Football Outsiders Not Impressed With Bucs Rookies

January 21st, 2023

Props for rookie season.

Joe doesn’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. You decide.

Joe suggests the rookie that made the biggest impact on the team this season was the Bucs’ punter, Jake Camarda.

In breaking down rookies using their own hocus-pocus formula, the stats gang at Football Outsiders believes Carmarda gets that honor, too, per Aaron Schatz and Alex Vigderman, typing for BSPN. They ranked the Bucs’ rookie class No. 24 in the league.

Running back Rachaad White? Not impressed. One reason for their lukewarm reaction to White is what they termed as a disappointing 5.8 yards per reception. Football Outsiders also didn’t care for White’s knack for going down easily on contact.

Defensive lineman Logan Hall (who?), Football Outsiders is down on him as well but believes he could have a jump in production next season.

Cade Otton? He was graded near the bottom of all tight ends. (Joe will once again caution folks that rarely do rookie tight ends make significant impact).

In this write-up, neither cornerback Zyon McCollum nor tight end Ko Kieft was mentioned. The only reference to left guard Luke Goedeke was that he lost his starting job.

78 Responses to “Football Outsiders Not Impressed With Bucs Rookies”

  1. SB~LV Says:

    He will earn his pay next season!

  2. McBucky Says:

    Hire Sean Payton and bring the confidence back.

  3. Gofortheface30 Says:

    If I see one more bozo thinking the Bucs will can bring in Sean Payton…I’m over it. Please stop. Please get educated. The Bucs are old and slow and over the cap. We are not attractive. The saints will never in a million years do the Bucs any favors either. Stop with the Payton talk you baboon brains

  4. Hodad Says:

    Saw some flashes out of all of them, hopefully they grow from here. Joe, any word from Bowles about naming a D.C. who will also call the defense on game days, or is Bowles going to keep that himself? I’m hoping he names a D.C. who is good enough to get H.C. consideration some day. Chain of succession right? Bowles isn’t good enough to do both. I hope at least management agree.

  5. Chris@Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Says:

    I agree that no way we get Sean Peyton.
    Licht did not do a great job drafting lately.
    If anyone remembers, Licht was in trouble here, until he pulled Arians out of a Hat, and got gifted Tom Brady.
    WE need to rebuild, and are way over the salary cap, so no real money to sign star free agents.

  6. Todd Says:

    Hey, maybe others have thought this through. But what if we persuade Todd Monkman to be OC and ALSO draft Stetson Bennett in like the fourth round? He could be a sneaky great pick like SF’s Purdy and Monkman would know him better than anyone on the planet!

    Regardless of Brady’s status. I think there’s a there there.

    Anyone else?

  7. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    I believe all of them will develop into contributors…….especially White & Otton…..and don’t count out Zyon……the kid takes a lot of heat…..but he’s a rookie CB….

  8. Goforthegut Says:

    If I see one more bozo thinking the Bucs are old going into next year…I’m over it. Please stop. Please get educated. They only have a couple of players currently under contract that are over thirty. It is simple math.

  9. Infomeplease Says:

    They forgot about the terrible performance of the Bucs rookie head coach! Oh ya, he’s not exactly a rookie head coach is he. Just coaches like a very bad rookie head coach!!!

  10. Aceofaerospace Says:

    New Orleans will never trade Sean Payton to the bucs. If they did, it would cost a lot more than the Gruden trade. So, just stop it, please.

  11. Sinking Ship Says:

    We are going down BIG time

    If you thought this season was rough, just wait

  12. Marine Buc Says:

    Our Punter looks like Scam Bankman Fraud – I wonder if Brady ever held it against him…

    LOL!

  13. Sparky Says:

    We had 7 picks and 6 of them got significant playing time this year. That’s impressive in itself. They all looked promising too. Obviously time will tell, but this draft class could end up being a home run. It HAS to be, given the average age and salaries of the rest of the team.

