Prickly Pete Picks Grades
April 29th, 2019
Reveals Bucs grade.
Few NFL writers are as confident in their opinions as prickly Pete Prisco of CBS Sports. And Prisco usually takes strong stands that irk the easily offended.
His grading of the Bucs’ drafting this past weekend is no different. Prisco seemed to like the it. Well, except for the kicker, which in Prisco’s eyes dragged the team’s full grade down a peg or two.
Best pick: I love first-round linebacker Devin White. He flies to the football. White has the speed teams need to have these days with all the spread-out offenses.
Worst pick: Why did they take a kicker again? They took Matt Gay in the fifth round, which means they didn’t learn from the Roberto Aguayo fiasco from the past. You sign kickers. You don’t draft them.
The skinny: They had to get better on defense, so spending their first five picks on that side of the ball made sense. White will be a star, and I like second-round corner Sean Bunting.
For context of how much Prisco hates kickers, when the Bucs drafted Roberto Aguayo, Prisco gave the selection an “F” grade. Turns out he was right.
Joe has few doubts White will be a fine pick but the poor guy is going to have to be a defensive player for the ages to do everything Buccu Bruce Arians claims he can do in the way Arians promises to use him. Is that too much pressure on the guy?
Joe has seen enough reviews from #DraftMedia to realize Sean Bunting may be a hidden gem. No, Joe rarely watches MAC games so Joe cannot speak with any degree of authority about Bunting. Some folks Joe trusts seem to be high on him so that’s good enough for Joe.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:52 pm
It seems like all of the DB’s were “reach” picks… that consensus multiple DB’s were rated higher that the Bucs passed on. This concerns me greatly given the Bucs success rate when they “gamble” picks or think they are smarter than everyone else.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:55 pm
Let’s be clear you have to search far and wide to find people who rate the Bucs draft highly. Most “grades” are of the A or B variety as those who cover the NFL grade on a curve to keep most fans content with the “draft haul” that will usually result in one or two long term starters anyways.
That said, Mel Kiper gave the Bucs his lowest grade in the league, the same grade he gave the Giants, C+. Chad Reuter on NFL.com also gave the Bucs his lowest marks in the NFL a C+ a grade shared only by the Houston Texans (Giants earned a B from him). Even Prisco rated the Bucs a C+, which is one of the lowest grades he offered teams.
Bottom line, Licht started with a top 5 pick and all of his premium selections and came away with a draft that was universally panned by both fans and those who cover the NFL or Draft for a living. Doesn’t mean they are right but like his 27-53 record, it certainly doesn’t speak with any confidence about the job he did.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:56 pm
Dean with 2 knee operations and the kicker are huge question marks, OK with the rest…
April 29th, 2019 at 1:57 pm
the bottom line is this entire draft just exudes bust top 5 pick non impact player second rounder MAC defender LMAO unfortunately they have my money and hopefully I can sell tix after week 10 when the Bucs will be playing meaningless games
April 29th, 2019 at 1:57 pm
I’m OK with spending a 5th round pick on a keeeker….
April 29th, 2019 at 1:57 pm
Went on a falcons message board to see what the chatter is up there and they seem to be a little upset with their GM and HC….WOW they were just in the super bowl 3 years ago and outside lookin in, they are a really good defensive team and then ppl wonder why bucs fans are upset, the bucs have ZERO identity and not sure what the plan is because it changes every off season
April 29th, 2019 at 1:58 pm
With the exception of White, everyone of the Bucs draft picks was a reach. Gump is really not that smart, he proves it each year during the draft. Drafting a kicker ahead of Willis is just insane.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:01 pm
The huge problem I see is having a non impact player making big money for the next 5 years this quite possibly may be the worst draft since Mccoy
April 29th, 2019 at 2:09 pm
draft ratings, just like draft predictions, are just clickmongering and empty chatter to fill the time between seasons. if you want a few laughs, go back and read the draft recaps of any draft guru for any team 3+ years ago.
