Less Holes, More Questions
May 1st, 2017
Tampa Bay’s only Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, Ira Kaufman, and the regions most beloved and esteemed columnist, has hung his hat at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters since July 2016. His columns pop here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and his award winning podcasts fire every Tuesday and Thursday.
BY IRA KAUFMAN
Before we hand the Buccaneers the Vince Lombardi Trophy, let’s pause for a moment.
In the words of Jason Licht, no NFL general manager is going to publicly say he had a bad draft weekend. And any draft that starts with O.J. Howard tumbling into your mitts at No.19 can’t be bad.
The additions of Howard and DeSean Jackson in the offseason have given Jameis Winston the most dangerous array of targets any Buc quarterback has ever had the pleasure of throwing to.
There are potential mismatches everywhere, but as Dirk Koetter was quick to remind us when the draft concluded, potential can get you beat.
Koetter knows he’ll have fun designing plays for Mike Evans, Jackson, Howard, Cameron Brate, Adam Humphries and Chris Godwin. He also knows defenses will have answers — unless Winston can be protected well and the ground game improves dramatically.
Those are two areas of concern that were hardly addressed in the draft.
All Buc fans heard this weekend was a glowing endorsement for Doug Martin’s redemption tour. Let’s be honest — if Tampa Bay scouts were over the top for Jeremy McNichols, the Bucs wouldn’t have waited until pick No. 162 to select the Boise State standout.
Ignoring The Trenches
Fifth-round running backs have surprised at the pro level, but the odds are stacked against McNichols making it big.
And won’t Winston need time to find all these weapons downfield?
Licht and Koetter kept telling us they liked the makeup of the offensive line. Then they backed up that view by ignoring the trenches.
I still think Tampa Bay is thin at tackle, where starting left guard Kevin Pamphile looms as the primary backup if Donovan Smith or Demar Dotson is sidelined.
On defense, the Bucs added a safety with tackling issues, a linebacker coming off knee surgery and a run-stuffing defensive tackle.
In other words, the pass rush will have to make do with what they have. I’m not sure it’s enough.
I keep thinking back to December, when the streaking Bucs were 8-5 and in charge of their own playoff destiny.
Then they faced Dallas and New Orleans on the road … and we know what happened.
Ezekiel Elliott ran wild and fellow rookie Dak Prescott picked Tampa Bay apart in a 26-20 Cowboys victory. The next week, only 13 days after shutting down the Saints completely in Tampa, Drew Brees was barely pressured in a 31-24 triumph that left the Bucs playoff chances on life support.
Has anything really changed?
I know Florida State defensive tackle DeMarcus Walker was considered a tweener by some scouts, but every time I watched the guy he made plays. Quarterbacks were either on the ground or running for their life.
Walker was sitting there at No. 50, but the Bucs instead chose Texas A&M safety Justin Evans. Five minutes later, the Broncos pounced on Walker.
Licht was hampered a bit because the Bucs had only six picks. That’s not enough to address every need.
Dangerous With Depth Issues
For example, Licht didn’t have enough choices to grab another prospect to compete at slot corner — a key position in a division loaded with stud quarterbacks.
“You want to get the best value that you can over your colleagues,” Licht said. “That’s why it’s the greatest three days in my professional career during the year. It’s fun. It’s a big rush.”
The real rush will come when the Bucs end a nine-year playoff drought that has tested the patience of their fan base. And while Tampa Bay boasts a lot of young talent, especially on offense, the Bucs may struggle up front on both sides of the ball.
Unless Noah Spence turns in a dynamic season, the Bucs will likely still be looking for their first double-digit sacker since Simeon Rice left town. Questions remain about an offensive line that must deal with Ali Marpet’s transition from guard to center.