  14. NEfan Says:

    Stop with the Payton talk, the Saints are considering trading him and it won’t be to the Bucs.

  15. Onetrickpony Says:

    Todd: yup

  16. SKBucsFan Says:

    Hall has the skills just need coaching and time.
    Otten will be good. Or at least serviceable.
    Kieft would be good as a halfback, but Leftwich’s offense was predictable when he came in. Run up the middle for 2 yards!
    McCollum is like 95% of CB’s. They take time to develop. It’s the hardest position to play. It take experience to get good. SMB, Davis and Dean all took time.
    O-linemen take time as well. Goedeke was forced in too early. I am sure he learned a lot, but has a way to go. Neither Cappa nor Marpet were good immediately. The exception was Wirfs

    I get that we want to clean house but these guys are cheap and serviceable…until they aren’t. Licht hasn’t been hitting it out of the park. And being over the cap means we need these guys.

  17. Jeff’s real dad Says:

    To the folks living in fantasy land Sean Payton isn’t coming here not going to happen so live in reality

  18. Allbuccedup Says:

    Agree with Chris@apple roofing!

  19. Old Sombrero Says:

    Payton isn’t going anywhere that doesn’t have a winning QB. He won with Brees (Hall of fame). What has he done without Brees? He’d be foolish to tarnish himself and not go to a place with a QB or at least to a place where he has full control to draft a QB or trade for what he wants which means it’s a team with cap space. If he sits out this year and the Chargers part ways with their coach after next year I could see him partner with Herbert.

  20. #99 the Big fella Says:

    But saints gave permission for Payton to interview with Carolina .
    So won’t give permission to bucs??

  21. Ben the GA Buc Says:

    Just my two cents but I thought Rachaad got better at breaking tackles and making defenders miss as the season went on.

  22. Craig Says:

    Most of our rookies got thrown into the fire without being given asbestos underpants.

    Hall and Goedecke were both too green to be wort anything more than warm body designation.

    Otton and Kieft needed much better offensive output to be more than warm bodies themselves.

    It is almost impossible to rate rookies on a team that played so ugly. I would like to have hope for them in next season, but I have my doubts, Bowles cleaner is not that attractive to have any quality OCs attach themselves to them. He is going to have to hire some rookie and again hope for the best.

  23. beano Says:

    Marine Buc Says: “Our Punter looks like Scam Bankman Fraud”

    LOL I was going to say that.

  24. Onetrickpony Says:

    20-25 mil for Payton, plus 1st round picks ?
    Wow

  25. HC Grover Says:

    The Clown Show will be even better this year. Bucs should get Clown football shoes. It is just pathetic. After Atlanta and Dallas I begin to wonder about the Glazers. Are they OK? Maybe a welfare check.

  26. ClwJB Says:

    Too many project picks – gotta get more immediate value out of rounds 1-3

  27. View from 132 Says:

    Rachaad White looks like the real deal to me. Best drafted Bucs RB since Cadillac.

  28. Steven007 Says:

    Face and others, definitely agree on the Peyton angle. Shouldn’t even be a discussion, but posters betray their knowledge of football when they suggest it so there’s that. As for the rookies, not a hugely impactful draft yet but I think one that will become more so. Obviously the punter was impactful. And I don’t get the Otten hate. He had his up and down moments but it seems clear to me that he will develop just fine. White did fine given his role. Handcuffed to an extent by the offensive scheme and the o-line troubles. Hall will develop. McCollum looks like a solid special tamer who may develop into a valuable backup corner. And Ko showed some impact as a blocker though he still needs to work on catching the ball. Time will tell.

  29. Steven007 Says:

    Regarding the age of the team thing, factoring in a player who is closer to 50 then 40 will certainly skew that statistic. All in all I do believe we need to get a bit younger, but it’s not the problem that some make it out to be.

  30. ChiBuc Says:

    Byron’s gameplan left players on an island. For it to ever work, individuals had to make exceptional plays. That is hard for rookies to slot in and excel. With some creativity in play calling and scheming help, I think they grade out better.