Almost everything we think we know about these guys is wrong. On to training camp, where we might actually learn a little more about who these guys are
April 29th, 2019 at 2:09 pm
Didn’t Belichick draft a punter ?
April 29th, 2019 at 2:11 pm
I don’t get how you guys keep saying players were a reach. And there were guys rated better at the position we picked. The rankings are done in general. Not to each teams defensive scheme. So greedy might have been rated higher than our picks but that doesn’t mean he was rated higher for our scheme. he doesn’t fit are system. Just like he was ranked lower on defenses similar to ours teams draft board also. Bunting and dean. Very well could have been the top two rated corners for our defense. i don’t understand how you guys don’t get that. You just see a name like greedy and think man some Walter football has him mocked to us with the 5th pick he must be great. Every team passed on him twice. So something was wrong. Everyone is bitching about the picks and have never seen them take one rep. And no one really even knows what are defense scheme will even look like. So how can you even grade a draft when no one has taken a snap. And you guys get angry because we got a c+ by some dude that never played football.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:12 pm
Walter Football gave it an A-. Would have been an A but they didn’t like the Kicker pick in Round 5. I’ll take these guys all day over Kiper and Prisco.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:14 pm
What JeffBuc just said.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Few counters to these comments:
1. The Raiders & Patriots both passed on Greedy Williams for other corners:
Raiders – Trayvon Mullen
Patriots – Joejuan WIlliams
No mockers had those guys above Williams. I trust Mike Mayock’s evaluations pretty well. Bill decided a 6’4 corner who ran a 4.64 was worth more than Greedy. Interested to see how that freak pans out.
2. Licht said they took Bunting when they did anticipating a run on corners/safeties. That’s kind of what happened. After Bunting went at 39 we saw 8 taken in the next 25 picks.
Then in R3 there were only 2 secondary players taken before we took Jamel Dean – who was rated as a R3-R4 type prospect… Not a huge reach per boards I’ve looked at. I would have taken Oshane Ximines OLB/DE. Or stayed at our earlier R3 pick for Henderson RB or a OG or DE Winovich. God mother lol
Guessing that it very well is possible that Dean/Edwards simplly were the highest players on Tampa’s board still as teams were ignoring S/CB in R3 when the Bucs figured those players would go in r2/R3.
3. This same draft:
R4 – 49ers took a punter
R5 – Pats took a punter
R5 – Browns took a kicker
So another team took a R5 kicker, and we saw two punters go in R4/R5. Dorsey is a pretty respected GM / team builder.
4. I don’t care about draft grades. Someone just tell me how good the 2019 Bucs defense is because that is all I will be evaluating in terms of this draft’s impact.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Sean Bunting was ranked 35th best CB on Walerfootball.com
April 29th, 2019 at 2:18 pm
pick6, howbout you spend a few minutes looking up some past drafts and let me know where the Pro Bowlers are (hint: in the first round).
Sure, the A-C “ratings” are throwaways beyond the idea that someone liked a teams draft more than another. However, NFL teams get it right more than the “it’s a crapshoot” crowd would like to believe. Your odds of getting a long term starter or Pro Bowler is significantly higher in Rd 1 than in Rd 4-7. So the reality is teams generally do a solid job of identifying who the best players are given a margin of error.
In the 2014 NFL Draft, Justin Gilbert is literally the only player selected between 4-17 who didn’t make a Pro Bowl. That’s 12 Pro Bowlers in 13 straight selections.
In the 2016 NFL Draft, Ronnie Stanley is the only player not to make a Pro Bowl taken in the top 7. That’s 6 Pro Bowlers in the first 7 picks. Not bad for evaluation.
