Category: 2022 NFL Draft

Bucs Primaries: Draft Grades

Bucs Primaries: Draft Grades

Finally, the draft is over, which means football is about to hit its annual nadir. The slope into the the content pit of despair must stop at one place first: draft grades.

Admittedly, grading picks right after they happen is silly. It is entirely too early to know how good a pick is or isn’t, unless we are talking about a second-round kicker. That was a bad pick before it even happened.

What can be evaluated is a pick’s projected fit and the draft capital used to acquire him. Again, using a kicker as a barometer, taking one in the second round is terrible, awful, no-good idea.

Here are Bucs District’s grades for Tampa’s 2022 draft class:

Pick 1: Logan Hall, DT, Houston – Round 2, 33rd overall

All the Bucs insiders had this pick nailed down heading into the draft. Hall has all the qualities the Bucs were looking for in a defensive lineman: quickness, versatility and upside as a pass-rusher. Unfortunately, the Bucs are betting quite a bit on upside with Hall. He is small for an interior lineman and his fit as a run defender is dubious.

However, general manager Jason Licht was able to trade from the 27th pick to the 33rd and still acquire his guy while picking up extra fourth- (pick 106) and sixth-round (pick 180) picks from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bucs had limited capital heading into the draft, and this trade set up much of the their strategy for the rest of the weekend.

Grade: B

Pick 2: Luke Goedeke, OG, Central Michigan – Round 2, 57th overall

A tight end converted to tackle who is certain to convert to guard, Goedeke is little less Ali Marpet and little more Alex Cappa, especially in terms of attitude:

What a “glass-eater” does exactly is unclear, but it does not sound nice. The Bucs appeared ready to have Aaron Stinnie and Robert Hainsey battle it out for the starting left guard job, but Goedeke’s draft position indicates they intend for him to start this season.

The only thing more surprising than this pick was the Bucs using the sixth-round pick they acquired from the Jaguars to trade up three spots to get him. Goedeke was generally projected to go in the late third-round, based on the Athletic’s Arif Hasan and his 2022 Consensus Big Board. It is entirely possible that Jason Licht was competing against himself for Goedeke’s services.

Grade: B-

Pick 3: Rachaad White, RB, Arizona St. – Round 3, 91st overall

Another pick Bucs insiders had pegged leading into the draft, White is a very promising prospect. He is an elite athlete with nearly all the tools needed for an NFL running back. Though Fournette will be the lead back for Tampa, White could become an offensive X-factor in a way that the Bucs hoped Ronald Jones would be but never fulfilled.

White was the fourth running back taken in the draft, which figures about right in this class. While the Bucs had another pick just 15 spots later, White was the first of three backs taken between picks 90 and 100. There was a distinct possibility that White would not be available had Tampa not taken him when they did.

Grade: B+

Pick 4: Cade Otton, TE, Washington – Round 4, 106th overall

While many expect Rob Gronkowski to return for one more season with Tom Brady, Tampa could not finish the 2022 draft without addressing the tight end position. The only tight ends on the roster are Cameron Brate, who is 31-years-old and Codey McElroy, who has 19 NFL snaps to his name.

Otton is one of the more well-rounded tight ends in the class, with proven blocking skills and upside as a receiver. Assuming Gronkowski’s return, Otton will likely cut his teeth on special teams while rotating in as an in-line blocker with a few routes here and there.

The Bucs nabbed Otton amid a fourth-round run on tight ends, where six were selected over 37 picks. Among the tight ends taken in the first four rounds, Otton is arguably the most proven blocker which fit their strategy of more needs-based selections for their championship-caliber roster.

Grade: B+

Pick 5: Jake Camarda, P, Georgia – Round 4, 133rd overall

Okay, it’s not a second-round pick, but we said “don’t do it” and we meant it. Taking a punter in the fourth round is a little like inflating a life vest in an airplane before it even takes off. Why not spend this pick in a way that assumes that the Bucs’ offense isn’t going to flame out often enough to need a fourth-round punter? Better yet, use this pick on Zyon McCollum so a trade sending away next year’s fourth round is not necessary.