    Geodeke next to Jensen and not trying to help a whiffing injured Smith will look better.
    Otton looks like a young Brate, never great but reliable.
    Let’s get creative with Keif, Tom needed protection and this guy would have been a good fit as a halfback catching out of the backfield.
    To site White’s ypc as a reasoning for a low grade is ludicrous considering the obvious behind the line of scrimmage desperation lobs he was receiving.
    Hall is a stretch tweener interior lineman, try him on the edge more.
    McCollum looked lost, but so did our coaches so understandable
    Camarda, forget about it! This guy was the best offensive and defensive weapon all year, likely top 3 in ST tackles, and consistently put the ball in the end zone on kickoffs. Armstrong’s ST unit ranks 32 without him.

    Not saying it is a great class, but how do you grade the student when the teacher sucks?

  31. ChiBuc Says:

    Agree with other posters, forget about Sean Payton. He left NO due to an aging team and cap issues. Sound familiar? Not to mention division rival NO is unlikely to trade their best asset to us unless they are going to gut us in future drafts to overshadow their embarrassing Ditka/Williams draft of 1999

  32. Destinjohnny Says:

    Ya that’s what I been saying man
    This guy is a marginal drafter

  33. Destinjohnny Says:

    Can’t win without players
    Now with Tom gone so go the free agents too
    This dudes drafts grade out at a D minus

  34. Buc1987 Says:

    ChiBuc…You’re right…it’ so easy to just say go get Sean Payton.

    Never thinking about what it’ll take to get him or if he even wants to coach the Bucs, with all the hell that’s going on.

  35. Yucs2Bucs Says:

    Totally agree and like R White, but Jake was extremely inconsistent and now Lichts 3rd straight draft where he’s reached. Obviously it takes time and get that, but besides Tristan name one player who’s had a major impact? DW, Winfield, and others play has been way too up and down and this season all those picks ( minus Tristan ) got exposed !!!

  36. Bucfan Says:

    If all but one is a bust, perhaps bad coaching is a large part of the problem

  37. Pickgrin Says:

    Otton had 46 catches for 450 yards with 2 TDs.

    Not sure how anyone could expect much more than that from a 4th rd rookie.

    To my eye – White, Otton, Kieft and especially Camarda all had good rookie years and will all be valuable contributors for many seasons to come.

    Hall and Goedeke both have higher end talent and will almost certainly be major contributors sooner than later.

    McCollum was one of our best ST players even if he wasn’t ready for prime time at CB. Zyon has off the charts measurables and is likely to become at least a serviceable CB in this league at some point.

    Thats SEVEN good prospects. SEVEN good picks out of one draft!!

    Licht is one of the best drafting GMs in the league and has continued to do well on draft day despite drafting towards the end of every round the last couple of years.

  38. Coburn Says:

    Agreed pickgrin. I don’t know how you look at a running offense where every back is struggling including Lenny then a 4th round rookie shows obvious juice and you say he’s trash. Don’t know how otton wasn’t impressive when given opportunity or how you overlook kieft blocking. I thought McCollum stood out on special teams as well. You need those types of guys

  39. Beej Says:

    I don’t think JTS will EVER be effective, at least as an edge rusher, wasted pick. Painful to watch him flail away at tackles. Can’t say about the others. In 2019, I thought it was CD3’s job to chase opposing receivers into the end zone, so there’s always hope

  40. The Anomaly Says:

    licht is garbage without brady

  41. Destinjohnny Says:

    Anomaly if he didn’t blow the last 2 first round picks as well as well as Luke and Robert and Vaughn
    We would still be playing

  42. Bobby M. Says:

    Licht’s drafting brilliance….dude has wasted too many top picks on guys that aren’t all that effective

  43. 1#bucsfan Says:

    Don’t really care what the hocus pocus says bout the rooks. Otton isn’t gronk but I believe he is a cam Brate 2.0. Camarda did great white pretty much caught everything thrown his way n made people miss after the ketch. As a running back Lenny didn’t fair much better so we will see what he does next year. Hall who lol Zion will get better. Dean SMB n Carlton played a little better but hopefully he will get developed he deff has the speed. I have all the faith in the world luke will develop. Marpet, cappa developed nicley wirf is a freak in a good way.