If it’s what’s up front that counts, the 2017 Bucs have the look of a dangerous club with some depth issues. If the trenches hold up, this group could be playing well into January.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:02 am
*fewer
May 1st, 2017 at 10:07 am
I think every team has depth issues and certain positions. We can’t have All-Pro Starters with Pro Bowl back ups at every position…
May 1st, 2017 at 10:17 am
Although the defense SHOULD improve with another year in the same scheme, the difference is the offense WILL improve with the increased talent!! The games we struggled the most in last season were shootouts because we were short on ammo. We win the OAK, @DAL, @NO games last year without question if we had the weapons that we’ve added this offseason. Jameis takes the leap to elite this season & brings the whole team with him. Leaders lead & don’t be surprised if he’s if the MVP conversation!! September won’t be here soon enough.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:20 am
Adding Sweezy to the mix in the offensive line and moving Marpet to center is the equivalent of picking up a top 3 OL pick in the draft. We have in effect added a highly rated Guard that we did not have last year. Granted it is not a Tackle, but it is as much an upgrade to the line as draft pick would have been. The same for the move of Ryan Smith from Safety to Corner. It is the addition of a Corner that we did not have last year. As for the role he fits in, we will see as we would with any draft pick. The impact of these two moves should be added to the draft class when evaluating its impact.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:22 am
The defensive picks (the last two anyway) tell me the Bucs are going to attempt to use some 3-4 this year. Will Spence be use as an OLB in such sets? Where will GMC be used? It will be interesting to see what Smith comes up with.
With the OL, I was hoping they would have taken an interior lineman and a tackle. Hopefully Sweezy coming back and moving Marpet to center will solve some of the issues. The blocking should be easier with the added speed on the outside (less 8 man boxes)
Like you said, not enough picks. I wish there were 12 rounds like the good old days (the late great Dave Logan was a 12th round pick)
May 1st, 2017 at 10:23 am
Good call Ira. I was a fan of the Howard selection but I am skeptical of the rest of this haul…even though I like what I see from Godwin and McNichols. Not a fan of what we did on defense.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:32 am
DeMarcus Walker would’ve been a great pick, but I know profootballrumors.com predicted we would draft Evans in the second round and there were several teams interested in possibly drafting him at the end of round 1.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:40 am
Actually you forget at tackle we are fine. Caleb Benenoch says “Hi”. Don’t sleep on him. Kevin pamphlet is also a great option and we have Evan Smith as a backup guard and joe Hawley as backup center. We are fine. The sky is not falling.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:44 am
Pamphile. Auto-incorrect got the best of me.
Also Stevie tuwhatever in the seventh round is a really large man – a great run stuffer. You mention the Dallas game. Exactly why he is here. PRroblem addressed. We also got better pass rush with our other free agent signing from Washington. Swaggy! And you can’t tell me Noah Spence is gonna somehow get worse in his second year
May 1st, 2017 at 10:47 am
bucsfaninchina: THANK YOU! First thing I noticed too, and it’s so prevalent in today’s society to use “less” instead of the proper “fewer.”
Second, agree with other posters that you can’t solve all your depth problems in one draft. We have plenty of o-line depth from the last couple of drafts, and we don’t need more nickel corner depth (we already have two viable players there). We need another potential starting corner behind Grimes for when he eventually retires or leaves after this year when his contract is up. Licht will figure it out.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:47 am
Honestly, these are all rich folks’ problems that you’re talking about here Ira. These are the concerns of a franchise that has drafted well over time and is an established contender. We’re still pretty early in this rebuilding process from the mismanagement and shenanigans that have been going on at 1BP for a long time now. Let’s bask in the fact that those holes are actually filled for the first time in I don’t know how many years and worry about depth after we’ve gotten a few more of these sorts of drafts under our belts. My focus is on the fact that we actually have professional adults running things who know what they’re doing. I can’t say enough about the Licht/Koetter pairing and how promising this is all looking. Depth will come in time. I trust that it’s being addressed.
