The Post-Draft Spotlight
April 29th, 2019
(Photo courtesy of Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Joe is unhappy to deliver a big fat told-ya-so with this post.
In fact, it makes Joe ill.
In recent years, the Bucs have evaluated the running backs position much like they’ve evaluated the kicking role. Two words come to mind: misguided and clueless.
About seven weeks ago, Joe wrote that Peyton Barber is viewed as a top-5 NFL running back inside the walls of One Buc Palace. Along came free agency and the draft and what did the Bucs do at running back? They signed one 30-year-old who was out of football last year, Andre Ellington.
During his post-draft news conference on Saturday, general manager Jason Licht talked about poor depth among defensive backs over the past couple of years. Joe felt like screaming, ‘What about running back?!?!?!”
Charles Sims is unemployed, so are Jacquizz Rodgers and Doug Martin. Ellington was in that boat last year. You think Ronald Jones has any trade value today?
The Bucs are so thin at running back and the brass at One Buc Palace has decided to rest just about all hope for a balanced offense on Peyton Barber’s shoulders.
Yeah, yeah, undrafted second-year man Shaun Wilson will be back from injury to build on his six career carries.
Of course, the Bucs can still find a running back on the street or undrafted. Perhaps the next LeGarrette Blount or Bobby Rainey is out there.
More likely, the bright spotlight is on Barber to be a durable stud, and for Jones to look like he belongs in the NFL.
Joe will spend much of this week asking the football gods to release Duke Johnson. If that happens, Joe will deliver two cases of beer to Licht and Bucco Bruce Arians. It would be such a great move.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:27 am
Trade McCoy and 6th round pick for Duke (rework contract cap friendly )and offsets half the salary of McCoy , cut gholston and we be just right in the cap.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:27 am
There is no doubt we need improvement at RB…….I am also surprised we didn’t draft one in round 3-7…..the extra pick in round 3 would have been a good place.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:31 am
Joe, you’re becoming comical. This site is like the National Enquirer, not a Buc fan site. Keep these whiny, uninformed articles to a bare minimum. It’s the same ole, same ole anymore. C’mon man, it’s amateur hour. LOL. OK. “Amateur hour” yet you come back over and over and over. –Joe
April 29th, 2019 at 9:31 am
Agreed, Joe. It was a disappointing draft and the RB position feels more helpless than last year. I’m hoping Ronald Jones looks more like the player we drafted him to be (last year) this year.
One thing about changing coaching staffs is that the new staff always sees talent the previous staff missed. See Adam Humphries for reference. So it will be interesting to see if any new (old) guys shine under the new coaching staff.
Just trying to be positive here. Maybe these draft selections will surprise us. I sure hope so. Because I really wanted Henderson.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:35 am
addressing the RB position?….how about addressing the oline first….elgton jenkins was there for the taking….chuma odoga was there for the taking….
ive supported licht but i lost me once he selected 2 CB’s a year after selecting 2 CB’s…..plus a kicker…..he’s got to go….
GO BUCS!!!!
April 29th, 2019 at 9:41 am
Let’s hope that Licht and company wait outside the gates to pick up a very good RB from a team who releases him to bring down their roster to 53 in August.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:41 am
Why are all of the National Draft sites giving the Bucs good Team Draft Grades?
Example: WalterFootall – Buccaneers A-
Guess that they weren’t on the lookout for the negative.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:44 am
Instead of just cutting Gholston….perhaps we can find a trading partner who will give us a RB in return……that way, at least we get something for Gholston.
We should be able to pick up a serviceable RB in FA…..still need more cap space.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:47 am
Samaje Perine (not exactly a stud) might be available soon.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:48 am
Sailor Jerry – you knew when a DL player wasn’t taken at 5 the mood and the posts in here were going super negative
April 29th, 2019 at 9:49 am
Only one thing can salvage this for fans and that’s winning
April 29th, 2019 at 9:52 am
I’m good with Barber as RB1, R Jones as RB2, and Shaun Wilson as 3rd down back (as long as all 3 of those guys continue to improve).