  44. Scott Says:

    Ko Kieft was graded way higher than Otton per PFF but less snaps of course.

  45. Destinjohnny Says:

    1st pick in the draft in 24

  46. Destinjohnny Says:

    Worst line in football
    Wasted Brady’s last year
    Then cost byron his job

  47. Cobraboy Says:

    I guess “it takes three years to judge a draft class” is moot in today’s “gotta have it now” Casual Fan culture.

  48. Defense Rules Says:

    Craig … ‘Most of our rookies got thrown into the fire without being given asbestos underpants.’

    I agree with ya, but there’s a reason: we lost a number of starters & we had no depth. White got snaps because he was as effective as Fournette (more-so at times). Otton got lots of snaps because Rudolph & Brate are antiques. Hall got snaps because he was supposed to replace either Suh or McLendon (and ended up replacing neither). Zion got snaps because of all the injuries in our Secondary at one point. And Goedeke got snaps because he was last man standing.

    The fact that they all played quite a bit in a losing year with lots of injuries doesn’t mean diddly going forward. They all need to improve significantly or they’ll end up with 4-year careers.

  49. Defense Rules Says:

    DestinJohnny … Can’t believe that we went 8-9, got bounced in the 1st round of the play-offs and as a reward we get to pick #19 in the coming draft. Whoopee. Others with that same record this year get to pick as high as #13 or #14 I believe.

    At #19 we’ll get to pick OJ Howard-revisited and then wonder why 18 teams passed him by. Slim pickings by that point unless you get lucky or are looking for a specialist that no one else needs.

  50. Defense Rules Says:

    Beej … I think JTS actually improved towards the latter part of this season. He stayed healthy for all 17 games, gave us 843 def snaps (78.6%), plus 4 sacks, 9 QB Knockdowns, 8 Hurries, and 6 TFLs. His tackling improved considerably it looks like (Missed tackle rate was 17.1% in 2021, but dropped to just 4.8% in 2022). His pass defense (for an OLB especially) was actually quite good … 24 targets, 14 completions allowed for 58.3%. Compare that to Nelson’s 77.8%, Nassib’s 100% or Shaq’s 100%.

    I think he just came to us REALLY GREEN, and needed to bulk up & get on the field more. Will he ever be as good as JPP? Probably not, but most DE/OLBs aren’t. I do think that he can fit in this defense though. Hopefully Shaq recovers 100%, we re-sign Nelson, and I’d like to see us draft (Rnds 1 or 2) a bonafide pass rusher. One guy who should be back next year also is Cam Gill. Not a true starter IMO, but manages to make an impact when he does get on the field.

  51. Iamabuc Says:

    I keep thinking that no proven Offensive Coordinator would want to come here with Bowles being the HC. Just saying. Guys, we are screwed.

  52. BuxfaninTX Says:

    Jason Licht needs to take a lot of blame on recent drafts… some of his draft picks have robbed the team of depth, especially his liking of injury prone players ( see Beckwith, Justin Watson) and his love for small school players (McCollum, Goedke, Darden) and kickers (Gay, Aguayo)

  53. Ben Harvey Says:

    Licht could change it all if he just hired Payton. He would make up for the loss of some players. He is like tomlin, gets the best of his players and Brady would return. Cmon man LFG

  54. Beeej Says:

    On the whole, Licht has found some keepers. What determines a successful draft history, I googled his, doesn’t look too shabby. As DR points out, jury will be out for a bit on this year, and JTS hasn’t peaked yet

