 3 rec tds

At 5’10″/205lbs, he’s a good size back with home run speed. He’s a physical runner with an aggressive attitude. He’s an instinctual and decisive runner with good vision. He was productive as a pass-catcher out of the backfield, especially on screens and swing passes. From what I see, he fits as the Bucs new third-down back, but they still need to add another back with some power to their backfield, whether it’s on Day 3 or in free agency.

In conclusion, Day 2 was full of surprises, but the Bucs came out of it with a first-round talent safety in the middle of the second round, AND they got the third-down back they desperately needed. It was another good day for Tampa Bay.

Day 3 will no doubt bring some more surprises to some of us Bucs fans. The Bucs are without a fourth-round pick after trading BOTH of them away in the Rob Gronkowski trade and the Day 1 trade with the Niners. So their first pick on Saturday, won’t be until the 161st pick of the fifth round. That is unless they find a way to trade up. Their other three picks are the 194th pick of the sixth and the 241st and 245th picks of the seventh round.

As far as potential Day 3 targets…I have no idea what the Bucs are thinking. But I have my favorites. They could be looking for a new wide receiver to replace Breshad Perriman so Minnesota’s Tyler Johnson could be a nice option if he’s still there in the fifth round. They could stand to add some more depth to the d-line and there are plenty of decent players available like North Carolina’s Jason Strowbridge, Utah’s Leki Fotu, LSU’s Rashard Lawrence, or Michigan State’s Raequan Williams. Maybe they’ll add some depth to the o-line with a guy like Clemson’s John Simpson, Auburn’s Prince Tega Wanogho, St. John’s Ben Bartch, Washington’s Nick Harris, Charlotte’s Cameron Clarke or Kentucky’s Logan Stenberg. Adding some depth at inside linebacker wouldn’t be a bad idea with someone like Miami’s Shaquille Quarterman or Michigan State’s Joe Bachie. After what happened on Day 2, I really don’t have a clue what the Bucs might do.

Another interesting sidenote from Day 2 has to do with Bucs tight end, O.J. Howard. After Tampa traded for Gronkowski, there were rumors that Howard would be on the trading block. There was some speculation that they would use him to either move up in the first round or gain another pick on Day 2. Obviously, that didn’t happen. So, as of right now anyway, it appears as though Howard will remain a Buc for the 2020 season. The Bucs will go into this year with a tight end room consisting of Gronk, Howard, Cam Brate, Antony Auclair, Tanner Hudson, Jordan Leggett, and Cody McElroy. This group is LOADED.

So just to recap the first three rounds, the Bucs lucked out with one of the best offensive tackles in this draft when they had Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs fall to their 14th pick. They lucked out again with one of the best safeties in this draft when Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield Jr fell to them at their 45th pick. And they got a new third-down back with their 76th pick of the third round in Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn. All in all, it’s been a highly productive weekend so far for Tampa Bay, and I can’t wait to see what Day 3 has in store.

Until then, as always, GO BUCS!!!

Fan Feature

Opinion Editorial: When “Winning Now” is losing later

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Devils Advocate

Allow me to play devils advocate for a while. With all the excitement of the Patriots Annex South in Tampa, added to an extremely talented returning defense. The talk is clearly centered on the Win Now style of Champion building. It seems with every move made by One Buc, it is made even more clear, that is the focus. We got two seasons at best with Brady and Gronk, and the feeling is obviously get it done within those two years. Preferrably year one and a home team birth in the Super-Bowl for an NFL First.

Winning now line of thought

I get it, any team only has so many chances, so many years with the players that are assembled to get it done. Those chances can slip right through your fingers and leave you clutching air. I believe though that the Bucs could have done both. That is, build to win now, and have an eye looking out for the future too. Nothing really is much more pitiful than what a team can look like after a quick build up for a Sports title run. The Jettesoning of players and talent after the title can leave yesterdays champion looking like next seasons basement dweller. We have seen it before, the Marlins come to mind. I will next list a few of the things that could have been done differently so as to ease our transition to post Brady Buccaneer Football.

My reasoning and thinking on the situation

First off I will acknowledge that bringing Gronk in under his current Patriots price tag of ten million, for one year. May have been done as to be a draw to season ticket holders as much as it was to bring in a five time pro-bowler/close friend and favorite target of our new quarterback. One wonders with all the injury problems Gronk has had, how much return on the field, are the Bucs going to get for their ten cool ones invested. After all they already have Cam Brate, and yet to emerge, superstar in waiting O.J. Howard.  Couldn’t Brady have been able to get the ball to one or both of those current tight ends on the roster?