April 29th, 2019 at 9:52 am
Duke J from the Browns makes perfect sense! He is decent running the ball but is very good pass catcher and blocker- something the Bucs clearly lack with RoJo. Browns could definitely use another DL and trading McCoy makes sense. Browns do have cap space to take on McCoy.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:53 am
If our 5th round kicker wins a few games for us kicking 50 plus yard field goals you may feel different about the pick. We don’t have cap space to hire a veteran kicker to match that production. Joe, I agree with you completely. We need a 3rd down power back to block, run, and catch outlet passes. However BA may be able to achieve that with Ogunbowale who already can catch passes and run and has power to replace Barber if he goes down. He just needs to learn to spot blitzes and block to protect Jameis. We have adequate change of pace backs.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:54 am
Sailor Jerry-
To be fair WalterFootball grades of this draft seem a little skewed to the positive. When you include all grades they have given including Matt Gay (given a D) the average grade seems to be lower than an A-.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:56 am
Indeed I do. Just hoping to find an interesting story written without the juvenile slant. Ascribing motives to Joe’s passionate work is not permitted. Thank you. You are inaccurate and misguided in your commentary. –Joe
April 29th, 2019 at 9:57 am
Its not optimal to have a quarterback who hasnt had a running game in 3 years yet there has been no effort to bring one in. I was hoping Rojo is looking great in the minicamp but i havent heard a word.
April 29th, 2019 at 9:57 am
We didn’t get a Fullback either like Wesco who got drafted. However, Vea played Fullback in high school and could be able to lineup as a Fullback for short yardage in the red zone like the Fridge used to do in Chicago.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:00 am
who cares anymore?
April 29th, 2019 at 10:02 am
I can understand not drafting a running back if your not gonna do it with a premium pick, you know like they did last year!!! Even with the run game it was still a pretty good offense and obviously they think warhop was the issue. Not sure why you feel the need to say I told you so but ok I guess so. Guess your readers really will have to see you whine all off-season because you think you have all the answers about what they should do
Your making yourself a target because if your wrong your the one who’ll look stupid and like BA said no one knows his scheme and what he will do. Report the news because your opinion sucks
April 29th, 2019 at 10:04 am
I loved this draft with exception of the WR pick. I’ll admit I was not familiar with some of the picks because I like many was enamored with the big name players and not focused on the extreme vetting processes our scouts and new coaching staff utilize to evaluate talent. However once I researched the picks after the fact and the impact each had on his college team I was very impressed. I think part of the focus of this draft was to correct previous mistakes and it’s obvious that Arians and company really completed a strong thorough evaluation of the roster on hand before the draft. While I don’t predict wins and losses and seldom comment on underwear football, I am very comfortable with our talent pool esp, DB’s (our weakest position) I am optimistic for 2019.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:06 am
We are OK at running back. And I like Bruce Anderson!! Rojo will look like an NFL RB this year!! I seem to be the only so-called Bucs fan that believes that but I do! I also believe Arians will have this team looking COMPLETELY different from last year….defense and offense. I also believe they are trying to bring back GMC!! I would! I don’t believe the players believed Koetter and his staff knew how to win. Arians clearly does and that alone will make a significant difference.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:12 am
Barber had more success rushing with power scheme runs vs zone scheme runs, but we ran zone much more then power.
His YPC for power was around 4.4 and zone was around 3.7. If you combine the power YPC with his workload last year he would have had 1029 yards which would have been 10th in the league.
A scheme change with a bigger workload for Barber (only averaged 14 carries a game) and if the OL improves from better coaching, there is a path to Barber being a top 5 RB.