    Misc
    Year Rnd Player Pick Pos To
    2022 2 Logan Hall 33 DE
    2022 2 Luke Goedeke 57 OL
    2022 3 Rachaad White 91 RB
    2022 4 Cade Otton 106 TE
    2022 4 Jake Camarda 133 P
    2022 5 Zyon McCollum 157 DB
    2022 6 Ko Kieft 218 TE
    2022 7 Andre Anthony 248 DE

    Year Rnd Player Pick Pos To
    2021 1 Joe Tryon-Shoyinka 32 OLB
    2021 2 Kyle Trask 64 QB
    2021 3 Robert Hainsey 95 OL
    2021 4 Jaelon Darden 129 WR
    2021 5 K.J. Britt 176 LB
    2021 7 Chris Wilcox 251 DB
    2021 7 Grant Stuard 259 LB

    Year Rnd Player Pick Pos
    2020 1 Tristan Wirfs 13 T
    2020 2 Antoine Winfield Jr. 45 S
    2020 3 Ke’Shawn Vaughn 76 RB
    2020 5 Tyler Johnson 161 WR
    2020 6 Khalil Davis 194 DT
    2020 7 Chapelle Russell 241 LB
    2020 7 Raymond Calais 245 RB

    Year Rnd Player Pick Pos
    2019 1 Devin White 5 LB
    2019 2 Sean Murphy-Bunting 39
    2019 3 Jamel Dean 94 CB
    2019 3 Mike Edwards 99 S
    2019 4 Anthony Nelson 107 DE
    2019 5 Matt Gay 145 K
    2019 6 Scott Miller 208 WR
    2019 7 Terry Beckner Jr. 215 DT

    Year Rnd Player Pick
    2018 1 Vita Vea 12 DT
    2018 2 Ronald Jones II 38 RB
    2018 2 M.J. Stewart 53 CB
    2018 2 Carlton Davis 63 CB
    2018 3 Alex Cappa 94 T
    2018 4 Jordan Whitehead 117
    2018 5 Justin Watson 144 WR
    2018 6 Jack Cichy 202 ILB

    Year Rnd Player Pick
    2017 1 O.J. Howard 19 TE
    2017 2 Justin Evans 50 S
    2017 3 Chris Godwin 84 WR
    2017 3 Kendell Beckwith 107
    2017 5 Jeremy McNichols 162 RB
    2017 7 Stevie Tu’ikolovatu 223 NT

    Year Rnd Player Pick
    2016 1 Vernon Hargreaves III 11 CB
    2016 2 Noah Spence 39 DE
    2016 2 Roberto Aguayo 59 K
    2016 4 Ryan Smith 108 CB
    2016 5 Caleb Benenoch 148 T
    2016 6 Devante Bond 183 OLB
    2016 6 Danny Vitale 197 FB

    Year Rnd Player Pick
    2015 1 Jameis Winston 1 QB
    2015 2 Donovan Smith 34 T
    2015 2 Ali Marpet 61 C
    2015 4 Kwon Alexander 124 OLB
    2015 5 Kenny Bell 162 WR
    2015 6 Kaelin Clay 184 WR
    2015 7 Joey Iosefa 231 FB

    Year Rnd Player Pick
    2014 1 Mike Evans 7 WR
    2014 2 Austin Seferian-Jenkins 38 TE
    2014 3 Charles Sims 69 RB
    2014 5 Kadeem Edwards 143 OL
    2014 5 Kevin Pamphile 149 T
    2014 6 Robert Herron 185 WR

  55. SOEbuc Says:

    BucxfaninTX

    “Jason Licht needs to take a lot of blame on recent drafts”

    Like Vea,Winfield,Wirfs past 4 years? Psych! Can’t all be winners, so I’ll take the ones that are top 10 in their position.

  56. mark2001 Says:

    Guys really. I think Payton almost despises the Bucs. And remember, he wasn’t fired from NO, so he really has no axe to grind. I think there are about 30 other teams he rather coach than this team.