Does anyone here think Sean Bunting is going to be better than Devin White for his career? While it’s possible, it’s certainly not likely.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:19 pm
Buc 4ever I assume your talking about geese Willis from Miami. Who was not drafted by any team. But Licht is the idiot for not taking a guy you thought was great. Even though he was kicked off of one team. Suspended with his new team for a year. And is injury prone in his one season. Instead he drafts the nations best kicker. And that’s a horrible pick. When we have read 2 stories a day just on this site how bad our kickers have been. So drafting the best at his position in a huge position of need is somehow just plain dumb. There have been multiple kickers and punters taken from round 5-7 recently. And we had one of the last picks in the 6th so he wouldn’t have been there after our 5th round pick. Are kicking game on paper just got better. And how nice will it be if we don’t have to worry about a kicker for the next 12 years and all it cost was a 5th round pick. We have brought in kicker after kicker. What else was there to be done.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:25 pm
Why would you want a CB that does not like to tackle. Greedy said it himself .
April 29th, 2019 at 2:25 pm
“The Coroner Says:
April 29th, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Sean Bunting was ranked 35th best CB on Walerfootball.com”
That same site also gave us a grade indicating we had a top 10 draft (A-) and better than anyone else in the division.
Per their own write up
” It was not a surprise in the slightest that the Buccaneers used their first five picks on defense. They began by obtaining the new centerpiece of their stop unit, linebacker Devin White. The next three selections all addressed the anemic secondary, with Jamel Dean being the best of the bunch. Of those three choices, none individually scored worse than a “B” grade. Tampa’s fifth and final initial defensive choice also was graded highly, as the Anthony Nelson pick deserved an “A” because of its tremendous value.
I didn’t like what the Buccaneers did after that, as their final three picks were underwhelming. The worst of the bunch was the fifth-round choice on Matt Gay. You’d think the Buccaneers would’ve learned their lesson by now about using non-seventh-round picks on kickers. Maybe they’ll understand that concept one day.
That said, the end of the draft shouldn’t spoil Tampa’s earlier accomplishments. The Buccaneers put together an impressive draft class, one that should greatly elevate their defense. ”
Basically bottom line from every thing I’ve read:
-no pick was much of a reach other than the K, and guys like Dean & Nelson were steals per some sites
-we went all defense at positions of need
Let’s see what happens.
GO BUCS
April 29th, 2019 at 2:27 pm
To add to what Jeffbuc said, look at previous drafts and what experts rated them. Some of their “A” classes turned out to be dumpster fires. Grading a draft before any of them take the field is just spitballing. All you can do is judge what a team drafts vs. what you THINK the team needs. These national talking heads crank out articles for a living. Do you really think they’re paying close attention to the Bucs?
The draft is a crapshoot. There are way more busts than starters. You just hope you draft well in the 1st and 2nd round. Licht has been okay in the 1st and dreadful in the 2nd. Give this class a chance before you knock it.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:28 pm
Coroner: they gave Bunting a 2nd round grade and had mocked him to the Bucs.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:30 pm
All of these guys could turn out to be great players, I doubt it, but who knows. I think the main issues for me is they could have drafted an Olineman or a Dlineman in the 2nd round and still got most if not all of the same players. I felt like we over reached for all of these players including White, especially with Oliver and Allen on the board. This theme continued throughout our draft. It felt like they did a terrible job of navigating the draft and maximizing value.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:32 pm
How many kickers have the Bucs signed over the past few season. Signing kickers hasn’t worked either. I like Santos, but his range past 50 yards isn’t great. If you see one in the draft you like, draft him. Don’t let the Aguayo decision scare you away. You see a guy you want, go get him! No risk it, no biscuit!
April 29th, 2019 at 2:35 pm
Mel Kiper had Mitchell Trubisky over Pat Mahomes and Deshawn Watson.
So yeah there’s that….
You sheep get too caught up on these “gurus” who half the time are guessing or pulling stuff out of their arse…
Why don’t we all sit back and watch.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:37 pm
“but the poor guy is going to have to be a defensive player for the ages to do everything Buccu Bruce Arians claims he can do in the way Arians promises to use him”
As opposed to the pressure on Allen or Oliver with the pressure of what Joe claimed they can do.