Its optomistic for sure, but there are stats that show Barber being top 5 is more than just coach speak.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:15 am
I’m glad someone is pointing this out! Overall I can’t figure out how our GM is still employed! He whiffed on D James last year when that was a need. He drafted 3 secondary players last year…and then 3 this year, all with early picks. Doesn’t that say he whiffed? We need a RB, but…nothing…but. a kicker…but value RB’s were available all the way into the UDFA’s…nothing. Instead this season the rich got richer, with RB’s added to Patriots, Rams, Dallas, Bills, Redskins, Ravens, Steelers) Didn’t Arian’s say something about drafting best available vs drafting for need? But when we had quality options at DE, OL, DT, RB…they went for need. Either they know something we all don’t (and haven’t been watching for the last 10 seasons) or we are in for another boring season.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:15 am
I’m so glad someone is pointing this out! Overall I can’t figure out how our GM is still employed! He whiffed on D James last year when that was a need. He drafted 3 secondary players last year…and then 3 this year, all with early picks. Doesn’t that say he whiffed? We need a RB, but…nothing…but. a kicker…but value RB’s were available all the way into the UDFA’s…nothing. Instead this season the rich got richer, with RB’s added to Patriots, Rams, Dallas, Bills, Redskins, Ravens, Steelers) Didn’t Arian’s say something about drafting best available vs drafting for need? But when we had quality options at DE, OL, DT, RB…they went for need. Either they know something we all don’t (and haven’t been watching for the last 10 seasons) or we are in for another boring season.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:19 am
Fans have to take into consideration that the Bucs Have way too much invested in offensive cap space. It is what it is but I’m sure the GM and coaches looked at it and said this is what we have to go with because the D needs too much help. Plus the fact that NO DEFENSIVE LINEMAN can get to the QB if he’s able to get the ball out in 2 seconds. I’m pretty sure this was their thinking stocking up on Safety’s and especially corners.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:24 am
Should’ve signed Mike Davis before the Bears did. Now after the Bears drafted 2 RBs, I hope we can trade for him.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:31 am
Gilhealy, if you don’t want critical (and largely accurate) opinions on this star-crossed franchise, then move back to your “homer” sites. BS about how the Bucs have turned a corner, or how RoJo the flop, will be a stud this year have been the pabulum being fed to its fans for decades. One reason I tune in here is that there are honest opinion. I don’t agree with all of them (I like GMC), but at least it’s not Pollyanna drivel.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:33 am
The amount of butthurt on this site from writers and commenters alike is astounding
April 29th, 2019 at 10:34 am
Bucs may be the worst football team in the entire league so you can’t always polish a turd. It’s hard to think a great draft when the bucs keep drafting kickers and forget about the trenches or running backs.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:36 am
TJ Yeldon was available as was Damian Harris in the draft and the super bowl champs drafted him while also having one of the top RBs in the nfl, that is what championship teams do, the bucs make 5-11 moves
April 29th, 2019 at 10:37 am
“LOL
You think GM John Dorsey is an idiot like our Gump
Hump is comimg back week 8
Johnson will be available week 10-13 to a playoff bound team needing a runningback
asking price will be 2nd or 3rd…and Dorsey will get it
supply and demand”
Kobe Faker
April 29th, 2019 at 10:38 am
*** Kareem Hunt
April 29th, 2019 at 10:44 am
“Kobe can’t wait to follow the career of Tampa Bucs RB…
Darrel Henderson. Gurley and his knee will be in his last year as a Ram
Good thing Gump didn’t get played by MCvay and instead draft a corner with 3 ACL knee injuries
Darrel Henderson will be the next Kamara/Hunt
2k yardage dual threat RB”
Kobe Faker
April 29th, 2019 at 10:47 am
Give D’Ernest Johnson a shot. Good running back who can catch out of the backfield and also return kicks. Just needs achance and he will work his ass off to maske team.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:48 am
it is my understanding that they are beefing up JW to become a fullback.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:51 am
When DB’s were giving tons of cushion the DE’s couldn’t get home because QB’s were getting rid of the ball faster on short timing routes. Now that we’re going back to press coverage QB’s will be more inclined to hold the ball longer waiting for patterns to develop. More than ever it’s imperative we have a stout pass rush but for some reason the Bucs didn’t capitalize on drafting a good DE to backup JPP and Nassib. This is going to come back and haunt us if any of those two go down with injury. Our 4th rounder maybe equal to Nassib’s talent but in retrospect we could have had better. Coughlin can’t believe they got Josh Allen.
April 29th, 2019 at 11:01 am
Instead of Bunting in the 2nd (which we probably could’ve gotten in the 3rd round) we could ‘ve had DE Jalon Ferguson before the Ravens took him.
April 29th, 2019 at 11:03 am
A lot of negativity for a draft we have no idea how is going to shake out. I’ve been both positive and negative about how our draft was but it has always been based on what the so called experts predict. They are wrong most of the time but we still follow them on their word. Kind of like the weather man and they have a 50/50 shot but still get it wrong.
April 29th, 2019 at 11:37 am
My draft:
1. Ed Oliver
2. Greedy Williams
3. Darrell Henderson
4. Same pick is ok
5. OG
Our picks improved team speed and was mindful of the secondary. Let’s see how it plays out.
April 29th, 2019 at 11:55 am
If Jones gets routinely tackled for a loss this preseason I’m going to puke.
I hope they are right that he has improved, but how can you really tell this early?
April 29th, 2019 at 11:56 am
Jason is so far on over his head
April 29th, 2019 at 12:14 pm
Don’t sleep on Bruce Anderson from NDSU. That was a nice get in the UDFA market.