Having one eye to the future in this draft

To me the biggest mistakes with the future in mind though were made in the draft. Through the re-signing of our own defensive free agents, as well as the Patriot Pair, our chances at making the playoffs and beyond have gone way, way up. Here’s how I’m thinking the draft should have been handled. First round you go get your big offensive tackle (this they did) in Wirfs. Then in the second round you get the absolute best running back available. Ronald Jones and our running game needed another RB1 back in the stable. I don’t care how you look at it, Ke’shawn Vaughn out of Vanderbilt is not an RB1 any more than Peyton Barber was. Other than Jones the position has been neglected for several years. He was a reach to begin with in the third round. He was clearly better suited to the fourth round and beyond. He would make a very good RB3, to give Jones a  breather at points during games, and as a  receiving threat on third downs. This is not to say that Antoine Winifield Jr. a safety out of the University of Minnesota is not a fabulously talented player, or isn’t a value choice in the second round. My problem is that we needed a RB1 more than we needed a safety in that spot. The Bucs added a speed back in the 7th round, Raymond Calais from Louisiana Lafayette. He only 5’8″ and his knock is he doesn’t block. So good luck with that in Arians offense.

Seemingly injuries to key players aren’t being planned for

If Winifield Jr. goes down hurt this season, our defense is still a top 3-4 defense. If Ronald Jones goes down injured this season, we’re in big trouble. Our offense would be limited in it’s overall scope quite a bit. Vaughn had very few runs of twenty yards or more last season in Nashville. He’s not that kind of back. He’s not a game changing, break your back runner. He’s a one move and done back that is just barely faster than Peyton Barber was. Simply, we needed a stronger running back. Cam Akers, and A.J. Dillon were both there when the Bucs selected Winifield Jr. . Even in the third round when we selected Vaughn. L. Perine of UF and DeeJay Dallas of the Canes, were better selections, and were there. So you Bucs fans better hope Jones stays healthy all season this year, and next year, and the one after that. Heaven forbid what if Mr. Brady gets hurt? Will we have any player at all that can step in and continue the charge with a reasonable dropoff in talent?If he goes down, as things stand now, everything else they have done is in very serious jeapordy if that occurs. I don’t understand that way of thinking in the least.Vaughn does not fit our needs at the position, and leaves us vulnerable from injury to Jones. Although not as devistating as a serious Brady injury. It’s something that so far isn’t being addressed with any draft selections. Very poor choice for how I believe they should have been thinking.

Brady obviously is a huge key to all the Bucs are trying to do

My final thought may be the most important one. The team is in a very unique, and valuable position with Tom Brady here for two seasons. The Bucs have a chance to have a rookie quarterback sit and learn from the greatest of all time. How special is that? There is a quarterback out there, and could have been had in the fourth round. A quarterback that I believe by his output and play at Washington State isn’t that far off of the number one overall selection Joe Burrow. Anthony Gordon last season was ahead of Burrow in most passing categories  until Burrow made his late season/post season push into the history books. At seasons end Anthony Gordon still held the passing yards per game lead, and was right behind Burrow in a few others. He is widely under-rated and will be a steal for whoever gets him. The chance to have him be tutored by Brady for two seasons is a situation that the Bucs are wasting. Who will take over in two seasons when Brady is gone? At that stage of things, will we be right back on our way to being bottom dwellers again? Not if the team handles things right. Both goals were within their realm of doing, the now, and the later. It looks like they have just decided to ignore what happens Post Brady. That is unfortunate when both could have been done. Go Bucs!!

Fan Feature

Opinion Editorial: 2020 is different for sure in Bucs Nation

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When the 2019 season ended for the Bucs, it was the beginning of a ride that no Bucs fan was prepared to take. On March 20th, the team announced the signing of Tom Brady, and then on April 21st, the team announced the acquisition of tight end Rob Gronkowski.

There may only be two rounds complete in the draft, but one thing is for sure, the Bucs are gaining plenty of attention from media. Experts have been awarding the Bucs winning draft grades as they did the expected and drafted some protection for the G.O.A.T. when they drafted Iowa’s tackle Tristan Wirfs.

In the second round, the Bucs did as expected as they drafted 5’9 safety Antoine Winfield Jr, who’s father spent 14 seasons as an NFL safety. With their third-round selection, the Bucs did what some expected and drafted Vanderbilt running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who many Bucs fans alike learned of the prospect through a quick Google or YouTube search.

Now one thing I must admit, is I’ve been a Bucs fan since way back in the creamsicle and Old Sombrero days, and I still can’t remember a time the media, “experts”, and fans were on the same page cheering the picks and handing out winning grades. It’s amazing and almost comical to see that it only took bringing in 2 top-tier players to help gives fans confidence in Jason Licht’s ability to draft, especially in the second round. Whatever the case, as a fan, we need to enjoy the moment.

Buccaneers

BucDad Round 2 preview

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Last night the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a step in the right direction when they sent a 4th rounder to swap picks with the San Francisco 49ers to take Tristan Wirfs at the 13th pick. Wirfs is guaranteed to start and fill the “void” left when the Bucs parted ways with Demar Dotson and hopefully put to rest the rumors of shopping OJ Howard.

