Future is bright.

This has to bring a wide smile to folks at One Buc Palace.

One reason why the Bucs got so irked last year (and still are) about how they were so dissed by #NFLMedia was because of the makeup of the team.

Even this spring when the Bucs read things like the Bucs didn’t draft anyone that made their team any better or didn’t go out and get a free agent to improve the team (hello, Jordan Whitehead), Bucs types were ticked.

They would say (behind the scenes), “Look at all of our young players. Are people really saying they won’t improve?”

If it a fair point. The Bucs got tremendous contribution from rookies last year. Even had an undrafted free agent starting at slot corner.

Well, handicapper turned stathead Warren Sharp did an analysis of the percentage of snaps teams got from players who have been in the league for at least seven years.

(Yes, last week Joe ran a story that referenced young players getting snaps the past three years. This, of course, is different.)

And despite the Bucs having old guard guys like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Lavonte David and Will Gholston often on the field, only five teams had more snaps from younger players than the Bucs.

Only Pittsburgh, Seattle, Minnesota, Indianapolis and Green Bay had fewer snaps logged by long-term NFL veterans than the Bucs.

If this year’s rookie class can come close to last year’s rookie class as far as production and snaps played, the Bucs ought to be cooking for quite some time.

% of offensive snaps from players in the NFL for 7+ years:

48% – NO
47%
46%
45%
44%
43% – NE
42%
41% – CLE
40% – SF
39%
38% – DET
37%
36% – LV
35% – HOU
34% – KC, WAS
33% – BAL
32% – TEN
31% – LA
30% – JAX
29% – DAL, ARI
28% – BUF
27% – ATL
26% – DEN
25%
24% – NYJ
23% – CHI, MIA…

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) February 25, 2024