Mike Evans Saved His Class
May 9th, 2018
Star of otherwise poor draft.
At one time this draft class looked promising.
But take away one player — albeit one helluva star player — and the 2014 draft class of the Bucs was virtually flushed down the toilet.
It was inept Lovie Smith’s first draft class. And after four seasons where folks have had ample time to grade this class, Andy Benoit of SI.com notes it took one of the game’s best players to lift the grade of the draft class to a C+.
How many times has a team invested its entire draft on one side of the ball? From that perspective, the 30,000-foot view of this draft isn’t so hot. The Bucs ranked 29th in scoring in 2014, 20th in 2015 and 18th each of the past two years. Of this group, only Mike Evans panned out. He’s a bona fide No. 1 receiver who influences coverages snap after snap and, lately, can align in multiple positions. (He’s best outside but proficient in the slot.)
Such versatility was supposed to describe Austin Seferian-Jenkins, but he was erratic and is now with the Jaguars, who hope his two or three tantalizing outings each year can turn into… four, maybe five?
Despite some receiving flexibility, Charles Sims drew little interest in free agency and so he’s back on a small one-year prove-it deal. It’ll be hard to prove anything with second-round rookie Ronald Jones and undrafted 2016 breakout contributor Peyton Barber getting most of his reps.
The rest of this draft was nondescript, though Kevin Pamphile has toggled between the top of the bench and bottom of the starting lineup.
If you have forgotten who Lovie green-lighted the team to select, it was Evans, Austin Seferian-Jackwagon, Charles Sims, Kadeem Edwards, Kevin Pamphile and Robert Herron.
When Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht notes the vast majority of high draft picks who bust out are the result of what’s (not) going on above the shoulders, that’s code for “ASJackwagon.”
May 9th, 2018 at 9:12 am
Better than all Dominick drafts
May 9th, 2018 at 9:14 am
ASJ is a very good receiving tight end. I don’t care if he’s on the team or not. He was still a good pick based on talent. He just signed a big contract and he has kept his nose clean. Obviously NFL talent evaluators agree as he was signed quickly. Simms is average which is what you can expect from a 3rd round pick. Pamphile was the 2nd of our 5th round picks and managed to become a starter. That’s a pretty good haul especially when ME is added to the mix.
May 9th, 2018 at 9:19 am
Lovie?
Others did worse than Lovie. Like Gruden drafts were the worse in this franchise history.
May 9th, 2018 at 9:22 am
I also remember Joe was nearly apoplectic that the Bucs picked Evans over Johnny Football that year. Must have written that complaint about 50 times. Next time Joe pushed strongly for Winston. Well, one out of two aint bad.
May 9th, 2018 at 9:31 am
What’s your YAC average, Mike?
Less than undrafted free agent Adam Humphrey’s or UFA Cameron Brate’s? Less than left unprotected and then unwanted Charles Simms?
Evans rarely gets separation, and after making the catch, looks for a place to fall down. Good possession receiver on a team that’s had few options til last year.
I’m underwhelmed.
May 9th, 2018 at 9:33 am
So we are putting the bad draft picks on lovie???? lol everything bad is on lovie everything good is jason licht lol you guys are crazy…. then i dont wanna hear “look licht found Winstons and Kwon” those are lovie…. Jason licht has a pretty bad draft record if you take away those players
May 9th, 2018 at 9:33 am
You guys remember when Lovie was saying that Simms was the next Matt Forte. 🤣😂🤣😂. Experts in their field and what not. Lmao
May 9th, 2018 at 9:41 am
How are the Bucs looking now when they just lost one of their longtime scouts to the Lions -of all teams. The Bucs wouldn’t promote him but the Lions made him a national scout. B Hudspeth who Licht said in a recent interview covered the Southeast for the Bucs which is the nations best area for players. Great job letting him getaway!!! Typical Bucs. The scouts havn’t been happy of late when Licht has been blocking guys from going to Gruden and also firing a well respected scout in the just weeks before the draft. Licht and Koetter just going to run this org into the ground.
May 9th, 2018 at 9:56 am
It was also on Licht the great……….i mean it is his scouting dept etc…..ultimately its on the glazers for hiring lovie and tedford and licht as a puppet or not, I mean look at robinson at tennessee that dude has had a vision since day 1 and has gone with it and built a solid playoff team where licht has had ZERO clue on what he wanted the bucs identity to be since he got here
May 9th, 2018 at 10:01 am
Dusty
I agree. I feel like Licht identity is copying the make up of whoever won the SB every year.
May 9th, 2018 at 10:02 am
Keyshawn never got separation or YAC but he was easily our best receiver.
May 9th, 2018 at 10:04 am
Thats not on Lovie. Litch drafted VH3 in 1st and traded up to get a K.
Every harps on the 4 starters draft class. Ok. What about FA? What about wins? Improvement? Hes messed up quite a bit. Draft included. But id give him a 2 year extension regardless. He learns from mistakes an litch is trending upwards as a GM
May 9th, 2018 at 10:17 am
Licht was working with all of Dom’s scouts and directors for that 2014 draft – and also quite likely was heavily influences by Tedford’s wishes as well.