May 1st, 2017 at 10:53 am
Damn Ira you can’t fill every hole in one draft. We also should have J. Smith back this year. Safety was a top priority.
May 1st, 2017 at 11:00 am
There should be a lot of guys getting released these next couple of week after cuts. I agree that we need to add playmakers on both sides of the line, especially OLine.
It would be nice to think that our “All Pro” DT, would be any kind of a difference maker next to young, athletic players… it would be nice…
May 1st, 2017 at 11:07 am
Spot on Ira.’
I think jason is a scout.’ Not a visionary.’
He misses big picture things and trades up way too much
May 1st, 2017 at 11:11 am
The offense will be dangerous enough to get us into the post season and possibly even a playoff victory with us only really needing to upgrade the OT position. The defense however will be at best average. I think we will be good in the turnover department but we will give up too many big plays. We will be Super Bowl contenders when the defense is addressed more completely which will be the focus moving forward.
May 1st, 2017 at 11:17 am
Another great article Ira (although ‘negative’ pieces like this will surely get you fired from Joe Bucs Fan and cause howling among the masses). Bucs have made some key improvements in several areas (WR, TE, DT especially) but in most other areas we’re basically the same team as last year, plus some more ‘potential’. I too wish we’d drafted another speedy DE (Noah Spence & Jack Smith are after all both coming off of injuries). If the pass rush doesn’t hold up (and hopefully improve) our secondary’s going to be under a lot of pressure all year long. And speaking of pressure, seems like media & fans are putting an awful lot of pressure on Jameis to make a major leap forward in his 3rd yr. As you pointed out, that major leap will only be as major as his OLine protection allows. Right now Bucs have lots of potential, but as Koetter has let everyone know, potential doesn’t mean diddly … Winning is all that matters in the NFL.
May 1st, 2017 at 11:18 am
This team’s success all depends on Winston. If he continues to improve then the rest of the team will follow. Having a franchise QB most certainly covers up any team’s weaknesses.
May 1st, 2017 at 11:25 am
Hopefully Smith gets more aggressive with the blitz packages this season and keeps offenses guessing
May 1st, 2017 at 11:26 am
C’mon Ira, Bucs went on a 5 game WINNING (!) streak last season when they were the usual walking wounded!!!! Good gawd!! The wins included a lot of playoff bound teams both on the road and at home. The walking wounded just ran out of gas at the end, and still ended up 9-7. This team will be better even before the pre-season starts. I’m an Ira fan, but sometimes I wonder?????????
—————————————–
“Like you said, not enough picks. I wish there were 12 rounds like the good old days (the late great Dave Logan was a 12th round pick)”
AMEN, @Gencoimports!!!!:-)
May 1st, 2017 at 11:32 am
I thought our first 4 picks were nearly perfect. I wasnt sold on kendell, but after watching tape the dude is a stud. Big downhill 2 down linebacker. oj could have gone as early as 5 so thats a huge steal. Evans is solid. Less upside than obi but more pro ready imo. He was always aroind the ball and showed pretty good side to side range for being a center fielder. Godwin was a steal too, he could have gone in mid 2. Remember, he roasted adoree jackson among many other top tier cbs.
May 1st, 2017 at 11:51 am
I like this draft class!
May 1st, 2017 at 11:56 am
Marpet to center is the least of my worries…I think this makes both the line and Marpet better.
Now is Sweezy healthy? That’s a worry.
Is Benenoch ready? That’s a worry. Who is going to play RT?
May 1st, 2017 at 12:03 pm
Haha I think Ira woke up on the wrong side of the bed before he wrote this article. We finally have a contender but we are not the Patriots yet big guy
May 1st, 2017 at 12:03 pm
Getting Howard is almost like getting an OT the way he can block. Godwin is supposed to be a really good blocker. Evans can block. Brate’s working on improving his blocking. All this will help the running game. One nice thing about 2 TE sets is that either TE can chip block a pass rusher before running their route, which helps in pass pro.
