BSPN Prediction: Groping For An Edge Rush Spills Into 2025
July 4th, 2024
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
When it’s the Fourth of July, various things spring to mind on Joe’s favorite holiday.
Hot weather. Lovely ladies wearing scant clothing. Plenty of cold beer on a boat. Good Tennessee bourbon on the rocks. Steaks, ribs, chicken and corn on the cob on the grill. Maybe chocolate chip ice cream at night. Fireworks at the beach.
And NFL mock drafts!
Joe normally wouldn’t give a mock draft on the Fourth of July five seconds of thought. But this one, well, it raises all sorts of alarm bells and red flags.
Matt Miller of BSPN is of the mind the Bucs won’t be that good this year. Shocker, yeah, Joe knows. A guy from the national #NFLMedia is down on the Bucs.
Miller has the Bucs drafting No. 12 overall, a clear signal something goes wrong this season. The 8-9 Broncos picked quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12 in April.
What’s interesting is the position Miller claims Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht will select at No. 12. It’s not quarterback, which tells Joe that perhaps Miller thinks Mayfield will have a decent season.
Either that or Miller isn’t a fan of Miami quarterback Cam Ward (he has Shedeur Sanders and Quinn Ewers already off the board when the Bucs pick at No. 12).
No, Miller has the Bucs picking an edge rusher, Harold Perkins of LSU. If this actually happens, the Bucs are below .500 and picking an edge rusher in the first round, that tells Joe a couple of things:
* Joe Tyron-Shoyinka will have played his last game for the Bucs.
* Something has the Bucs fully spooked about YaYa Diaby and Chris Braswell.
On face value, Joe loves the idea of picking an edge rusher in the teens of the draft. It’s the most important position on a defense. Hey, keep swinging for the fences. Sooner or later you’ll make contact.
But to draft an edge rusher at No. 12 overall means the Bucs have really soured on guys the team picked in the second- and third-rounds, respectively, the past two drafts (and a first-round pick as well four years prior).
If the Bucs draft an edge rusher, hey, it shows Licht is not ignoring the position. Quite the opposite. But at that point, one would have to ask, why haven’t these guys been developed?
July 4th, 2024 at 10:32 am
The 2021 draft is the bust of the decade so far. The question is was it COVID or was it the Bucs resting on the laurels because they were “running it back” and invested in projects more than additional impact players?
July 4th, 2024 at 10:40 am
Especially not that guy… they already have a couple ‘tweener’s’ on the roster… no need to add another.
July 4th, 2024 at 10:47 am
Bucs just might draft a 1st rd edge rusher in 2025 if the right player is available. But it will be a much later selection than #12. Hopefully 32nd…..
July 4th, 2024 at 10:50 am
Wow, Miller’s wrong on sooo many counts.
1 – Bucs will end up drafting in the mid-20’s not at his #12, just like this year (we picked Graham Barton at #26).
2 – Bucs young OLBs (Diaby & Braswell) will come on strong this year. I’m convinced that even JTS will have a decent year (7-8 sacks, 7-8 TFLs & 22-24 pressures), although he may opt to move elsewhere next season for a fresh start if the money is there.
3 – Bucs will draft either a big DT/NT to complement (and eventually replace) Vea in Rnd 1, or a CB/WR (depending on how each position group performs this year). In the remaining Top-3 Rnds they’ll pick an ILB (to eventually replace LVD) or possibly a Guard (depending how this season’s LG performs), and either the DT/CB/WR they didn’t draft in Rnd 1.
Stop salivating Joe. We’ve drafted edge rushers high 3 years in a row (JTS – Rnd 1; Diaby – Rnd 3; Braswell – Rnd 2). If we do add another, it’ll be later in Rnds 2 or 3 because an edge who Licht just can’t resist fell for one reason or another.
July 4th, 2024 at 10:53 am
2021 was bad, but nothing will ever be worse than the 2016 / 2017 back to back stinkers. We were so bad back then, it was downright comical. You could smell the stink on those drafts.