May 9th, 2018 at 10:25 am
I dont know how many times i have to post the articles that clearly states that licht was in charge of the drafts and lovie had final say over the final 53. Cant blame lovie for the drafts. Licht has hit on a lot of picks but he has missed as well as all gms do. This was all jason licht and not lovie.
May 9th, 2018 at 10:34 am
@Pickgrin well in recent interviews preceding this years draft Licht said that HIS group of scouts were the “lifeblood” of the organization. He has filtered many of Dom’s old scouts and brought his own in. So all these guys jumping ship and trying to leave says alot about the workings of the front office currently.
May 9th, 2018 at 10:49 am
Should have taken Aaron Donald
May 9th, 2018 at 11:01 am
Tell tampabaybuc fan he is right about dominic drafts which included the failed 3rd overall pick the career loser lol
May 9th, 2018 at 11:34 am
Dusty,
Do you know that Tedford almost came to the Bucs prior to lovie? I don’t know how close but it was Rich McKay who wanted him to be the oc. Tedford stayed in the college ranks vs coming to Tampa to work with Tony Dungy.
May 9th, 2018 at 12:22 pm
@DayOnePaul – I love Evans but you are spot on re:YAC. I’ve seen him do the catch and slide, catch and tiptoe the sidelines and catch and immediately get tackled, very rarely does he break tackles to gain more yardage. That said, he is $$$$$ in the redzone and has a HUGE catch radius. I think Koetter and the WR coaches have been given somewhat of a pass by the fans and media because Evans needs to get more YAC, DJax needs to fight for receptions more and Goodwin needs more action. Evans is still a monster but could be a BEAST with more YAC.
May 9th, 2018 at 12:40 pm
Charles Sims was incredibly effective in 2015 when they used him properly, AND we had an offensive line that could actually run block. He’s still a weapon if Koetter can remember how to use him.
Pamphile is versatile depth.
So we basically ended up with 1 starter and 2 depth guys from that draft. Not great, but still better than 90% of Dominik’s drafts. 2015 and 2017 drafts are looking great. 2016 will depend on what happens with Spence and VH3…
May 9th, 2018 at 12:41 pm
tampabayfan & Webster
I agree…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!!
May 9th, 2018 at 1:22 pm
ASJ sucks and they were stupid to draft him. He had red flags all over the place. The guy was useless.
May 9th, 2018 at 1:55 pm
The Lovie blame game seems to give him credit for the bad draft but then ignore that he also drafted Winston, Smith, Alexander, Marpet….aka the grand slam.
May 9th, 2018 at 2:03 pm
Joe will always praise Lovie for allowing Licht to draft Jameis. If it wasn’t for Lovie, Jameis wouldn’t be here. That was one of three things that Lovie got right in two years.
May 9th, 2018 at 2:10 pm
Duke did not know that but this all makes more sense…….i wish dungy would have had an OC or let the OC throw the ball around a little bit, part of it probably had to do with not having a decent qb
May 9th, 2018 at 2:20 pm
If it wasn’t for Lovie Jameis wouldn’t be here? Everyone wanted Jameis except Dungy and Dirk. Lovie didn’t allow anything, except fielding a 2-14 team to secure the #1 pick, and he almost blew that vs the Saints (tank game)
May 9th, 2018 at 2:26 pm
ME is ovber rated. our QB’s can’t read coverages, all the see is ME and throw it his way. like another said, good position receiver, but hardly a comparison to the great one. good yeah, meh give him a B
May 9th, 2018 at 2:47 pm
ME Overrated? I wouldn’t go that far. Dude has had 1k+ plus receiving every season he’s been in the league and double digit Tds for most of it. What else does he have to do?
May 9th, 2018 at 2:59 pm
Lamarcus- You know Gruden didn’t have 2 first rounders AND 2 second rounders to start his tenure, right? That’s 2 years starting in round 3!
You guys are hilarious with the “over-rated” comments. Compared to who?
May 9th, 2018 at 3:29 pm
Dusty,
Both good points. I’ve always thought that ,although He was considered boring, if Mike Shula had not been axed the offense would have been enough to win in play offs. Dunn and Alsott first and second down limiting Dilfer to 3rd down. That formula worked out in Baltimore. I think that maybe they gave up on Shula to soon.
May 9th, 2018 at 3:54 pm
Lovie had no choice in the drafting of jameis. Yes, its cool lovie liked jameis as well but as long as licht was the gm, jameis was the pick period regardless of who the coach was period. It has been DOCUMENTED that licht was in charge of the draft. Why is this so hard for people to understand?
May 9th, 2018 at 3:54 pm
Let’s no forget that in 2014 we still had Dominick’s scouts. Not saying thats an excuse, but you have to lean on your scouts, especially since Jason was only here a few months prior to the draft. but wtfdiktydk
May 9th, 2018 at 4:19 pm
Evans, sure fire hit.