May 1st, 2017 at 12:08 pm
Pick a DE? WE NEEDED A SAFETY!!!
Pick an OT? We needed a WR!!!
etc. etc. etc.
Why can’t some you just accept the roster we have?
The Bucs’ roster was in shambles when Licht took over and in 36 months we’re talking going from 2-14 to 10+ wins? Take a chill pill!! All Licht has done is put together one of the best rosters in team history.
Next year I’m sure he focuses on DL or OL or the Secondary … but can’t us sane Buc fans just enjoy the present time and not have to see all of this Armchair bull$hit coming from a bunch of people who have ZERO clue why the team liked the players they chose over other available players.
The draft used to be fun, now there’s too many know-it-alls which muddy the waters from real prognostications and analysis.
May 1st, 2017 at 12:29 pm
The bucs seem to be high on doug martin and jacquies smith. If smiths healthy we dont look bad. N the lack of picks falls solely on himself. He sees the best tight end prospect in 10 years fall to pick 19 but always feels compelled to trade up for guys who should be there when his pick comes. Giving away picks, aka players. The only thing i dont like about lichts drafts. Did it again twice this year. Already cutting into next years draft. Having said that i see playoffs baby!! Go bucs
May 1st, 2017 at 12:29 pm
No team got everything they would have liked to have this draft. Every team will be thin in one area or another with injuries. Would I have liked to see a new RT prospect? Sure. Another DE? Yes, absolutely.
But one thing is for sure this year, we’re not going to see old fashioned Bucball in 2017. It’s time for Winston to step up and compete for MVP and get those 30 points a game we’re going to need when our defensive line gets hurt and we’re playing backups who can’t apply enough pressure to stop the Saints and Falcons and Panthers from scoring on us late.
More so than most years though, if we avoid key injuries the sky’s the limit in 2017. Where is the 2018 Super Bowl?
May 1st, 2017 at 12:32 pm
JTHV, preach. Exactly what you said.
May 1st, 2017 at 12:35 pm
Right on Irv…. The OL is a huge question mark right down from LT to RT, but J and Brate in double TE sets should help that out a ton with keepin the D on their toes, but edge rusher and depth defnsively is weak and then corner is weak after the 2 average starters…i do like defensively how smith gambled a little towards then end, watch the raiders game where smith threw the kitchen sink at carr, with zone, blitzes everythihg but the DBs could not cover when asked to play straight man in many games….go bucs maybe high priced released veterans cant help this out
May 1st, 2017 at 12:43 pm
@JTHV … “Why can’t some you just accept the roster we have?” Would you keep coming back to JBF if everyone simply had exactly the same opinions you do? Gut feel says no. What makes JBF interesting is the diversity of opinions. Granted, some tend to be ‘Negative Nellies’ while others tend to be ‘Positive Polyannas’, but most JBF devotees share some very diverse opinions which are very wide ranging. And from my perspective JTHV, that’s a neat thing … makes JBF more fun than other sports sites.
May 1st, 2017 at 12:45 pm
We were driving offensively at the end of the Dallas game. If we had someone to throw to, we could have won. I am not saying we should have won…but I think with the offensive weapons we have now, that game could have ended differently.
May 1st, 2017 at 12:45 pm
defense was one of the best in the last half of the season in not too worried about it. the offense is what was holding us back and that was evident by using 2 of our top 3 picks on w4w. i get it with the saints and cowboys game but everybody forgets gholston went down in that game and our run d fell apart if we are able to suffocate the run that will help our pass rush in it’s self. and the addition of baker and return of jac smith bolsters the pass rush
May 1st, 2017 at 12:51 pm
There’s more “ifs” than I would like going into the next season.
If Sweezy stays healthy and Hawley stays out of the line-up they could be better across the O front. Sweezy still isn’t a polished product so he could still potentially be a somewhat weak spot.