In turn, I’m still grateful that TB12 brought his superfriends to Tampa in 2020.
July 4th, 2024 at 11:01 am
Hey Joe!
“ Hot weather. Lovely ladies wearing scant clothing. Plenty of cold beer on a boat. Good Tennessee bourbon on the rocks. Steaks, ribs, chicken and corn on the cob on the grill. Maybe chocolate chip ice cream at night. Fireworks at the beach.”
I hope you experience each and every of the above favorite pursuits today!
Happy 4th to the best Bucs site.
July 4th, 2024 at 11:01 am
Lot of it was The Sickness. Less (or no) games to study. Had to do a lot of projecting from the previous season. No combine to interview the guys, get official times, weights, etc. Much more of a guessing game. For all teams.
July 4th, 2024 at 11:01 am
Thank you Dave!
July 4th, 2024 at 11:50 am
All feel goods noted — JTS will be marketing cosmetics to men in 2025. He is not NFL material.
July 4th, 2024 at 12:06 pm
For all the plaudits Licht receives for his draft and FA successes he is equally deserving of criticism for his lackluster track record drafting RB’s and Edge rushers.
July 4th, 2024 at 12:19 pm
Brady mom in a Bucs shirt on the post Brady put up on ig.
July 4th, 2024 at 12:46 pm
@defense rules I agree DT/NT is probably the next 1st rd or corner/wr
July 4th, 2024 at 12:58 pm
The front three is where the magic of a 3-4 comes from. We’ve got two-thirds, just need a replacement for knee-shredding Logan the Oaf.
July 4th, 2024 at 1:10 pm
Who is “Brady Mom?” His mother? Gisele? Bridget Moynahan?
The last thing Bucs related on Brady’s Instagram is over a year old (January 2023).
July 4th, 2024 at 1:15 pm
HahaHah Ohhhh, no, no, no,no, NO. Not “Tennessee” Bourbon. It’s “KENTUCKY” Bourbon. That Tennessee sour mash is JUNK. LoL. Not even comparable to Kentucky! And I LOVE saying that too, because it’s the ONLY damm thing we’re beating them in these days. ANY excuse to use the words “sour” and “mash” (and JUNK) in conjunction with Tinna-Frickin-SEE. Hahah
July 4th, 2024 at 1:31 pm
BOURBON WARS!!!
I’ll go get the popcorn.
July 4th, 2024 at 1:33 pm
I’m more of a single-malt guy, although am definitely more of a sewer than a connoisseur
July 4th, 2024 at 1:34 pm
Edge rusher- someone that rushes the edge?
July 4th, 2024 at 1:38 pm
Whatever happens please if theres a god do NOT draft Sanders. He is going to be horrible. Talk about hype. Can tou imagine the catamaran with his Dada bugging the staff. I saw video of the q.b. taunting Oregon players before they got exposed and humiliated. Then he basically quits on the team like a spoiled little coward. Too bad Atalanta can draft him in 2025 it wouldn’t surprise me lol.
July 4th, 2024 at 1:39 pm
Drama… not cataraam or cataract caract whatever
July 4th, 2024 at 1:39 pm
If Bucs are picking Harold Perkins – he’ll have to have slide outside the top 10 – & it would to play LB in a Micah Parson’s disrupter role – which makes a ton of sense for the Bucs & seems right up Bowles alley with his exotic blitz packages.
However, I’m seriously hoping for a longer term DT replacement for Vea that could easily slide in anywhere along the front immediately…IE…DT Deone Walker-Kentucky.
Dude has experience moving all over the D front for a NFL level hybrid 3-4/4-2-5 scheme…run stuffing, pass rushing & even dropping into coverage from time to time…at 6’6″ 347lbs of quick twitch, raw unadulterated power & freak athletic ability that would mesh well with current roster make-up.
Talk about a formidable 2025 defensive unit in Tampa.
