Overall A Good Draft
April 28th, 2020
Issue with one pick.
So what was it that kept prickly Pete Prisco of CBS Sports from giving the Bucs an “A” grade when reviewing each team’s 2020 draft class?
Well, it seems to be who Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht chose in the third round.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B-
Best Pick: Second-round safety Antoine Winfield Jr. adds a nice piece to a back end that is young and needed help. He has the range teams love.
Worst Pick: Third-round running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn is a good runner, but I think there were better options on the board when he was taken.
The Skinny: They traded up one spot to land first-round tackle Tristan Wirfs, which they had to do. He will be an immediate starter on the right side. Getting Winfield was a nice pickup as well.
Joe tends to side with Prisco here. This Ke’Shawn Vaughn just doesn’t get Joe warm in the briefs. Yeah, he could be a fine runner. We shall see.
And Joe noticed Licht was catching a whole lot of hate in the comments of various stories over the weekend because he traded up one spot with the 49ers to get Tristan Wirfs.
Hey, you know the saying, identify your guy and go get him. Reading the notes from Peter King of NBC Sports, who was monitoring Licht on a tablet during the first round, Licht identified his man and went and got him. That’s a good, aggressive strategy.
April 28th, 2020 at 5:12 am
Im hoping the masses are wrong about Vaugn. His highlights are impressive. Fast and physical. Good vision.
April 28th, 2020 at 5:28 am
Some of the top backs in the draft have fumbling issues. Haven’t found stats on Vaughn on that. Possible factor?
April 28th, 2020 at 5:42 am
Remember a few years ago when Jon Robinson took the Titans GM job? His first draft, he leapfrogged Licht and took rookie all-pro RT Jack Conklin. I appreciate that we traded up one spot to secure Wirfs. He looks like a stud, and it would’ve been aggravating as hell to watch us stand pat and have another team potentially trade up for him. Great job Licht. Got a stud in the trenches.
April 28th, 2020 at 5:47 am
LICHT IS TRASH
TRASH IS LICHT
🗑
These are the ways of the universe Danielson
April 28th, 2020 at 5:50 am
If anyone doubts Vaughn watch his film from the bowl game vs baylor 2018… he will be our Kamara. I was skeptical at first but after watching alot of his tape hes a perfect fit.
April 28th, 2020 at 5:53 am
This was a “no-win” pick for the Bucs. Lets look at it differently. This was a top 5 offense the last two years without a run game and without Brady and Gronk. I’d say that’s an upgrade. We shored up the OL with Wirfs, upgrade.
Now, what has been our weakest link over that same span? Defense! Defense more so than run-game, kicking, or anything else. We’ve cried about our secondary and we kvetched about pass-rush since the Earth cooled!
I’d say we “fixed” the pass-rush and are looking at an improving secondary…except for one piece perhaps, safety. So, with our 2nd pick, we either draft a RB to bolster an already formidable offense OR, we improve the weakest link on our football team and maybe pass up a “name” RB.
See, I don’t see how this was a difficult decision. There’s no guarantee that any rookie succeeds. If they do, don’t you want the one who will provide the greatest impact though?
That position was safety, that player is Antoine Winfield Jr.
All we need Vaughn to do, in tandem with Rojo, is contribute and make plays.
I thought we drafted well. IMO, this is a team that’s a contender.
April 28th, 2020 at 5:54 am
Had Licht drafted more along the O line in previous years, he wouldn’t have been painted into a corner on draft night. Dotson needed to be replaced two years ago. It’s been 2006 since we used a draft pick on a 1st round O linemen, not the first time in Licht’s six year rein has he used a first rounder on one. Been far to long.
April 28th, 2020 at 6:04 am
Agree w Bucsfanman
Safety was definitely a bigger need than RB & Winfield is a player. It was the right choice
If you wanna debate Zach Moss over Vaughn go ahead. I didn’t watch either enough to have a strong opinion on which one I prefer. Although it sounds like Vandy line was overmatched in SEC and he still had back to back 1,000 yd seasons in SEC. only other back to do so was D Swift so lets give this guy a chance..
April 28th, 2020 at 6:12 am
Im happy with our draft…
Of course there were bigger names available but Vaughn was the guy BA and Licht obviously had pegged…he has great hands breakaway speed, and great vision..also, his ypc was pretty high considering he was the focal point of every defense in the car SEC week in an week out…
I could be wrong but I read somewhere that Vaughn and Swift were the only thousand yard rushers in the SEC last year…That’s pretty impressive imho…
April 28th, 2020 at 6:13 am
Draft grades before year 3 of the draftees NFL careers are worthless.
April 28th, 2020 at 6:16 am
100% no problem with that trade. Vaughn over Moss had me pissed and I’m still puzzled but I will see how it all plays out before I call it a F-up.