If they smarten up and start running some more multi-scheme defensive fronts they will be quite a bit stronger against the run. Chris Baker’s addition is kind of being ignored, he should help tremendously.
It’s still a process, they went 9-7. Probably could have gone 11-5, also could have gone 7-9. They’re not close to a finished project yet, so I’m not overly concerned with this next season. It can still go either way.
May 1st, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Folks that are worried about the defense are only looking at the stat lines. The biggest part of the defense were the ones who had the defense click for them in the second half of last year. The continuity there will mean that we will be picking up right where we left off, merely needing to bring along Evans, Baker, and Buckwith. Not a huge problem there, I’d say. Especially if the rookies won’t be seeing the field right away anyway. I think you nay-sayers are going to be noticeably quiet when the results leave you with little to gripe about and you won’t be able to bring yourself to actually be complimentary of the team.
May 1st, 2017 at 1:06 pm
I agree ira….would’ve loved to see walker in a bucs uni…..Go BUCS!!!!
May 1st, 2017 at 1:18 pm
i like the defensive picks— dont know much about beckwith but if kwon alexander is happy to have him then i am… Justin Evans looks like he needs tackling work and i hope and believe the defensive staff will fix that but at the same time he’s a ballhawk, outstanding hitter and great at stuffing the run…and the tui’kolovato kid he looks like an absolute beast! great investment for the future a steal in the 7th and he can learn behind guys like ayers, mccoy, gholston,and baker— i do like the offensive picks better we did what we needed to do weapons 4 winston and we had the steal of the 1st with oj howard and i would say that if i wasnt a bucs fan.
May 1st, 2017 at 1:37 pm
DefenseRules
Agree with your observation about the posters here. It’s there diversity that makes it interesting! Some far ranging opinions here.
I give a lot of credit to the Joe’s for managing this wild bunch and providing the freedom for the variety of opinions but keeping things in check when guys go off the ranch.
May 1st, 2017 at 1:38 pm
Licht did a good job with this draft. The safety selection seemed a bit forced to most of us – but we certainly needed to draft a safety out of this stellar class.
Just like most of us here – I didn’t have my eye on Justin Evans for us pre draft. I personally was blinded by my desire for us to get Budda Baker. I can admit that now. And I didn’t want the Bucs to take Obi with a high pick because his tape did not come close to matching his combine measurables. The GM agreed and passed on Obi in favor of this safety from A&M who I had barely even looked at for us. But that’s why these guys are professionals and I and the Joes and Ira and every one of you who post here are in fact LAYMEN when it comes to evaluating NFL talent.
Anyone here getting paid to evaluate football prospects? Raise your hand if you are and we’ll all pay more attention to your posts in the future.
Point being – we have to trust our GM and his team of scouts and directors that he considers top notch. These guys have proven in the previous 2 drafts (Aguayo eval aside and that’s more head than leg) that they are among the best in the business at deciphering what young NFL level talent looks like and what its actual potential might be.
Licht and Co have done something that is quite difficult to achieve which is take a 4-12, 2-14 level team from a talent perspective up to a 10-6+ level talented team in just 3 1/2 years. And they’ve done it the hard way for the most part – by identifying and drafting talented players better than their counterparts on other teams.
Yea – luck comes into play sometimes like with OJ dropping to 19. But unless you just stupidly didn’t want us to draft the best TE prospect to have come out in many years in the 1st round as a matter of principle – how many here would have been upset if Licht had traded a 4th to move up 2 spots to draft Howard at 17? It surely was on my mind I can tell you that. I never would have believed that the Titans would pass on OJ Howard if he somehow, miraculously dropped to 18. But just like in the case of Noah Spence last year – Licht stood his ground – he trusted his intel. I have no idea how he knew that Jon Robinson would go Defense at 18 but somehow he knew. And he got us the best young TE prospect that we could possibly hope for at an extreme discount at 19 considering Howard’s true value as a top 10 talent. A talent that benefits both the running game and the passing game and gives our HC play caller a BUNCH of opportunities to open up the play book and create mismatches all over the field.