  57. mark2001 Says:

    Licht and Bowles are tied to the hip. In fact, bringing in Arians and Brady were the only things that saved his job last time, remember? And he signed off on Bowles. If Bowles soils the bed next year, both will be out of here. No doubt.

  58. Rod Munch Says:

    I generally like Football Outsiders, and they tend to do a good job, but their take on White is literally retarded. White did not go down easily, and the depth of target on receptions was on that idiot Leftwich who thought you win with 1 yard passes. White, I liked quite a bit, and I stand by my statement that he’s going to be a star, could be as soon as this upcoming year, although if we’re rolling out Trask at QB, no one other than Barry Sanders would be able to look good as teams will just stack the line and dare Trask to throw the football.

  59. Just Leave Trask Alone Says:

    Trask is a competitor. He’s the least of their worries as he’s a young player ready to step into his role. They have to get under the cap. It’s time to get rid of some veterans and some cuts will be tough.

    Will they be able to keep both Evans and Godwin? I can’t see how. They need a new LT. They need 2 DL. Gholston and Hicks are likely gone. Bringing back 33 year old Lavonte David? JTS is a total bust. Will Barrett be healthy? They have no pass rush. Too many important positions need replacements and it’s not going to be solved in the draft in a single year.

    Then there is Bowles. If they are going to give him the reigns during the rebuild they are going to give him the year after as well. After 2 seasons of being the worst team in the league we’ll get a new coach and who knows then? Another a year minimum for a good coach to make Tampa competitive.

    Best case scenario 2026 Tampa has a competitive team – and that’s best case scenario optimistic if they don’t fire Bowles now – which they aren’t going to do.

    We’re all effed. Doom and gloom has come. Dark days are ahead of us – years of being the worst team in the league with no hope in sight.

  60. steele Says:

    Not much to be impressed about. Mediocre to poor draft. Twice.

  61. Capt.Tim Says:

    Our coach is terrible with rookies.
    Thats why his record with the Jets got worse every year..
    And we are stuck with him. Too much talk about some first year coaches not given a chance.
    Stuck with him.
    Alot of players gonna bolt in free agency
    Yeah- we’ll suck hard next year.

    But on the bright side- tickets will be cheaper, and easier to come by. I called the Bucs ticket office several times, about getting handicapped tickets. They were kind of arrogant every time.
    Bet they humble up now. Empty seats dont affect the Glazers- but they hurt everyone else from the top down.
    Well, at least we won a SuperBowl, before we screwed the pooch.
    Impressive for this bunch

  62. BigMacAttack Says:

    If your punter is your MVP then your team sux out loud.

  63. firethecannons Says:

    this is a very very bad team with a historically bad coach there is no hope I’m out

  64. Buccos Says:

    I think we are going to be good next year. We lose Brady’s salary and get Trask who has been soaking it all up for 2 years. Just like he did at Florida (chomp chomp)

  65. Suggiefresh Says:

    Another reason GM Jason Lycht needs to go, hiring Bruce for three years, his overall draft talent picks, now we are in salry cap hell.

  66. adam from ny Says:

    @ChiBuc:

    nice with that post…pretty much said it all…

    i do think otten might have a little bit more upside than being a brate…he looks better with his feet…we shall see – only time will tell…

    cam was a good tight end in his prime, he was a touchdown machine for a minute there, and that might have been the best part of his game…an absolute machine – and jameis loved it…

    no knock on him at all – he was or is a great buccaneer – and when his career is up, i think most longtime buc fans would be delighted to hear he has another type of spot within the organization…like maybe even join dave moore, when mean gene eventually decides to hang em up (2 color guys, 0 announcer) 🙂

  67. adam from ny Says:

    i’m surprised at no time did they resign andre anthony due to the edge issues this year…

    it seemed like they liked him a lot in camp…but evidently that was definitely not the case…

    maybe bring him back for next year for training camp?

