Love, Hate, Indifference
May 3rd, 2021
Successor drafted?
If this long-time NFL reporter writes it, it must be so.
Prickly Pete Prisco of CBS Sports thinks the Bucs’ draft this past weekend was, well, OK. He thinks the Bucs got Alex Cappa’s replacement, thinks the Bucs may have burned a second-round pick and he wasn’t down on the pick of edge rusher Joe Tryon.
Taking to his overall draft grades for all NFL teams, Prisco gave the Bucs a “C” grade.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: C
Best pick: Third-round guard-tackle Robert Hainsey from Notre Dame is a good player. He gives them some insurance for next year when it’s time to pay Alex Cappa.
Worst pick: I didn’t like the decision to take quarterback Kyle Trask in the second round. I would have taken Davis Mills, or passed altogether on the quarterback of the future.
The skinny: They were clearly drafting for the future with all 22 starters back from the Super Bowl team. That’s a heck of a luxury. First-round pick Joe Tryon gives them a nice potential replacement down the line for Jason Pierre-Paul.
Now Joe doesn’t know if Tryon will ever replace Jason Pierre-Paul. That may be unrealistic, but hey, the guy shouldn’t have any ceiling on how good he can be.
The Robert Hainsey pick is interesting. It may be premature to suggest Hainsey replaces Cappa next year — Cappa in a contract year and if healthy could get a huge raise from another team on the free agent market. Joe thinks the Hainsey-Cappa succession is a bit premature because the Bucs re-signed backup guard Aaron Stinnie, and he too is in a contract year.
Joe would guess if the Bucs waved goodbye to Cappa next offseason, that Stinnie would be his logical successor. Remember, Stinnie started in the final three games of the season after Cappa got hurt at Washington to open the playoffs. You barely knew Stinnie was a backup, the way he played.
And yeah, it would stink to see Cappa go. You hate to lose a tough SOB like him.
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:35 pm
Keep Cappa.
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:38 pm
Maybe Hainsey replaces Jensen if he learns the center position good enough. I also am beginning to like the Trask pick. He has a better resume than TB did on draft day. Great potential for a pocket passer, imo.
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:39 pm
Bojim….keep Cappa and Suh and Godwin and JPP and Carlton and Ronald Jones and Fournette and Whitehead and Gronk and anybody else whose on a final year…….See the problem?
If Hainsey is the real deal it might make really tough decisions next year a little bit easier.
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:40 pm
So it any so, please.
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:41 pm
Licht got cute w/ the 2nd Rd pick. Doofus
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:42 pm
There will be a lot more cap money next year. So no one knows who will be retained at this point. The fact that we have a contingency plan is just smart business!
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:44 pm
Times moves forward, no telling what the future holds!
We are in better shape this time of the year maybe ever before.
Enjoy this feeling for now because it is a cruel game.
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:49 pm
Prisco has always been a phallus with ears.
May 3rd, 2021 at 4:50 pm
If Cappa goes it is not because the Bucs don’t value him, it will because some team like the Bucs of recent past will overpay for him. Well not really overpay but set the market price too rich for the Bucs.
Of course this is all BS’n now.
There is still the veterans released post draft in the works along with all sorts of roster fine tuning. As long as Brady can take snaps this year the Bucs will be a very powerful opponent!
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:02 pm
The opposite of love is not hate. It’s indifference.
— Robert McKee
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:06 pm
I don’t think they drafted Cappa’s replacement……they drafted a depth piece on the Oline who they thought could play multiple positions…..one who they suspected they would have time to develop…..could be Jensen’s replacement….or could be a very cheap (rookie contract) Oline backup for 4 years…..nevertheless, Hainsey was a good pick…as was Tryon…..as was Trask.
Yep, Trask was a good pick….until he isn’t.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:07 pm
I think they will work him at center and guard. Cappa and Jensen both have contracts coming up.
As for Mills – no way. Saw him a few times. Stiff. Mechanical. Trask is much more fluid. Just looks more comfortable.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:08 pm
Keep Cappa! Pure bada$$ery goin’ on with that dude!
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:09 pm
Cappa played great in 2020. But when you have 3 other highly paid O linemen and a young stud in Wirfs it’s just a numbers game. Hainsey will either replace Cappa or Jensen.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:10 pm
I love Cappa, great warrior in the trenches with his broken arm.
Havent done my homework on this new kid yet
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:19 pm
I do not always agree with Prickly Pete Prisco, but he is not afraid to give his opinions!