Winston, Evans and OJ Howard are gonna wreck this league together for the next 10 years.
After the Howard pick – the rest of this draft was pure gravy – and I think we got some really good prospects at areas of need. Godwin in the 3rd was great value as well. Most mocks had him being selected a full round before we landed him well into the 3rd round. This draft can’t possibly be less than a B+ by anyone’s standards.
May 1st, 2017 at 1:40 pm
Darin we gave up a 7th rounder from next year.
A 7th rounder.
You really worried about what we’re missing out on with that player?
May 1st, 2017 at 1:46 pm
I think next year we will be hitting DL, OL and CB among our top picks.
May 1st, 2017 at 1:48 pm
Bucs 3-4 defense
Rde-McCoy,NT- Siliga, LDE-Baker
Rolb-David, RIlb-Spence LIlb-Beckswith,Lolb-Alexander
CB-Grimes, CB-Heagraves
SS-Wilcox, FS-Evans
That’ll change for Running pla
May 1st, 2017 at 2:51 pm
Capt Tim if they go to that kind of look, they may go to a new version which is a 3-3-5 or even a 4-2 so that you get more “athletes” on the field and spence is gonna have to be outside for the edge rushing…but the main thing would be getting that nickel in there for extra coverage…and I thought tandy did an awesome job in that spot as the “robber” player in smith’s 4-2 defense, basically smith is running a similar defense to the HC in atlanta, and like muschamp’s in south carolina and ultimately saban and belichek’s defenses, the things that is awesome about dan quinn’s defense and muschamp’s is they seemed to have morphed into a new age faster defense to combat the 5 wide offenses and it looks like mike smith is in same camp as opposed to lovie who is gonna run his 4-3 under cover 4 or cover 2 no matter what and then get lit up by a rookie in the first game…..mike smith is cutting edge on his philosophy and that is a huge positive going against all these creative O-coordinators in the NFL
May 1st, 2017 at 2:56 pm
Well said IRA
May 1st, 2017 at 2:57 pm
Well Said Pickgrin, that was like the speech from BraveHeart lol.
May 1st, 2017 at 2:57 pm
You dont think having a TE that can block and pass wont help the O-line Ira? Seems to me that when we trotted out Stocker or Brate solo was a huge heads up to opposing defenses on what type of play we were going to run.
May 1st, 2017 at 2:59 pm
Getting J Smith back, if healthy, will improve the pass rush, as will Ayers, if healthy, do the same. Spence going into year 2 should be much more effective. Finally if the best pass rusher on the team, David, is allowed to bring pressure that can be a huge upgrade alone. If all of that comes together the Bucs are in great shape – but it’s a lot to ask – except for the coaching.
May 1st, 2017 at 3:25 pm
Agree…but I like the Howard pick, i think he provides more versatility to the game plan then any RB or WR in the draft could have.
May 1st, 2017 at 3:38 pm
With all those DB’s drafted, I’d think there should be some decent veteran DB’s realeased at the final roster cuts, maybe one we could bring in as depth.
May 1st, 2017 at 4:19 pm
Blake – I hope my ultimate demise is a bit less intense than Braveheart’s – LOL
May 1st, 2017 at 6:00 pm
Defense rules – how do you not walk into walls? THE SAME TEAM AS LAST YEAR. Added stud tight end two stud wideouts a starting safety an improvement at DT a fresh running back that may surprise, a run plugger and another linebacker. But you’re right we’re the same team. I hate people like you truly. That think if we don’t have 13 picks (which you get by sucking) that you’re the same team. Gimme a break dude. Dumbest post in a while. Why do I read comments. Joe more articles please so I don’t lose my mind w this fan base
May 1st, 2017 at 6:25 pm
@DR … “Bucs have made some key improvements in several areas (WR, TE, DT especially) but in most other areas we’re basically the same team as last year, plus some more ‘potential’.”