  68. adam from ny Says:

    chapelle russell and chris wilcox are both with pittsburgh now

  69. adam from ny Says:

    i think they def pulled the trigger too early on cutting matt gay…

    looking back that was bad…

    would be nice to be going into next season with him and camarda…

    if playing long game, you could have those guys potentially for 10 years a piece – you never know

  70. adam from ny Says:

    @Beeej

    interesting looking through the list of guys and what happened to some, and where they landed, or didn’t

  71. adam from ny Says:

    it’s crazy ronald jones is wallowing away in kc while we had the worst running game in the league…

    remember how hard he ran and churned the last couple years before they didn’t resign him…

    i still think he has a 1,000 yard season in him if given the chance with lovie 🙂 🙂

  72. BucsBeBack (Artist formally known as: BringBucsBack) Says:

    Buccos, as I understand, if Brady signs with another team, there will be a cap hit of 25mil to our Bucs, next season. If he retires, That 25 mil can be spread-out over the next two years but, it doesn’t go away. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong, I am quite sure, however. Most agree, Brady’s not coming back.

    I have hope for Trask but, his play in the Atlanta game did nothing to fertilize that hope. With the employed head coach, cap situation, no O/C & new QB (Trask or not) there is very little to be excited about.

    I hate playing keyboard warrior but, ignoring these facts, pimping Trask then concluding your post with the chomps give football fans reason to call Gators’ fans stupid and I’m a Gators fan.

  73. Bucamania Says:

    Licht’s poor drafts and free agency decisions since the SuperBowl have depleted this roster. Pretty bad when a punter is your best pick.

  74. Bucamania Says:

    While we’re waiting around to see if JTS can actually play in this league, Landon Dickerson is a Pro Bowl guard picked soon after him. Make all the excuses you want for these guys, the drafts since the Superbowl have been bad.

  75. Ed McSherry Says:

    -Quote:
    “Running back Rachaad White? Not impressed. One reason for their lukewarm reaction to White is what they termed as a disappointing 5.8 yards per reception. Football Outsiders also didn’t care for White’s knack for going down easily on contact.” End Quote-

    Ya wonder how many Buccaneers’ games, if any, they’ve actually seen; and if they’ve actually watched the plays of which Rachaad White was involved.

    Hello? A rookie, who started-out in obscurty with a few plays here n’ there In the first half of the season, but quickly demonstrated that he had the (rare with the decimated O-line with which to work-with) ability to produce first downs; so many in fact that I personnlly lost count.

    Rachaad White then went on in the second half of the season to well-earned “starting RB status.”
    This is a rookie remember.
    He ended the season by improving each week, looking like a veteran, clutch, end-zone specialist that the team solely needed.

    The reviewers state that they weren’t impressed with Rachaad White’s 5.8 reception average.

    Huh? Maybe they missed the fact that the O.C., Byron Leftwitch is allergic to the “play-action;” of which Brady is the best in the business, and Rachaad has that “receiving RB” talent ready to go and was completely ignored and grossly under-used. However, when it was used, I remember at least two important red zone touchdowns.

  76. OLDE pfart Says:

    Right on the kicker….he just needs some seasoning to gain another 10 yards on field goals…..wrong on Otten….he will be a factor to be aware of as he develops…..lots of potential there.the rest are so….so…..but could develop well if coached and mentored properly.

  77. Surfslowson Says:

    Cade Otton had the most catches of any of the rookie TE and had the 3rd most yards. Not sure how they rated him the worst of the bunch.

  78. Wild Bill Says:

    I call bs. The Bucs have had to draft at the bottom end of most rounds the past few years while other teams have got the best picks. The system is designed to not favor the top ranked teams. The Bucs rookies did not cause the Bucs decline. Too much of the Bucs better players left in free agency, we’re injured and we’re getting old like Brady. This year’s team especially on offense was a lot of high mileage older guys past their prime who had nagging injuries.