While the Bucs seemed to answer the offensive line question, they can now focus on filling the depth chart. While many are hoping the team addresses the need for a playmaking safety in rounds 2 or 3. The Bucs could look possibly move up in the 2nd if players such as Xavior McKinney, Antoine Winfield Jr, and Grant Delpit are still on the board.

The Bucs could also continue to focus on upgrading offense as their are plenty of running backs to choose from. If Tampa Bay does decide to go that route, look for them to go after D’Andre Swift, J.K. Dobbins, or Jonathan Taylor if they are available.

Also, as I mentioned in the Draft Preview, the Bucs could also look to bring in a quarterback to learn under Tom Brady, as Jake Fromm, Jacob Eason, and Jalen Hurts are still available as potential 2nd round options.

Tune in tonight at 7pm to ESPN or ABC for televised NFL Draft coverage or Bucs Life for local coverage. #GoBucs

Buccaneers

Bucs Draft Day 1 Grade:

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Photo credit: NFL.com

The Buccaneers moved up from 14 to 13 overall in the draft after trading with San Francisco 49ers. With that pick the Bucs took offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs out of Iowa. This is a huge win for the Bucs who has desperately needed help along the offensive line with the departure of Demar Dotson. It should also be noted Wirfs can play both left and right tackle playing both during his time at Iowa.

Wirfs is incredibly athletic running a 4.85 40-yard dash along with a 36.5″ vertical leap which is extremely impressive for a 6’5″ 320lbs lineman. He is like a TE in a Tackles body and he uses that athleticism in a zone blocking scheme very well, usually blocking opponents all the way down the field. His upper body strength is elite and he is a gym rat. There’s even a video of him showcasing his bench press online and jumping out of a swimming pool shoulder deep in water.

Excellent choice by the Buccaneers I’m sure Tom Brady appreciates this pick as well. In my opinion, Wirfs was a top tackle in this draft and should have been a top 10 pick. Luckily for the Bucs he fell to number 13.

Grade: A+

Buccaneers

Deez 2020 Draft Day 1 Review

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Well, Day 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft is in the books and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to fill their biggest position of need with one of the best players at that position with their first-round pick.

I have to admit, I wasn’t happy about the way that first round played out initially. The Giants made Georgia’s Anthony Thomas the first offensive tackle off the board with their 4th pick. Then the Browns took Alabama’s Jedrick Wills with their 10th pick. And the Jets followed them up by taking Louisville’s Mekhi Becton with their 11th pick. My top three offensive tackles were gone in the first eleven picks. Only Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs was left out of that top tier tackle group with the Raiders on the clock and the Niners picking next just before the Bucs.

It wasn’t looking good.

Jason Licht said that they were worried about another team trading up to the Niners 13th pick to grab Wirfs, so they decided to offer up their other fourth-round pick to John Lynch to move up one spot to ensure that they got the tackle they wanted. It was a “No risk it, no biscuit!” type of situation, as Bruce Arians would say.

Now, in case you haven’t heard this from me yet, I DESPISE TRADING UP IN THE DRAFT! I hate losing draft picks. And this trade cost the Bucs a valuable mid-round pick. However, it did land them one of those top four tackles that none of us thought would still be there when the Bucs went on the clock. So it’s kind of hard to be upset about what Tampa did here.

So who is Tristan Wirfs?

Well, he’s a 6’5″/322lb athletic freak of nature who somehow ran a 4.86 forty at the NFL Combine earlier this year and vertical jumps OUT of 4′ deep pools for fun (if you haven’t seen that YouTube video, I suggest you watch it). He wasn’t the most technically sound offensive tackle in this draft, but his physical gifts are undeniable. He rewrote the weight room record books at Iowa and that strength and power are on full display as a run blocker. He has tree trunks for legs, which allows him to anchor extremely well in pass protection. He does have some technique issues to work out as a pass protector, but Bucs coaches Harold Goodwin and Joe Gilbert should be able to help him there. Wirfs also brings some versatility with experience playing both left AND right tackle at Iowa. Some scouts also projected him to be an All-Pro type guard, if a team decided to play him there as the Redskins did with Brandon Scherff a few years ago.

In conclusion, the Bucs landed one of the premier offensive tackles in this draft to take over for Demar Dotson on that right side and protect their new quarterback Tom Brady.

It was a good day for Tampa Bay!

Now, what do they do on Day 2? I think they’ll get Tom some more help on offense with a new running back and maybe a new receiver as well. The Bucs have the 45th pick and the 76th pick on Day 2 as of right now, but that could all change in the blink of an eye. There is a ton of the first-round talent left on the board at all different positions, so it will be interesting to see if the Bucs draft for “need” or if they simply take the best player available.

Until then, as always, GO BUCS!!!