I thought we had a good draft overall, and gave us a B.
Cappa is a warrior, and one big mean SOB!
I think Hainsey was drafted more for depth, than as anyone’s immediate replacement.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:21 pm
I’d assume Hainsey is going to take over for Cappa next year, I don’t think you take a tackle and have him practice at center during the Senior Bowl and then think he’s an NFL starting center in a year. I could be wrong, but I don’t think that’s the plan.
The other plan still might be to keep this kid at tackle with the idea of him being your future RT and moving Wirfs to LT.
In any case, Licht has done an excellent job with offensive lineman. It’s his strongest area when it comes to picking guys, so I’d let him figure it out.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:26 pm
Joe Tryon to me is a real question mark. The guy has only started for one year, just sat out a year and now is expected to play sparingly. As for comparing him to JPP, I’m not sure about that. JPP was an absolute freak coming out of USF with an amazing combine, while Tryon had good numbers, but nothing I’ve seen makes me think he’s an elite talent — if he was, he would have gone before 32. Not saying he won’t be good, I just don’t know enough about him, but it did seem like he was overdrafted a bit, but only 10 selections or so. Had the Bucs traded back a few spots, added say a 3rd rounder and took him, then I’d have liked him a lot more.
As for Trask — I have his game footage, those slow rainbow college passes don’t work in the NFL, but Arians said his coaches say he can make every throw and has an NFL arm. If he turns out to be a quality starter one day, then it’s a great pick. If not, he’s a bust and it’s a wasted pick. Pretty simple.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:30 pm
Hainsey = Jensen
Stinnie = Cappa
These 2 replacements provide $11M in cap relief for Godwin, Gronk, Suh, JPP, Rojo
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:40 pm
Still wish they had taken
A player in the 2nd round who could help the team while Brady is still here. I wonder if the owners got involved.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:44 pm
I wasn’t a fan of Trask but I have to trust the experience of the staff we have. Arians has had tremendous success with grooming QBs, Leftwich played the position, Licht seems to be hitting his stride with drafting. We got Brady, the ultimate team guy, who is on board with being a mentor. I really like the idea of a QB getting to sit and learn. They will know after a year whether Trask is picking up things or not. If not, we dive back into the draft.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:46 pm
I don’t see Hainsey as starter material unless he really beefs up his lower body. Hard to envision him inside (C or G) going against defenders like Vea & Suh & some of the other beasts in the league. Gut feel is that he might be used to fill Joe Haeg’s role eventually, maybe even this year (6th OLineman outside, not inside).
As for Cappa, he’s coming along nicely, but still has a ways to go. Can’t see the Bucs offering him the $10-$12 mil salary that Jensen, Marpet or Smith make, but I do think they’ll make every effort to keep him in the fold, but at something less than that.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:53 pm
Year in year out, good teams let players like Cappa and Jordan Whitehead walk in free agency and let somebody else overpay for them. The key is to lock up players like Devin White, Vita Vea, and Carlton Davis.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:54 pm
Rod Munch those all sound like great options and I agree with you assumption that the plan is to replace Cappa. Not based on Cappas play but as a cheaper option to fill one of our many holes.
Fingers crossed Hainsley works out.
The odea about making him a C makes me queezy. Our pass protection and picking up different pass attacks was phenominal last year. Center is a big part of that, no way in hell im giving that up. And when you go back and look at all the windows Bradys line gives him Jensen has that line on the same page as Brady…….I just cant see that happening with a young kid at C and I doubt Brady wants to end his career teaching a brand new C everything he knows.
The only way i wanna see Brady on the Bucs without Jensen at C is if we bring in a vet whose has been around and maybe even worked with Brady before.
If we wanna cross train Hainsley to be be a future C for Trask or maybe another young QB in a few years from now that might work well……but for all that trouble it might be just as easy to let Marpet keep working on C and plan to try another trasition to that position(though thats a soft subject, his first try at C was very ugly)
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:55 pm
Bobby gets it.
If Trask is Trash. We draft another QB next year. No brainer!!!
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:57 pm
But he is not Trash… Trask is a NFL talent for sure. Having Darden and OJ will make him feel like he has Toney and Pitts around still.
I am willing to bet right now that Trask will be the first QB that the Bucs drafted that gets a second contract.
May 3rd, 2021 at 5:58 pm
Ask Winston how that cannon arm works out for you in regards to turnovers.
DOPE!!!!
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:05 pm
Bucs fans were dancing jigs and jumping for joy when we drafted a franchise QB #1 overall.