Yes, this pick came on the heels of the Ravens taking Penn State P Jordan Stout three spots earlier, but there is no such thing as a “run on punters” that did not have Yackety Sax playing at its very mention. While Bradley Pinion is one of the most overpaid punters in the league for the quality of play he brings, a fourth-round pick on a punter is just plain wasteful.

Grade: F

Pick 6: Zyon McCollum, CB, Sam Houston State – Round 5, 157th overall

McCollum is the ultimate upside pick. He played in the FCS and generally did not play competition remotely resembling NFL talent. However, he is an otherworldly athlete:

McCollum enters an ideal scenario where he has at least four starter-quality players ahead of him on the depth chart. The Bucs will not need to rush his development to get him onto the field to play meaningful snaps, but he could see some opportunities come his way this season.

Tampa traded its 2023 fourth-round pick to acquire McCollum and an extra seventh (235), which probably would not have been necessary if they had just drafted McCollum where they took Camarda. While gambling on McCollum is absolutely worth a fourth-round pick, the previously wasted pick required the Bucs to leverage future assets they did not need to in order to acquire him.

Grade: B-

Pick 7: Ko Kieft, TE, Minnesota – Round 6, 218th overall

If the Bucs’ tight end room appeared sparse before, it definitely won’t after the addition of the apparent tight end edition of Ryan Jensen. Kieft projects as a pure Y tight end, a blocker first and foremost. Again, while there is some assumption that Gronkowski suits up for Tampa in 2022, Jason Licht would be be in dereliction of his duties if he did not prepare contingencies otherwise.

Tampa traded a pair of seventh-rounders, pick 235 they received in the trade to get McCollum and pick 261, to move up to pick 218. Since the Bucs were entering territory where the line between draft picks and undrafted free agents began to blur, it would be hard to argue with the move as being anything more than Tampa “getting their guy.”

Also, this would have been a fine spot to take a punter.

Grade: C

Pick 8: Andre Anthony, EDGE, LSU – Round 7, 248th overall

Seventh round picks are tough to evaluate with any real weight behind the grade. Most do not make the final roster their rookie years and are worth so little that some undrafted free agents make more money. Anthony is already a fringe roster player in Tampa, and at 25 and coming off a season-ending knee injury, he does not have a lot of upside. However, if Anthony can resume the high level of play he displayed early last season (3.5 sacks, 4 TFLs in three games), the reward is easily worth the low degree of risk.

Grade: C+

Overall, Jason Licht and the Bucs did well to fill what few holes existed on the roster with their draft picks. However, too often they overthought their position and likely wasted draft capital on moves they did not need to make to acquire their targeted players. Fortunately, with a roster as stacked as Tampa’s, Licht has considerable room for error this year.

Overall Grade: B-

Bucs Primaries: Heading into Draft Day 2

Well, that was anti-climactic. The Bucs traded out of the first round, picking up a second- (33), fourth- (106) and sixth-round pick (180) from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Given the lack of draft capital they had heading into the draft, trading down was the shrewd move.

Unfortunately, it cost them Bucs Districts’ “Ideal” and “Good” picks, with Devonte Wyatt going to the Packers at 28 and Lewis Cine going to the Vikings at 32. The most likely move for the Bucs seems to be the “Vernon Hargreaves” pick, Logan Hall. Even the top of the second round seems too rich for a defensive lineman who did not consistently anchor well against AAC offensive lines.

So, who is the new Bucs District Ideal for the Bucs first pick? Defensive tackle Travis Jones. The Connecticut defensive lineman blew up at the Senior Bowl, proving all but unblockable during one-on-one practices. While he played on a terrible UConn team, Jones is a top-3 defensive tackle in this class. Paired with Vita Vea, the Bucs defensive line would be practically impenetrable.

