Fantasy RBs

Bucs’ Draft Needs Revolve Around Brady

Tom Brady. Photo by Keith Allison (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Last month, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought in perhaps the biggest superstar in their franchise’s history. This week at the NFL Draft, the Bucs will look to build weapons around Tom Brady to give him the best possible chance to succeed.

The Bucs are in a win-now mode, and when you enter that mode, you look for guys who can make immediate impacts, starting with Free Agency and the NFL Draft; players who can start this September. On Tuesday, they traded for Rob Gronkowski, signaling even more that it’s a win-now mentality in Tampa. A year ago the Bucs focused more on the future, spending much of their early rounds drafting help at linebacker and in the secondary. This week, it’s likely going to be the other side of the ball that garners the most attention.

Here are the biggest needs for the Bucs going into Draft Day 2020.

Offensive line

Most all mock drafts have it pegged accurately; the Bucs will almost certainly pick a tackle to protect Tom Brady. At pick number 14, the Bucs are eying a player who can dominate the offensive line and improve that part of the position which has been average to below-average over the last couple years in protecting Jameis Winston.

Enter Andrew Thomas, a Georgia Bulldog who can dominate the position and play both right and left tackle. The Bucs could look at moving up to draft him, or take the chance and hope he falls to 14. If he doesn’t, there are other offensive lineman the Bucs target, including Josh Jones, the 319-pound Houston tackle who dominated at the Senior Bowl.

Other offensive lineman you could see the Bucs target in the first round include Mekhi Becton of Louisville, Tristan Wirfs of Iowa, and Jedrick Wills of Alabama. Any one of those guys will be implanted immediately as a starter to protect Brady.

Running Back

The Bucs are lacking depth at the tailback position and will seek to add a star back in the first three rounds. Ronald Jones was a good complementary back last season, but the Bucs want a bellcow. They will do cartwheels if DeAndre Swift of Georgia is sitting there in the second round, especially if they already were able to get his teammate Thomas with the first pick. They could possibly try and move up in the second round if Swift drops past the first few selections. The Bucs will also eye Jonathan Taylor from Wisconsin, J.K. Dobbins of Ohio State, Zack Moss of Utah, and Cam Akers of Florida State.

Wide Receiver

The Bucs will need to replace Breshad Perriman who left in free agency and signed with the New York Jets. Brady has made a living killing teams with the third wide receiver. It’s how Julian Edelman became a star. The Bucs could add a free agent on the market that fits Tom Brady’s system, like a Chris Hogan, or promote Scotty Miller or Justin Watson to the number three spot. They could also look to deepen their wide receiving corps by bringing in another playmaker to accompany stars Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Rob Gronkowski. If Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs III fall to number 14, it will be difficult to turn a blind eye and not at least entertain the possibility of drafting them. That being said, after adding Gronk on Tuesday, the Bucs likely won’t consider a wide receiver until at least round 3 or 4.

Defense

The Bucs spent a lot of picks last year in the secondary and will likely look to develop the guys they drafted a year in that position. The defensive line is still pretty stacked with Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh, Shaq Barrett, and Jason Pierre-Paul, but lacks depth behind the front four. They could add another defensive tackle to develop and take over for Suh who is only on a one-year deal. A more pressing need could be linebacker to join Devin White and LaVonte David. Look for the Bucs to address a position on the front 7 in round 2 or 3 and then add defensive depth late in the draft.

The Final Verdict

Wide receiver will be tempting in the first round and I expect the Bucs to entertain it given the crop of talent at the top, but ultimately the Bucs will go offensive tackle and running back with picks 1 and 2. Like mentioned above, an ideal draft for them would be Thomas and Swift with the first two picks, but I’m not sure both will drop far enough to be selected. Offense will most certainly be the focus here to give Brady the biggest comfort zone at his new home.

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