3-4 Base would look something like:
Walker, Vea & Kancey
YaYa, Dennis, Britt, Braswell
McCullum, Winfield , Whitehead, Dean/??
4-2-5 P
YaYa, Walker, Kancey, Braswell
Dennis, Britt
McCullum, Smith, Winfield, Whitehead, Dean/??
July 4th, 2024 at 2:10 pm
You are correct! Joe’s mistake. Thank you for the correction!
Right now Joe’s sippin’ on Bulleit 10-year aged KENTUCKY bourbon on the rocks. 🙂
‘Merica mother f’er! 🥃
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
July 4th, 2024 at 2:40 pm
Matt Miller is wrong again… Bucs will be drafting 32nd in April.
July 4th, 2024 at 3:32 pm
On a side not….Why do you refer to ESPN as BSPN?
I’m new here and don’t “get it”
July 4th, 2024 at 3:34 pm
The first two letters are what you may think it is. 🙂
July 4th, 2024 at 3:50 pm
Got it 👍🏼
July 4th, 2024 at 4:49 pm
They’ll be picking an outside CB or a WR next year in the 1st round.
July 4th, 2024 at 5:07 pm
Joe kicking the Bourb and talking ball! Love it.
I picked the wrong week for a cleanse, living vicariously through you moes.
July 4th, 2024 at 5:13 pm
‘Merica mother f’er! 🥃
Amen Brother!!
July 4th, 2024 at 6:57 pm
It would be third and second rounds, respectively.
July 4th, 2024 at 7:13 pm
Score more points, get big leads, sack totals from the edge will go up no matter who’s playing.
July 4th, 2024 at 7:40 pm
Has Licht ever drafted an edge rusher that lasted beyond their rookie contract? I cannot think of a single one.
July 4th, 2024 at 7:43 pm
Come to think of it, not a QB either. He is purely o-line and WR when it comes to talent recognition.
July 4th, 2024 at 7:53 pm
Cheers everyone.
Tequila earlier at the beach, now sippin some whiskey.
July 5th, 2024 at 3:43 am
Draft? Wow! Just Wow! I think I will hop on the Boat and go find some scantily clad ladies to BBQ with now…Thanks Joe!
Go Bucs!
July 6th, 2024 at 2:02 pm
There ya go Joe! Kentucky Bourbon all the way Haha. My Dad used to attend Bill Samuels Derby Party when I was a kid &back when no one outside of Kentucky had even heard of it… Everyone used to think Jim Beam was THE BEST bourbon. My dad’s business partner prob did more than ANYONE at promoting the brand… They used to have it shipped in to every hotel bar we stayed in, since NO ONE ever stocked it back then, throughout most of the ‘90s. So, it was my original ‘go-to’ bourbon & was considered pretty ‘high-end’ back then! We turned everyone on to it! Then, Makers began taking it ‘national’ not long after… I remember seeing my first Makers Mark billboard in Vegas! My first bourbon though, was Wild Turkey 101 during my teenage years LoL. I’ll still order a shot of it every now and again at the Winghouse on Gulf-To-Bay. Their selection is not the best. For the money you really can’t beat it! At the turn of the millennium my ‘go-to’ became Woodford Reserve & was for MANY years. It also, was not stocked in most bars fin the very beginning. Prob about six years ago, my new ‘go-to’ became Basil Hayden and it remains so. I miss the days I could just walk into ANY Kentucky liquor store and purchase a bottle of Blanton’s for $60-BUCKS. I started buying it and keeping it stocked in my home bar since the year 2000… Noooobody hardly (even in Kentucky), had even heard of it before back then! The only reason I bought it the first time, was because it was one of the most expensive ones, and because I really liked the bottle with horse on the top of it LoL. Bourbon has really come a loooong way!!!!
July 6th, 2024 at 2:06 pm
haha yeah, I was talking about Makers Mark in the very beginning… Just noticed I only said Bill Samuels LoL. My bad… Most people in Kentucky know who that is, so I just took that for granted on here, as I was writing.