April 29th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
2023 The bucs will be a legit NFC championship contender, with chris simms as GM and Trevor Lawrence as QB and a defense that plays hard and fast.
April 29th, 2019 at 12:19 pm
‘F’ the haters Joe…
April 29th, 2019 at 12:34 pm
I still think Dare Ogunboware would make a good #2 RB if given the chance. Looked pretty good in pre season last year. A lot better than Rojo. I know thats not saying much.
April 29th, 2019 at 12:37 pm
Hey Joe,
If we want to hear someone complain all day we can listen to T Kraz on dae, or read Tom Jones in the times. Keep up all this negative noise and you will lose a loyal reader, not that you care.
April 29th, 2019 at 12:46 pm
Joe, you have become the most negative sports personality and I don’t understand
April 29th, 2019 at 12:48 pm
After watching tape, draft is solid except for the wr pick.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:10 pm
TOM you beat me to it. I was about to type that BA above was correct-I think Ogbunwale is another diamond in the rough. He ran with intensity in Pre-season and when he got in towards the end of the year, also ran with authority. He can catch the ball as well. I would have liked a RB in the draft but thought we needed O-line worse than anything in the draft. Of course you take White/Allen/Oliver with 1 but we could have had Risner/Ford/Jenkins with 2. I was pissed all weekend. Now that it is over, the WR in 6 looks like a find, the kicker would allow us to cut Santos and free up some cash. The DE is long and has a high motor/ The 3 DBs we got all have speed and skill and are, by all indications, good kids. We lost more games in the last 3 years from defense and ST, including our kickers. So I get what Arians is going for. He even made the comment, when Jameis doesn’t have to play from 20 its down every game- we will really see how special he is. If Arians is correct, he could have his 3rd Coach of the Year award
April 29th, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Those complaining about the WR pick, what is your reasoning? Is it the hue of his skin? 4.36 40, 34″ vert (not bad for a white guy), 10’3 broad jump, precise route running, 71 catches 9 TD’s 1100+ yards against some pretty good competition? I don’t get it- he is a 6th round pick, dude can absolutely fly and was uber productive. JMO of course but I think this was a good find.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:23 pm
Joe is not about to start lying to himself (and to readers) that he thinks Jason Licht hit a home run with this draft. Joe writes what he thinks, sees and learns. Always has; always will. If all you want is pom-pom waving coverage, Buccaneers.com would be a better source for you. Readers of that site would be hard-pressed to know the Bucs have lost 22 games the past two years.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:31 pm
“The Post-Draft Spotlight”
Silly me.
I thought maybe we would finally see something positive about a draft pick. Instead I had to stop reading because of the usual whining.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:33 pm
The biggest beneficiary of this draft is Jameis Winston.
With a hopefully improved defense, he may perform differently.
When his team is not 20 points behind he won’t be heaving the ball downfield in desperation…and everyone knows it.
I’m not sure folks understand how bad the Mike Smith scheme was, and that even the greatest players would most likely have failed.
If the new D can force opposing QB’s to hold the ball just a half second longer, you’ll see an entirely different season of results, and then *suddenly*, as of by majik, folks will see serious QB pressure.
Baseball may be a game of inches, but football is a game of quarter and half-seconds.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:34 pm
gilhealy Says:
April 29th, 2019 at 9:31 am
Joe, you’re becoming comical. This site is like the National Enquirer, not a Buc fan site. Keep these whiny, uninformed articles to a bare minimum. It’s the same ole, same ole anymore. C’mon man, it’s amateur hour. LOL. OK. “Amateur hour” yet you come back over and over and over. –Joe
Have to agree with Gilhealy. I don’t post often but do read a lot and I find myself here less frequently here lately.
April 29th, 2019 at 1:37 pm
“Joe is not about to start lying…”
Well, let’s think about this. How do we know whether this was a bad draft or not? Really?
We don’t. For all we know, they got enough to turn this franchise around. We won’t know until the season is played.
So, really, this is all about not getting your way…which I suppose is okay for a regular fan. The problem is that with you being media, we expect a more balanced product. You may not be able to say a lot of good right now, but really, there is no basis for all of this bad.
For example, the assumption that Gerald McCoy was all media-based and fan-based assumption. At no point did the organization confirm it.
And he is getting up there in age, so maybe he was told to stay home because they want to go easier on him. They may figure if it is alright for JPP, it’s alright for McCoy.