@Broy34 … “I hate people like you truly. That think if we don’t have 13 picks (which you get by sucking) that you’re the same team.”
Sounds to me like you only selectively read my post Broy34. DJax, Howard & Baker are all ‘new to the team’ & will most likely be new starters … those are the ‘key improvements’ I was talking about. Hopefully Sweezy & Bond also get to start, but they’re not ‘new to the team’. The other pieces who we’ve added (like our rookies, less Howard) represent more ‘potential’ at this point than anything. If you compare the 11 starters on defense & 11 starters on offense this year vs last year I’ve got a hunch that maybe at most we’ll have changed 5-6 starters. Where we’ll have improved is in depth, which is the ‘potential’ I was talking about, especially the potential in our rookies.
And just as a suggestion, you might want to look up the word ‘hate’ in the dictionary. If you’ve truly gone through life hating people who express different opinions than yours, I’d guess that you’ve had a rather bizarre life.
May 1st, 2017 at 6:45 pm
Thank you, Ira for seeing the GLARING deficiency of the D-line. We had more sacks than the Falcons or the Patriots, but they hit or pressured the QB 53 and 43 times more than the Bucs. You can’t win, if you don’t hit the QB. High powered offense with an average defense? Ask the Saints how that’s working out for them.
May 1st, 2017 at 6:56 pm
As always, great article Ira. While I completely agree with the depths issues, my answer to “what’s changed’ is. 1) Noah Spence should be ALOT healthier this year. 2) OJ Howard should make the run game alot better with his blocking and be a major threat in the passing game. 3) DJax 4) VH III has a year of experience. 5) Dirk Koetter has a year of HC experience. 6) the defense had a year of experience under Mike Smith. 7) Jameis has another off season to train/learn 8) Sweezy/Marpet scenario should upgrade to OL. I know that’s alot of “shoulds”, but it’s also alot of what I believe ARE changes. Keep up the great work, Ira. Go Bucs!!
May 2nd, 2017 at 1:55 am
O-line wasn’t a strength in this draft so you had to pick one early to get somebody with a shot to start. If you draft best available player instead of for need they get bypassed.
Evans was drafted primarily for his coverage skills but for somebody who allegedly can’t tackle he tied for the team lead in solo tackles and was second in total tackles. The knock on him is he is a gambler looking for the big hit and misses too often for some evaluators. Sound familiar?
I guess the signing of JJ Wilcox was just window dressing or are we supposed to ignore that so fans can continue to complain about holes at safety. I for one think adding both Wilcox and Evans to the mix equals a big upgrade at the position.
Back to the O-line panic. They aren’t done yet, there will be late cuts and trades and if Sweezy is good to go the Bucs should be improved there as well.
Bottom line is the team that went 9-7 last year looks better now than at the end of the season. The roster is far from set, still plenty of time to fill holes, perceived or imagined.
May 2nd, 2017 at 4:51 am
DrFeelGood,
One thing you’ve missed, as have many, is the free agent singing of a veteran D.T.. If this is an improvement, as it should be, this puts the d-ends in a one on one match up.
If our current d-ends can’t win a one on one match up, then we need to be concerned with the player(s) who currently hold that position. As of today, no one but perhaps Miss Chloe, knows the answer to this question.
May 2nd, 2017 at 5:03 am
Unbelievable
No im not worried about a 7th round player. Id like to have the 7th round pick tho. Picks are capital, to trade up or down. Plus more teams are trading players to move up 5-10 spots in the draft now. So yes id love to have the 7th round pick he gave away. To me his trading away picks to move up for guys with character concerns, injuries, or kickers is a waste, alll im saying. We saw how oj fell. Have some patience licht, even trade down for once. Otherwise tho, as i said, i like his picks. Go bucs