Pick 5 always has pressure. Doesn’t matter what position or what team.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:40 pm
Tom S I laugh at Kiper – if C is average and every team got C+ or better then everyone drafted better than the accumulated history of the league. Not very likely. On a bell curve all teams above average have an equal amount below average; here he had them all above average.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:42 pm
I don’t have an issue with the White pick but I’d better not hear from the sunshine-and-rainbows braindead types that he “Needs a year or two to adjust to the speed of the NFL” if he ends up being an average ILB.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:48 pm
What a bunch of sorry ass remarks. Go on suckers, buy your game tickets to pad the Glazers pockets.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:52 pm
If the Bucs had not used a 2nd round pick on a kicker 3 years ago ….NOBODY would be crying about spending a 5th round pick on one last Saturday
April 29th, 2019 at 2:54 pm
I’m left with this thought on the Bucs’ 2019 Draft…
Their biggest needs were Offensive line, Outside pass rusher, Corner back, and Running Back.
They ignored the OL, they ignored the Edge Rushers, they ignored running back, and by all accounts, they reached for three defensive backs, that everyone agrees, could have been had much later
I know, you have to wait three years to see. But Bruce Arians won’t be here in three years, and from my perspective, neither will Jason Licht with projects/reaches like these. Licht continues to try to prove that he’s the smartest guy in the room with these picks, and he continues to prove himself not to be.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:54 pm
Probably the best cover corner this team has ever had, and that includes Ronde, was Donny Abraham. He was a 3rd rounder from East Tennessee State. That football program was so bad, they shut it down for several years. They played in a dome. Everything about him said there’s no way he’s an NFL football player. This guy Bunting reminds me so much of Donny. Press cover, ball hawk, good tackler, small school with a 1-11 record. Speed…..I’m rooting for this guy big time!
April 29th, 2019 at 2:55 pm
Robert Mathis and Richatd Sherman were fifth round pics.
I know the odds are long but you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket.. lot of solid depth guys are taken in the fifth too.
Using a fifth rounder on a kicker is ridiculous. Especially for a team at the bottom of the heap.
Very disappointed to hear that Bush league crap was done again.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:57 pm
Great post, Lord
April 29th, 2019 at 3:00 pm
I have a pretty good feeling that Devin White is going to be the best Defensive player in Bucs History & a HOF’er when his career is done…
I’d say he’s worth a #5 pick if that comes true.
April 29th, 2019 at 3:03 pm
Prisco isn’t someone I respect or listen to ever. I mean while watching draft coverage the guy went super aggro about how the Cardinals would 100% not draft a QB in the draft and especially not #1 overall. Acted as though he had inside info and then proceeded to berate the people on the panel for believing it would happen. Guy is a joke and honestly a pos person with 0 credibility.
April 29th, 2019 at 3:09 pm
THANK YOU, JEFFBUC AND PICK6!!!!! PREACH PREACH PREACH!! I don’t understand how all of these people think they are scouts, understand defensive schemes, know what team doctors are saying, etc. Profootballtalk made the best point ever. People are only saying that the Clelin Ferrell pick was a reach because Mike Mayock isn’t working for the nfl network. If he was, he may have had Ferrell as his 3rd ranked D-lineman and everyone else probably would have jumped on board. The “consensus” is just a bunch of fake “draft gurus” that jump on bandwagons.
“You gotta be driven to find players, that’s why you do the job,” explains Moore, the Colts’ southeast area scout. “If you’re just driving around, writing reports, looking at guys, what are you doing? You’re just collecting Marriott points. It’s about finding players. There are two types of scouts: Guys that go out there and see what everyone else thinks, and the guys who can see through the fog, have conviction, and aren’t scared to like a player and put themselves on the line.”
^^^This is the guy that scouted Darius Leonard and pounded the table for him. Now, go back and see what everyone was saying about that pick last year and how many linebackers were so-called rated higher than him.