The new Good pick is Kyler Gordon, cornerback, Washington. Gordon is an ultra-twitchy athlete with a ton of upside as a cover corner. He is relatively raw, but playing behind the Bucs’ already stacked secondary this season would give him plenty of opportunity to develop his skills before he plays significant snaps.

Nonetheless, it appears Bucs fans will need to resign themselves to Logan Hall wearing a Bucs jersey this season.

One last unexpected development was the New England Patriots taking offensive lineman Cole Strange with the 29th pick. Leading up to the draft, the consensus was that Strange was a third-round value, though his upside could make this pick more than worth it. Strange was Bucs District’s fourth-round “Ideal” pick, which was clearly far too low for him.

With Strange off the board, the Bucs still have options to take a guard as late as the fourth round. Cameron Jurgens is another highly athletic if undersized interior offensive lineman that fits the mold the Bucs have tended to favor under Jason Licht. Jurgens doesn’t have Ali Marpet’s play strength, but he moves really well at his size and would compete to start at left guard.

Bucs Primaries: Full 7(but really 5)-Round Mock Draft

Draft week has finally arrived! Anyone else sick of the build-up? Can we, now, guys, really do this? If I have to listen to someone talk about Travon Walker going first overall one more time…

The Bucs do not have a ton of draft capital this year. They traded their fifth-round pick for Shaq Mason and their sixth for Steve McLendon and a seventh, so all their work will come late in all three days of the draft. What a switch for a team that perennially drafts in the top 15.

There are no huge, glaring needs on the roster. Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh are waiting in the wings to potentially rejoin the team, so Tampa is mostly looking at depth and development. Tight end and defensive line are probably the key areas for improvement long-term, but the Bucs should be looking at the secondary and yes, a competitor for left guard.

Instead of doing a traditional mock draft, here is a tiered mock wherein the potential choices are ranked from ideal to Vernon Hargreaves.

Round 1

The Ideal: Devonte Wyatt, defensive tackle, Georgia

Why Wyatt is falling down draft boards is hard to fathom (so it may be something off-field – see his 2020 arrest). He is the most complete defensive tackle coming out this year, and with his athleticism, has room to grow. Yes, he is on the older side at 24, but that should not deter a Bucs team ready to contend now.

The Good: Lewis Cine, safety, Georgia

Safety is not a sexy pick, nor is it a deep need for Tampa, but Cine would be tough to pass up here, even for Wyatt. He was a tackling god for Georgia, and he played a variety of roles – slot defender, blitzer, taker of lives. The souped-up Jordan Whitehead comparison is pretty apt.

The Vernon Hargreaves: Logan Hall, defensive tackle, Houston

Yes, the Bucs need a quicker presence on the defensive interior to pair with Vita Vea and eventually replace Ndamukong Suh. But Logan Hall? He is far from a polished pass rusher, he does not have a great anchor against the run and his body is very much that of a tweener (32.75″ arms on a 6’6″ frame? Yikes). He comes with some upside, but it isn’t enough to offset his limitations, much less warrant a first-round selection.

Round 2

The Ideal: Jalen Pitre, safety, Baylor

This ideal in part due to fit and in part due to value. Pitre plays more like a linebacker than a safety. While he does not bring the same refinement as Lewis Cine, he would be an absolute steal if he falls to the Bucs in the second round.

The Good: Trey McBride, tight end, Colorado State

Regardless of whether Rob Gronkowski chooses to play this season, the Bucs need a tight end. Cam Brate is 30 and O.J. Howard is a Bill. McBride is the consensus TE1, due mostly to his receiving production and athleticism. He doesn’t bring much as a blocker, but at minimum he gives the Bucs offense a reliable weapon over the middle for the foreseeable future.

The Ninja Good: Josh Paschal, EDGE, Kentucky

Why spend a first round pick on Logan Hall when you can get a potentially better player in Josh Paschal in the second? Paschal is big and explosive with versatility to play across the defensive line. He is a difference-maker against the run, racking up 15 tackles for loss in 2021. The Bucs could use a little more juice where Jason Pierre-Paul used to be. Paschal could give them that.