One 9 win season and 50,000 strands of hair pulled from my own scalp was the result.
Now half the Bucs fan base is cussing the sky cause they dont like Trask………Sorry yall but your offseason reactions rarely match reality. So forgive me if I am rooting for Gator Trask to succeed and reserving judgement til i can at least see him run a huddle.
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:05 pm
Hainsey could be the replacement for Haig……extra lineman….
Also…re Cappa…..Licht makes a habit of resigning most of his higher draft picks……exceptions for Jameis & Kwon… But, Marpet, D. Smith, Evans…resigned.
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:13 pm
What a lot of fans are skipping over is probably only 3 or 4 draftees even make the 53. We are STACKED!!!!
If I were Licht I would have tried to trade my #5,#6, and both of my #7s this season for picks next yr.
You only look for Right now Starters when you need them Right now!
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:20 pm
@JimmyJack Says:
“Bucs fans were dancing jigs and jumping for joy when we drafted a franchise QB #1 overall…….. I am rooting for Gator Trask to succeed and reserving judgement til i can at least see him run a huddle….”
———————–
common sense…👍
@I CARE NOW Says:
“If Trask is Trash. We draft another QB next year. No brainer!!!”
—————
common sense … 👍
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:21 pm
Lol .. Tom Brady’s
7th Mr Irrelevant
🤡
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:25 pm
These guys write for a living, they don’t run football teams. Licht drafted Winfield and Wirfs and they were spectacular on our run to the SB. Were all of the “experts” on board with these picks? No. All we have to do is to revisit the TB12 draft. How many of these geniuses got that right? Or two years ago when the sky was falling because we drafted a linebacker at 4th in the first round? These clowns are click-bait.
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:28 pm
SB
I’d be willing to bet that all 7 make the team……they were all drafted to play a specific roll.
While, going in…I agree that we could have traded later round picks for better picks next year, that would have left us with UDFAs & cheap Vets for our ST.
With your philosophy on a win-now draft…..Trask makes the least sense.
I didn’t think we needed to draft a QB this
year….but I think we have a solid prospect in Trask.
Keep in mind, we haven’t filled roster spots for Haeg, Cichy, Adams, R. Smith, Auclair, or Gabbert.
And, I think Mickens (non-guaranteed $900K) is certainly in jeopardy with Darden a 4th round pick we moved up to take.
So there is your 7 slots there.
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:29 pm
I have never been a fan of Prisco. I completely disagree with his assessment. I love the Trask pick. I trust our coaches watched a lot of tape on all the quarterbacks. Especially guys like Tom Moore And Bruce Arians. Trask will be ready to go when Tom is ready to leave. He put up 46 on the tide with no running back, less then average line and no defence. He’s a leader, he’s tough, not afraid to sacrifice his own body for the team, smart and I still believe he has a ton of upside.
Joe Tryon is another great pickup. Funny the only pick I’m not sure about was the Hainsey pick. I understand the logic behind it but not convinced he was the guy to draft.
I’m not going to grade because frankly I don’t believe in draft grades. I trust the scouting staff had their reasons for drafting who they did. You have to give the champs the benefit of the doubt.
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:34 pm
I’ll worry about a Cappa if/who replacement after the buzz from the next SB win subsides.
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:40 pm
FAMU OL Calvin Ashley
He will make this team 1000%.
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:52 pm
Stinnie did look relly good. Jason lichts has proven to be a VERY good at drafting OL
May 3rd, 2021 at 6:56 pm
Stinnie played very well, I don’t see the Bucs letting either of them go. Hensley most likely will learn from Jensen and take over at C. Good teams stay at high levels because they keep good players…. Why lets 2 good Gs go, and not have a plan fro C which we all seen what happens when a team doesn’t have good Center play.
May 3rd, 2021 at 7:00 pm
Wow… and to think we use to fret over whether or not we would get more than six wins.
Now we’re worrying about season after next. 1st world problems.😂
May 3rd, 2021 at 7:01 pm
Over the years the Bucs have not had good success drafting UF players. I hope that changes with Trask, but i like the kid Mills from Stanford better. But thats me.
May 3rd, 2021 at 7:16 pm
Calvin Ashley, 6’7″, 330. Yikes!
May 3rd, 2021 at 7:21 pm
Pete can suck it.
May 3rd, 2021 at 7:59 pm
Brady knew in advance the Bucs were targeting Trask and obviously gave it his blessing. Nobody commenting here knows what Tom is telling Bruce and Jason regarding his playing time-line.