April 29th, 2019 at 3:15 pm
“When do we sign Mo Claiborne to start at cornerback?”
Kobe Faker
April 29th, 2019 at 3:18 pm
Licht has proven time and time again that he is NOT smarter than the experts. What makes anyone believe that this time will be better?
April 29th, 2019 at 3:20 pm
“Their biggest needs were Offensive line, Outside pass rusher, Corner back, and Running Back.”
Bucs were 3rd in offensive yardage
Bucs were 12th in offensive scoring
Bucs were tied for 19th in sacks (38) with top 10 teams having 44 or better
Bucs were 26th in interceptions (9) with top 10 teams having 15 or better
Bucs were 32nd in yards per attempt given up passing (8.2) while top 10 teams were at 7.1 or better
Bucs were 32nd in passer rating given up (110.9 jesus christ)
Not too surprising they focused on secondary over offensive injections even if we disagree
April 29th, 2019 at 3:23 pm
– Bucs draft kicker in 5th: C+ grade
– 49ers draft punter in 4th: C grade
– Patriots trade up to draft punter in 5th: A+ grade
Should tell you everything you need to know about these ‘grades’.
April 29th, 2019 at 3:26 pm
i understand the white pick….not who i wouldve picked at 5 but no one can question his talent….he’s a day1 starter and will be productive for years….
the rest of the picks…..idk…..
i guess it makes the draft easier for next year…lol…we have to get some depth for the trenches…..
GO BUCS!!!
April 29th, 2019 at 3:30 pm
It’s not hard to figure. The 49ers have been terrible for a few years and the Bucs have been terrible since 2002. The Patriots just won another Super Bowl.
April 29th, 2019 at 3:50 pm
Some of you get it! BucsFanFromSaintsLand, BucAllNight,Lord Cornelius, continue to drop knowledge on our family! Guys, NOBODY KNOWS, BTW, who are these so called experts? Please name some, the same ones that change there Mock Draft weekly? OR change there top 20 weekly, what changed in a week? YOU DRAFT FOR PLAYERS THAT FIT YOUR SCHEME. WHO forgot about the Steelers 34 defenses over the years, Lloyd, Greene, Harrison, Kirkland, they got plenty of sacks!!! HAS ANYBODY PULLED UP SCOTT MILLER VIDEO? He could be incredible in the slot….
Just like the idiots who predict your teams record 1 day after the schedule comes out! GROW UP!!!!!!!
April 29th, 2019 at 3:55 pm
Only guys around here think White needs to have a gold jacket in order to validate the pick.
April 29th, 2019 at 4:00 pm
Other teams get the benefit of the doubt when drafting kicker. Licht doesn’t, only GM in the history of the NFL to draft 2 kickers in 4 years.
April 29th, 2019 at 4:30 pm
It’s the Dean pick that I don’t like.
April 29th, 2019 at 4:47 pm
White has a 70% chance of becoming a pro-bowl player according to ESPN projections, the highest of anyone in the draft according to them. But people are still whining about the pick, about not taking a d-lineman who will take 2 years to develop and has a 50% chance of busting. Amazing.
Draft history – top 5 picks at d-lineman in Bucs history…
McCoy
Adams
McCants
Selmon
So 50/50, except the dopes here think McCoy was a bust, so by those standards it’s a 75% chance to bust.
April 29th, 2019 at 4:48 pm
This draft was very odd because the Bucs took so many players for the secondary without investing at least one premium pick on an offensive lineman. The only argument that one could make about going with White over Allen or Oliver is that this trend in the NFL to get the ball more to backs and tight ends is changing the game. RB’s that can’t catch the ball don’t play much. The Patriots are always running backs on pass patterns. If this trend continues and White is a great presence in the middle the pick will be justifiable. He can’t just be a good tackler, has to create pressure on blitzes and shut down the McCaffery’s, Cohen’s and Kamara’s that made the Bucs defense look sick last year. Will see how it goes but you have to wonder why there wasn’t a DL or OL picked earlier.