The Austin Seferian-Jenkins: DeMarvin Leal, defensive tackle(?), Texas A&M

Another tweener defensive lineman, Leal is a high-end athlete whose profile does not match his production. He flashed last season for the Aggies, but that’s all he seems to be: flash. The Bucs need a player, not a project from its second round pick.

Round 3

The Ideal: Isaiah Spiller, running back, Texas A&M

Though the Bucs are paying Leonard Fournette to start for the next two years, the days of the bell cow running back are long gone. Spiller doesn’t have Fournette’s size or power, but he might have better vision and certainly better quickness. He also looks very natural as a receiver and comes with willingness if not polish as a pass protector. If more juice at running back is needed, all the Bucs need do is spill a little (man that was shameful).

The Good: Jeremy Ruckert, tight end, Ohio St.

Ruckert might be the preferable target at tight end over Trey McBride. One of the best blocking tight ends in the class, Ruckert’s lack of receiving production can be pretty easily written off by his teammates slated to go much earlier in the draft, wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. That said, his hands are as good as anyone’s in this class (minus the guy in the next round). All he needs is a little more opportunity to show his value in a pass offense.

The Ninja Good: Coby Bryant, cornerback, Cincinnati

One thing about playing across from a shutdown corner is that there is an unavoidable baptism by fire. That is what Coby Bryant got playing with Sauce Gardner. While not an elite athlete, Bryant was very productive for Cincinnati while seeing a lot of passes thrown his way, breaking up 18 passes and picking off six in the past two seasons. Cornerback is not a need for Tampa right now, but Bryant would offer solid depth and a security at the position with Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting slated to be free agents next season.

The Myron Lewis: Isaiah Likely, tight end, Coastal Carolina

Isaiah Likely is a tight end in name only. He was basically a mega slot for Coastal Carolina, and a not terribly athletic one at that. If the Bucs want a big pass catcher, they might as well draft a wide receiver. There are too many other, more well-rounded tight ends available to consider Likely here.

Round 4

The Ideal: Cole Strange, center/guard, Chattanooga

So Jason Licht has a type when it comes to drafting interior offensive linemen, right? Small school guys who tend to be smaller but highly athletic? We all remember Ali Marpet. He hasn’t been retired all that long. Well, here’s a comparison between Marpet and Cole Strange’s athletic profiles:

This looks familiar, no? Why spend a first-round pick on an interior offensive lineman when a veritable clone of your retired Pro Bowl guard could be had just a few rounds later? Strange is likely to be taken in the third or early fourth, so this would be a coup for Tampa if he is available here.

The Good: Charlie Kolar, tight end, Iowa State

No one in this year’s tight end class has better hands than Charlie Kolar. No one. This guy catches EVERYTHING and looks really smooth in the process. The big knock on him is that he is not broadly built and lacks high-end athletic qualities. Still, between his Charmin-soft hands, Stretch Armstrong arms and feel for zone coverage, he should be a productive NFL player.

The Roberto Aguayo (okay maybe not that bad): Matt Araiza, punter, Arizona State

No. Just no. Not in the fourth round. The seventh? Sure. Do not do this, Jason Licht. Punters may be people, but people can wait a while on the draft board.

Round 7

The Why Not #1: Esezi Otomewo, defensive line, Minnesota

Otomewo is a massive human with great length to play the perimeter of the defensive line. His actual play is not NFL-ready, but there is certainly upside to his profile.

The Why Not #2: James Houston IV, linebacker, Jackson State

Houston is very much a tweener, lacking the overall athleticism to play off ball full-time and the size and strength to live on the line. However, his blend of traits could see him carve out a role on defense while playing special teams.

The Why Not #3: Darrell Baker Jr., cornerback, Georgia Southern

While Baker is no doubt a project, his athletic profile makes him an intriguing prospect to take late. He could earn his stripes on special teams while developing into a depth piece in the secondary.