If Brady has green lighted Trask as his protégé I trust his judgment and the fans on this board should too.
May 3rd, 2021 at 8:14 pm
Robert Hainsey was my favorite pick of the entire draft I think he will take over kappas spot after this season would love kappa back but you can’t pay everyone and I love the name great lineman name lol
May 3rd, 2021 at 8:30 pm
Stinnie came in like a seasoned vet. Forgot he was in because his name wasn’t called. That means you’re playing well as an O Lineman. It’s hard to ignore that fact. I really like Stinnie if Cappa becomes more of a luxury than a need. I think the tea leaves might lean toward Donovan Smith or more likely Jensen being the guy that needs to be replaced in the near future if Hainsey becomes somebody.
May 3rd, 2021 at 8:47 pm
Again, too many people playing a different game.
The Bucs are playing Football, and playing to win.
We arent playing” NFL accountants”.
Which is good, because that game would suck!
Licht did the impossible this year. Im betting he does it again.
I believe Jensen, since the loss of Pouncy, is the best center in the game. More importantly- he brings a intimidating attitude to our Line.
They are aggressive Bullies! Fun to watch.
I think Cappa is already a top ten Guard- and will end up a top 5 guard. Same aggressive attitude as Jensen.
You dont let great Olinemen walk. Ever.
Ever.
At this point, Id say Hainsey is going to play special teams, and learn the center position.
I think he can be more great depth for our interior linemen.
Time will tell, if he develops in to more than that.
May 3rd, 2021 at 8:49 pm
I would of loved drafting Trey Smith. He was a steal for KC in the 6th. I know about blood clots. We will regret not drafting him. When your 1st team all sec that means something. Like Arians always says no risk it no biscuit. Should have drafted this cookie.
May 3rd, 2021 at 9:36 pm
TRASK IS NOT THE FUTURE…Yet??? He’s a project for a starter in the future but he was also taken for possible strong young depth as a future backup. I still believe it’s the worst pick, but something that could work out nicely in either direction in the future with coaching.
Cappa isn’t going anywhere. A Licht third round pick that has only touched the surface in his development in a good 2020 season. Unless he has a all pro year to really sky rocket his price, he will remain. I do believe Hainsey was brought in to learn the center position with Marpet, Cappa, and Stennie on the inside. Yes he is very close to my number one behind Tryon. Hainsey is a beast that sounds like he can play well at any position on the oline. Licht’s serving pancakes like Prince with this guy and Wirfs.
May 3rd, 2021 at 11:19 pm
Only thing worst than 2nd round wasted pick (see opportunity cost) is to keep talking about bench warmer project. Aside from that I guess the draft was good but passing on JOK will be discussed later on.
May 4th, 2021 at 1:13 am
Hainsey’s legs are thin for nfl standards. That boy has missed leg day too many times. He needs to get in the gym.
May 4th, 2021 at 4:38 am
Tryon and Trask are projects that this team had the luxury of drafting. No biggie if Trask fails, Almost a 3rd round pick. The best part is later. Hainsey, Britt and Stuard all had a great senior bowl game. Unfamiliar with Darden but wow!
May 4th, 2021 at 5:08 am
seriously tho…
cappa and wirfs were functioning like a well oiled machine on the right side before cappa went down…
they were working in tandem – i used to just watch and be like “these mofos are nice”…and with gronk over there too…
figure out a way to keep these trenches overloaded – as long as tom brady is on the team…
the linemen will keep brady around, upright, and wanting to play more seasons…
it’s gonna hurt to lose cappa or jensen…but i gotta say you let jensen go due to the age factor…realistically they can only pay one – what can ya do…
all this talk it too soon anyway…gotta let the season at least begin to play out…
also hainsey’s gotta hit the weight room like cappa did…he’s a big guy without an nfl body at this point…have a good look see
May 4th, 2021 at 5:35 am
…
May 4th, 2021 at 8:48 am
When it comes to draft “experts” if most of them were that great they would be a GM for an NFL team. Opinions are like a certain part of anatomy. Everyone has one. And most of it gets flushed.
May 4th, 2021 at 11:59 am
Hope springs eternal Says:
May 4th, 2021 at 8:48 am
When it comes to draft “experts” if most of them were that great they would be a GM for an NFL team. Opinions are like a certain part of anatomy. Everyone has one. And most of it gets flushed.
————————
Nobody flushes any part of their anatomy.