Wirfs, Winfield, and T. Johnson are all consensus fantastic prospects and for that this was a very good draft. If we get additional production from any of the other picks, this could be a great draft.
We have improved our run game immensely before Friday even started so I’m confident Rojo, Vaughn, or whoever is back there is gonna have some holes. Plus, there just seems to be logjams at RB across the league so there will probably be some quality RB in FA as a cap casualty or cheap trade options.
April 28th, 2020 at 6:39 am
0 fumbles for Vaughn in college! That’s what I saw. Fake news?
April 28th, 2020 at 6:50 am
“Facts
TB12 throws to his Runninbacks more than any other QB
Fact
TB12 will demand a reliable veteran pass catching RB during training camp
Kobe Faker has posted and it shall be”
Shaman Kobe Faker
April 28th, 2020 at 7:04 am
@Bruce Blahak
I believe I read somewhere that he had 5 fumbles at Illinois, but cleaned that up when he transfered to Vandy
April 28th, 2020 at 7:10 am
I still think we will bring in another RB…..
Once we decided to go with Winfield….before that and after the 1st tier RBs were all gone……Swift, CEH, Taylor, Akers, Dobbins…..
When you get into that second tier….it’s a total crapshoot…….perhaps it came down to Vaughn vs Moss……Vaughn was the pick.
Let’s see how he does…..I’m happy with the draft.
And I don’t second guess moving up for Wirfs….
April 28th, 2020 at 7:10 am
If the worst pick of your draft is your 3rd down RB, you had a good draft. Its not exactly a difficult role to fill in the league in general, evem tho the Bucs have been unlucky with drafting RBs.
I was a big Zack Moss fan, I was hoping he was the guy in the 3rd. Apparently he fell for medical reasons. So Im cool with the Vaughn pick. There are things to like on tape that he brings as a compliment to Rojo, most noticeably pass pro.
As I tried to tell people over the past few weeks, no matter who they picked Rojo was going to be the starter. Props to Licht for passing on Dobbins and Akers to fill a bigger need with Antoine Winfield Jr.
April 28th, 2020 at 7:30 am
Moss have some medical issues that why they pass on him nothing more
April 28th, 2020 at 7:33 am
One Buc – Yep; Vaughn and Swift were the two. And Vaughn had 24 TDs in the last 2 years – the most in the league. Not bad stats in against fairly good college opposition. Hadn’t heard much about this guy pre-draft. But he looks pretty solid. He may vie with RoJo for the top spot, imo.
April 28th, 2020 at 7:35 am
Funny…some actually have Vaughn on their list as high impact fantasy players…in their top 10, due to the thought that he had was much better than he showed last year, having a horrible line at Vandy, and having great production when he had one years ago…and the fact that he was the lone ranger when it came to Vandy’s offense. I guess we will see.
April 28th, 2020 at 7:46 am
Vaughn had ZERO fumbles in college.
April 28th, 2020 at 7:49 am
I do not second guess moving up for Wirfs, either. But, like Prisco, I do not love the Vaughn pick. It looks like a desperate reach to me. Yes, we needed a RB, but if Vaughn is a reach there, pick up a DT, or WR and get a better player with that 3rd Rd pick. After the draft, trade for a RB like Fournette. The Bucs offense is loaded. I don’t think the Saints are now worried about the Bucs bc of Vaughn.
April 28th, 2020 at 7:49 am
Take PFF for what its is but they had Vaughn as the 7th best RB in the draft. More importantly they had Whitehead rated as the 2nd worst safety in the NFL last season. Edward wasn’t far behind. It seems it was more important to upgrade our Safety than improve the Bucs top level offense.
April 28th, 2020 at 8:16 am
Let’s not forget that we still have RoJo n he is still young at 22 yrs old. He average almost 4 yards a carry last year and 10 yds per reception, those are awesome numbers against the likes of Tennessee, Seahawks, Panthers, Colts n others. He will be Brady’s safety valve. This guy is explosive n will get extra yards on his own with his signature spin move.
April 28th, 2020 at 8:40 am
You know, for all the shade we throw at Licht, it speaks to his favor that the Bucs primary draft “needs” were safety, right tackle and a 3rd down running back.
Plenty of other premium areas have already been addressed, so I thought he set us up good for this season.
April 28th, 2020 at 9:05 am
I agree with Kobe Faker, TB12 absolutely needs a pass catching Running Back, ala James White or someone like that. He had like 16 catches in the Super bowl against ATL.
It is a desperate need that is still not addressed. Are there any backs on the market that fit that ?
April 28th, 2020 at 9:38 am
Davonte freeman will be in the runningback room before they report to camp. He will be are 3rd down receiving back.
April 28th, 2020 at 9:57 am
I’m not high on Vaughn but there wasn’t a better RB option in the 3rd rd. I watched video of available RB’s and none of them were better than Vaughn.