As I said months ago, the offensive line is covered with on-team talent already. So is the defensive line.
Good players step up in their third year, and Nassib did that, did he not?
April 29th, 2019 at 2:02 pm
Joe is right to express his concern over the draft. You can agree or disagree and, as a bonus, you get a chance to comment on it.
The fact is that not many are happy with the results. Time will tell if we are wrong. But if history is any indicator it is likely that Licht laid an egg…again!!! And with enough pressure from fans who speak out against his ineptness, changes will be made by the Glazers and we will not have to sit through another draft lead by Jason Licht again.
Keep up the good work Joe.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:17 pm
laid an egg is an understatement trade down an ILB at 5 will hurt this teams finances for years to come its one thing to pay for an impact player which affects the cap its another thing to pay top 5 money for a non impact bust
April 29th, 2019 at 2:42 pm
So many complaining about not getting O line. Bruce said, “if you draft o line you’re getting them ready for the next coach.” Agree it not that’s his take on it. Although at 1st I took it as coach BS to throw off dtaft plans it turns out he wasn’t lying. I like all the speed they drafted. At 1st I was like WTF another receiver. Then I watched some of his stuff on YouTube kid can run routes like Edleman and fly like Jackson. I’m good with that. The D lineman outta Mizzou if he can stay healthy will be a steal and I like the motor on the D end we picked up. The picks of the corners is only a head scratcher of we’d had the same staff from last year this year. It’s obvious Todd saw enough of our slow DBs and decided we needed to get faster and have some ball hawks. Did I want another RB yes can’t lie was disappointed we didn’t get one. Hopefully that doesn’t come back and bite us. But again BA said, “we have a running back” and was referring to Barbet again I thought it was coach speak to not tip draft needs. Hated to see teams with good RBs getting more and we’re doing nothing.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:50 pm
We have a new running game coordinator who we change the attack plan and change the blocking schemes.
We saw Dirk change it for the worse. Stands to reason that it could be changed and be more effective.
Bruce been around long and knows what a good player looks like.
Lets give the rush attack a chance to see what it looks like in a new offense.
April 29th, 2019 at 2:56 pm
Jeff I knew their would be one idiot who would call White a bust before his plane even arrives in Tampa.
I predicted this on the draft thread and was ridiculed. But I know my sports fan and I know their always a prime time idiot hiding in the weeds at all time.
You are funny to me and you made me laugh by calling White a bust and he’s not even a Buc yet……Congrats for being that one guy. The one major idiot that stands out among the crowd of all the regular idiot. You are a special type of dumb.
April 29th, 2019 at 3:03 pm
I love how everyone is hating on MJ Stewart now. I wish I could pull up archives of last years camp notes. He was by far our best cover guy before he got hurt, I think it was a shoulder first and later in the year his foot. Mike Smith didn’t put any of these guys in position to succeed. Shoot he even pushed Grimes into retirement. 1st year corners/safeties typically struggle. Unless of course you are Buddha Baker or D James. We are assembling DBs that can play multiple positions, this will be a really interesting mini camp and training camp. Davis might be a pro bowler
April 29th, 2019 at 3:46 pm
Who cares about the color of his skin? The dude falls over if you push him. (WR)
April 29th, 2019 at 4:03 pm
Run blocking was awful last year. Muppet even admitted as much. It you watch Barber’s tape from last year he developed a very nifty stutter step to get that first guy to miss, who was more often than not, behind the line of scrimmage way too quickly. Barber turned a lot of potential lost yardage plays into 2 or 3 yard gainers.
April 29th, 2019 at 4:05 pm
Lord Corn Says:
April 29th, 2019 at 9:49 am
Only one thing can salvage this for fans and that’s winning.
^^^Well said Lord Cornhole!
April 29th, 2019 at 7:04 pm
Fire Jason Licht
April 29th, 2019 at 7:41 pm
Licht is a moron. Could have had Benny Snell for a song in the 4th round. Instead, he sticks to the “plan” which is a nightmare.
Duke Johnson will be traded to a contender for a 2nd or 3rd round pick to a team which is in the race while we are probably 2-4 around trade deadline time.
If Licht is not fired after this nightmare draft, then perhaps the 30,000 empty seats in November and December will remind the Glazers that we’ve had enough.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:18 pm
Keep Jason Licht.
April 29th, 2019 at 10:20 pm
Duke Johnson isn’t even worth a 7th round pick.