April 29th, 2019 at 4:50 pm
For the kicker pick I don’t have a huge issue with it since it’s a 5th rounder, but I certainly wouldn’t have gone kicker there. The kid does have a huge leg and has kicked with temps under 50 degrees, but he also has never kicked a last second field goal in his life. That’s amazing you me. Also the fact he’s already a head case isn’t good news either. But if he wins the job and goes OK, then great! Most 5th rounders never play a down in this league so saying that’s your worst pick isn’t that bad.
April 29th, 2019 at 5:59 pm
I hear ya, BridleOaks Buc! Donnie Abraham, #21 My Favorite DB we ever had in Tampa, and if Bunting is close to being as good we are vastly improved, I do like the descriptions you gave ” Press cover, ball hawk, good tackler, small school with a 1-11 record. Speed”
We should be so lucky as to this be a predraft consideration check list. I am excited to see what Bunting can do.
Go! Bucs!
April 29th, 2019 at 6:14 pm
Am I the only one a little concerned that we drafted a kicker with some (previous?) mental “issues” when a kicker’s game relies heavily on the mental side of things?
Fingers crossed on this one.
April 29th, 2019 at 7:20 pm
Happy Gilmour will never kick in the NFL. His 4 step approach before striking the ball will not fly in the pros. At Utah he had a major problem with blocked kicks but didn’t seem to connect that problem with his approach.
He basically said that he will not alter his style.
April 29th, 2019 at 7:37 pm
I challenge the defenders to name ONE future NFL starter, not All-Pro, just a starter, that Bunting defended while in college. I’m sorry but the MAC ain’t the ACC or SEC. I smell an epic implosion on defense and if Bowles had any input into this draft about the player selection after the 1st round, then he’s a short term solution to a long term problem.
April 29th, 2019 at 7:44 pm
OK speaking of kickers with big legs and a guy who blew “positional value” theories out of the water has just announced his retirement.
Sebastian Janikowski did not get selected in the 5th round or even the second…he was the 17th overall pick in the 2000 draft!
If we could have found a kicker like this it would have been worth whatever pick.
19 years later Janikowski is headed to the HOF. A good kicker can win games…a great kicker absolutely wins games and even changes strategy.
April 29th, 2019 at 7:46 pm
GoBucFlux
Well if he had played a little while earlier he would have been going up against Antonio Brown everyday in practice.
But Antonio Brown was also a Chippewa…no wonder the Steelers let him walk.
April 29th, 2019 at 8:00 pm
Ummmm, cubano…… belichick’s allowed to draft whatever he wants. If he wants to draft a kicker in every round? He can draft a kicker in every round. Somehow those 7 kickers will win him a super bowl.
April 29th, 2019 at 8:30 pm
Bunting may be a hidden gem as you say but i think he is more of a reach than anything. This draft reminds me of the draft 2 years ago. We keep drafting players for the same position. Its like groundhog draft day until Licht gets it right if ever. We are in cap hell with wasted draft pics again. Thanks Licht. 5 and 11 could be a stretch but Licht keeps his job.
April 29th, 2019 at 11:05 pm
Set draft strategy to the side. Adderly (who can play safety and CB) was on the board when they picked Bunting (Most draft boards had Adderly pegged for late first round or early second round pick), Gardner-Johnson (who can play safety and CB) was on the board when they picked Edwards (Most draft boards had Gardner-Johnson pegged for second round), and Siebert was on the board when they picked Gay (Most draft boards had Seibert rated the best kicker in the draft). Maybe Bunting, Edwards, and Gay end up being better but any stastician will tell you that the odds are they won’t. If his “smarter than you” picks were historically accurate, then we’d all feel better about this draft…but they haven’t been.
April 30th, 2019 at 10:01 am
Gostkowski was drafted in round 6. Were the Patriots stupid for doing that?