April 28th, 2020 at 10:00 am
Keyshawn Vaughn was the best pass blocker on the board and he’s a very well-rounded RB with some burst and some power… But his overall Awareness level on offense and as a blocker for Tom Brady makes Vaughn a very practical and functional choice that compliments some of Rojo’s weaknesses… And he has decent hands and some burst and power when he does get the ball… His 9-min highlight video is way better than the shorter video just FYI…
For the record, though…
Rojo is gonna blow up this year.
And I love the pick of Raymond Calais… He’s gonna be a stud, watch. His NFL comparison is Dexter McCluster if you remember him.. He was pretty electric, and I think Brady will make Calais a star… Time will tell, I guess
April 28th, 2020 at 10:36 am
K Vaughn will be 23 years old next week. RoJo was 20 I believe when he landed in Tampa. Vaughn is a good mature RB who understands his responsibilities.
Watching tape on Vaughn you can see he’s a player. He even pass blocks.
As always it’s going to come down to wether this OL can actually MOVE people out of the way and not just get in the way.
April 28th, 2020 at 10:36 am
Have a feeling they pegged taking Vaughn in the 4th and once that pick was moved they reached a bit in the 3rd knowing they didn’t have another pick until the 5th. Either way, they got their guy and clearly had him ranked higher than any other back remaining at the time.
April 28th, 2020 at 11:18 am
Vaughn and Moss was their option and they wanted to take a RB that will compliment RoJo and make RoJo better, they see RoJo as RB1 and Moss have some medical issue that’s why they go for Vaughn a very matured RB and understands his responsibility
April 28th, 2020 at 11:35 am
I have noticed that running backs like our third-round pick who played on weak offensive line teams get lowered rankings almost regardless of stats. If you are a half-decent back running behind those Alabama/Ohio Star lines of most five-star and four-star players – won’t you look very good?
I think of Cam Akers who was rated the top HS back when he went to FSU. He ran behind terrible lines. In his soph year, FSU had the WORST Division 1 line in the nation, and Akers was hit 40% behind the line of scrimmage on 40% of his runs. Still, he got his 1000 yards and over 4-yard rushing. What would Akers look like behind the Alabama line?
Vaughn had to run behind the lines of Illinois and Vanderbilt, which won three games last year. In his junior year, Vandy had its best line and Vaughn ran for 1200 yards. One critic said he had no breakaway speed, but note that he had 14 runs over 40 yards and 7 of them went for over 60 yards. How often do Buc runners do that?
April 28th, 2020 at 11:54 am
The BUCS is a vastly improved team than last year and years before….and people are still complaining. I like to hear what the other teams are thinking of playing the BUCS now, don’t they wish the BUCS remain the same team as last year with the great JM running this ship. Bring on the games….. Go BUCS GO!!!
April 28th, 2020 at 11:56 am
The talking heads talked bad about SMB last year. This coaching staff knows what they are doing. Last years draft looks great so far… I have faith
April 28th, 2020 at 2:08 pm
Vaughn is going to be Brady’s bodyguard and clean up any missed blocks.
He is a skilled blocker in pass pro and the first comments out of his pie hole after getting selected was how comfortable he is in pass pro and now that he’ll be in the backfield with the GOAT he’ll have to make sure he has perfect technique, learns all the angles and how to read the D’s….he is COMMITTED to becoming a great pass blocker.
He has soft enough hands to be effective when he does release out of the backfield.
Bottom line…Vaughn is a pass blocker who can catch and run the football.
He is not a runner who can also block.
April 28th, 2020 at 4:57 pm
To put this in context, 2 of Brady’s previous RB’s didn’t WOW anybody at the combine:
Dion Lewis, 5-7, 193, 4.57 (5th Round pick)
Combine note: “Probably finds a home as a change-of-pace back, but still must develop as a receiver and pass blocker to be relied upon on third downs”
James White, 5-9, 204, 4.57 (4th Round pick)
No mention of his receiving skills, he went to Wisconsin
Although overlooked for the most part, both were contributors on Super Bowl Championship teams.
April 28th, 2020 at 7:01 pm
Thank You, Joe In Michigan!
April 28th, 2020 at 8:19 pm
Bucsfanman… Very well said. Completely agree with you. And I have a sneaky feeling that Vaughn will surprise alot of people, kind’ve like Kamara did. Go Bucs!
April 28th, 2020 at 11:06 pm
Bowels can put Weinfield at whatever position he’s best at and I’ll take Todd’s words. Very excited if Justin Evans can come back healthy and can play up top. Weinfield, Whitehead, Evans are all good tacklers. This pleases me.
April 29th, 2020 at 12:02 am
{{{whistles}}} Dude, if Joe didn’t know any better, he’d guess you were trying to describe a jewish outhouse. The Bucs have no one named by the guys who typed in the first phrase.