By Devin Sanguinett – Bucs Report for Sports Talk Florida
Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht has absolutely killed the draft since 2016. And this one was no exception.
He came into this draft with a big list of needs and proceeded to address every last one of them (except for ILB, but they got a UDFA, so maybe that’s what he was banking on). Interior offensive line, done. Pass rusher, done. Future wide receiver, done. Backup running back, done. Secondary, done. Hell, he even got a tight end in the seventh. This doesn’t even mention filling his quota of drafting at least one Washington Husky. And the national consensus does seem to be that the Bucs didn’t have a not-flashy draft, but filled all of their needs.
I think the best pick is Graham Barton. The Buccaneers desperately needed to have a center and got what many consider to be the best one. And yes, I know Jackson Powers-Johnson was considered by many to be the best, but with the injury concerns, I think Barton will be better. I was actually shocked how many people in the media kept saying Jalen McMillan was the steal and the best pick by the Bucs. But he did have the most receiving yards in 2022 on the Huskies.
Now, the hard part here is my least favorite pick. Chris Braswell would probably be it if Marshawn Kneeland was still on the board. I think Braswell is a solid prospect, but Kneeland just showed more and seemed like a more complete player.
However, it’s hard to blame Licht for a player being drafted one spot before him. So, I think my least favorite is probably Bucky Irving. To make it clear, I still do not think he is a bad pick. And I think he will be solid. However, with Audric Estime on the board still, it feels like he would’ve been a better complement to Rachaad White and his style of play. However, I am not the GM, and so I will probably be proven wrong.
It is hard to say whether or not someone had a bad draft a couple days after. You need a few years to properly judge whether or not this draft class produced any contributors. However, on paper, Licht managed to draft several guys that will be able to make an impact right away and can be groomed into very good players.
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