ASJ, drunk himself out of Tampa, still a starting TE in the NFL.
Sims, one of the best 3rd down backs in the NFL.
Kadeem Edwards, ended last year on the Cowboys.
Kevin Pamphile, was very productive with the Bucs, in my opinion huge mistake to let him go.
Robert Herron, out of football.
How is the class a miss? 5 out of 6 are still playing in the NFL, 4 out of 6 have been multi-game starters and one is an all-pro.
May 9th, 2018 at 4:26 pm
And we passed on Aaron Donald. Repeat All Pro and Defensive Player of the Year.
May 9th, 2018 at 4:33 pm
As the Bucs hopefully have realized. Defense wins games and those are won in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
May 9th, 2018 at 4:45 pm
So we’re back on the blame Lovie train. So @Joe you really think Jason and his scouts had no say in any of the draft picks, you have to be crazy. I here all coaches say that they are so focused preparing their team that they really don’t have time to study players.
May 9th, 2018 at 5:28 pm
First off now Titans GM Jon Robinson was part of this front office when we drafted Mike Evans back in 2014. That draft wasn’t bad at all from the way we all have clearly seen. Evans is a stud, but ASJ eventually started playing good football too. I didn’t never think his personality fit in the Tampa locker room at the time. Sims I thought would’ve been cut a long time ago is still around and is still playing looking to get better as well. Pamphile was good and should’ve been resigned but is now with Robinson and the Titans. Edwards never panned out and truly became a milk carton ad within the depth chart. Robert “boom” Herron was another player that didn’t work out either.
Pamphile, ASJ, Sims, and M. Evans all stepped on the on the field and have started at some point for the Bucs beyond their rookie year too. Not a bad first draft for Licht considering he had the whole staff in his ear that year as well as the following year when we actually had the#1 pick in the draft. I never have believed he wanted Winston just based on how he drafts. He likes small school talent and tough lineman and low verbal personalities. Marpet, D. Smith and Kwon Alexander are the players that he dug deep and found for the team as well as all of this seasons picks. I think ownership wanted the Kicker but he grabbed Spence. Ownership was in on Hargreaves as well. Any popular Florida college sports athlete that the fans demand for ownership wants as well. Licht has made some awesome picks though. The guys he draft actually stick to the roster and change the culture as well.
May 9th, 2018 at 5:36 pm
I was wanting Aaron Donald then Jarvis at the 2 in that draft.
I was cool with 13 but i always thought we should have bagged Landry at the 2 hole after mike
May 9th, 2018 at 6:04 pm
Daily coroner,
A. Donald 4 x pro bowler, 3 x all pro.
G McCoy 6 x pro bowler, 4 x all pro.
Considering that they both play the same position why draft another guy…it’s not like a dt is winning games for his team….
May 9th, 2018 at 6:12 pm
It really ticks me off when people throw Mike Evans under the bus. He is our best player. Every year he improves what he lacks on. Need to get these negative nancies to the other threads where the article is about someone needing to step up. This article is literally about how Mike Evans saved the draft class. Enjoy that we have a moster on our team that puts up 1000yrds a year.
May 9th, 2018 at 6:35 pm
having the best d line in the nfl is overrated……
May 9th, 2018 at 8:59 pm
Duke
McCoy is double and triple teamed.
Try doing that with Aaron Donald who is much younger next to him.
Collapsing the pocket makes the edge and back end that much better.
In the end we will see how it works with Donald and Suh next to each other. Should be fun.
May 9th, 2018 at 9:29 pm
Woof! Boy, weren’t they ever.
May 9th, 2018 at 9:39 pm
There wasn’t one player on the roster when Lovie was here that he didn’t want. That includes incumbents, free agents and drafted players. He had final say. Period.
When a Bucs scout pitched Charles Sims before the draft as the next Matt Forte, it was a done deal. Lovie wanted him drafted.
If Lovie didn’t want Jameis, he wouldn’t be here.
May 9th, 2018 at 11:41 pm
Daily C,
Ok, I see where you’re going. I wasn’t clear on the why, thanks And yes yes yes it would have been devastating. I love the idea…
Now that Donald has Suh and MCCoy has Vea. Should be interesting Donald is better than GMC and Suh ….well you just don’t know … But it’s safe to say He’s better than vea by a wide margin. Should be fun to watch.
May 10th, 2018 at 4:07 pm
Lovie had final say over the final 53 not the final say over every player that was drafted or signed. Did he have a say in who was signed? Sure. Just like koetter was the reason the bucs signed hawley and rodgers and smith was the reason grimes is here. Like i said, i posted links to articles, posted links to adam schefters tweet stating licht in charge of draft, lovie final say on the final 53. Translation…..licht buys all the groceries and lovie just decided what ingredients he was going to use ie final 53. Winston would have been here with or without Lovie. Not really hard to understand.