Drafting For Depth At Guard
March 7th, 2026
Notre Dame G Billy Schrauth .
Is drafting for depth in Round 4 a smart way to go?
Joe is of the mind that perhaps a guy could fall through the cracks on the first two days of the draft and the Bucs could land a potential starter by accident.
However, Josh Liskiewitz of the PFF tribe thinks the Bucs should start looking for depth in Round 4. And Liskiewitz says Notre Dame guard Billy Schrauth is the type of depth the Bucs need.
Round 4, Pick 116: G Billy Schrauth, Notre Dame
Schrauth’s season ended five games early with an MCL sprain in October, but he would provide immediate interior depth for Tampa Bay with starting upside. Over the past two seasons, he allowed just one sack and 10 pressures across 562 pass-blocking snaps.
Schrauth, from Wisconsin (we all know how much Jason Licht loves offensive linemen from the upper Midwest), is a big boy checking in at 6-5, 310 at the combine.
Guard depth for the Bucs was atrocious last year. If Bucs fans want to blame the offense imploding on the swinging saloon doors play of (not that) Michael Jordan and Buffalo castoff Dan Feeney, Joe won’t argue.
Drafting Schrauth is a very intersting suggestion. Apparently, Schrauth can pass block. And the way Notre Dame ran the ball the past couple of years, Joe thinks it’s safe to believe Schrauth is also a good run blocker.
Joe doesn’t believe Cody Mauch is going anywhere. If he recovers from knee surgery — he’s ready to rock for the start of OTAs — then Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht won’t let him out of the building. Mauch is entering a contract year.
Veteran Ben Bredeson is a free agent in 2028. Joe is a Bredeson fan and Joe knows the Bucs are, too, but will Bredeson still be at the top of his game when he’s 29?
Here’s a look at Licht’s fourth-round picks this decade:
2025: David Walker
2024: Bucky Irving
2022: Cade Otton, Jake Camarda
2021: Jaelon Darden
That’s a 50 percent hit rate, not counting 2025, which is extraordinary for the fourth round.
Walker is gets an “incomplete.” Let’s see what he does when he’s able to finish a padded practice.
So Joe is torn: Do the Bucs try to find a productive starter in the Round 4 like Otton or Bucky? Or do the Bucs go for depth and groom a guy to maybe start in 2028?
No matter how you slice it, the Bucs must have better depth at guard.
Notre Dame OG Billy Schrauth (6-5, 305) needs more pre-NFL Combine buzz
☘️6 starts at RG/16 at LG, even having missed 9 last two years (knee/ankle)
☘️Strength is pass pro. Wide-base & active grip in hands/feet
☘️Fluid, strong puller mover with wide shoulders🎥 @BengalsBrews pic.twitter.com/SZnUDvw961
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) February 18, 2026
March 7th, 2026 at 11:27 am
Given how awful the O Line backups were in 2025 I’d say yes to getting depth.
Plus, Bowles has stated he wants to run more.
I’m expecting an RB and O Lineman to be drafted.
After all, you must rush 30+ times, and it guarantees victory.
Bowles is simply a genius.
March 7th, 2026 at 11:45 am
Hopefully they can give him equal snaps at guard and center so he can be a backup at either
March 7th, 2026 at 11:47 am
Darden was 4th round!?
Do I need to go fact check that!? I don’t remember that at all. I know Licht has made some terrible picks (who hasn’t) but I thought he’s been reserving the gadget players and lil guys like Tez for rounds 6-7.
If this G is BPA in round 4, I am all for it. Round 4, imo, if the first time you can look back to the offense whether it’s a guard, TE or RB. This kid sounds pretty good.
I’m pretty confident in Chukwama, seems like Bucs may have stole him last year (big UDFA contract I know but still) … add a glass eating backup G and hopefully our line is no longer an issue, injuries or not.
March 7th, 2026 at 11:50 am
actually drafting a guard rather than a tackle to convert!?! Thats crazy talk
March 7th, 2026 at 12:30 pm
@Scott
Lol. How else are you going to hang the genius at work sign? The giant egos on JL and TB are the reason for 8 and 9. Always outsmarting themselves.
March 7th, 2026 at 12:39 pm
So $7 million/ year was too much for Bucs to keep Hainsey.
How much are Mauch and Bredeson going to cost to re-sign?
And will their knees hold up?
Lost decade is coming around again if Bucs depend on 4th round picks for their OLine.
March 7th, 2026 at 1:02 pm
Hainsey wanted to START. We couldn’t give him that. So he left because he wanted to. Not because we didn’t try to re-sign him, we did. Guards don’t need to be taken in the first round to be very effective. Same thing with safeties and ILB’ers usually. Those are positions you usually want to draft a bit later unless there’s an obvious superstar and you need a starter, not a backup.
March 7th, 2026 at 1:09 pm
Es macht nichts. Der Hund ist gevikt.
March 7th, 2026 at 1:15 pm
If this team
Has to rely on draft picks alone….
We will never be good/elite
Will
Always be in the 8 win realm relying on luck for the 2 extra wins
March 7th, 2026 at 1:42 pm
I am all in on a G. Bucky, or any RB isn’t going to excel without good line play. And if Billy Schrauth excels, he can possibly take over for Bredenson when he is a FA in ’28 and we save money there. Besides, even tho I would like a top quality RB (and a top quality player at every position), the Bucs got Tucker as a UDFA.
With regard to David Walker, you just don’t recognize talent when you see it Joe. The man is a next coming of Lawrence Taylor. Everyone knows it. It is absolutely amazing to me that all 32 teams passed on Walker for 3 & 1/2 rounds in the draft!! It was said Walker would be the key to us reaching the SB – maybe this is our year! I forgot, is that soothsayer still with the Bucs?
March 7th, 2026 at 1:57 pm
Connor Lew
March 7th, 2026 at 1:58 pm
@Destinjohnny Says:
If this team
Has to rely on draft picks alone….
We will never be good/elite
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Johnny, I would bet the house, Licht will spend on FAs this year. Definitely at EDGE or ILB (probably TE also), or hopefully both and then draft one too. Problem is, he will spend on a budget EDGE for something under $12M. That will give us better production than 1-sack Reddick and and get the Bucs 8 or 9 wins, maybe the NFCS title again.
Then every darn draft we will be picking at 14 to 18 and get a ok player, not an elite player bc they will all be drafted already. We will be like the Steelers. Maybe win our division and lose in the first round.
If I were Licht, I would hate to invest more friggin draft capital at EDGE since Todd clearly cannot develop one. How can a defensive HC not develop and EDGE with countless premium draft picks in 8 years?!?!
March 7th, 2026 at 2:01 pm
He’s missed a lot of games.
9. He’s started 22. Missed 9.
That’s not good.
4th round? I want a MLB.
1st round: BPA: DE, DT or MLB
2nd round: BPA: DE, DT, NT, or MLB
3rd round: BPA: DE, DT, NT or MLB
4th round: BPA: DE, DT, NT, MLB
Get 2 down lineman. Big and nasty.
Get 2 really fast middle linebackers.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:05 pm
We have so many needs,
We need to get the BPA in each round.
We need every position. Except WR, QB, Safety, and LT.
Needs:
MLB, EDGE, DE, DT, NT, RB, OG/C, TE.
We have a lot of needs guys!
March 7th, 2026 at 2:11 pm
Notre Dame is too big of a school for Licht’s liking. He typically prefers the smaller schools so that if/when the player is good…he can look like a hidden gem finder. Lack of O-line capable backups helped sink the 2025 season.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:30 pm
Offensive linemen drafted in the later rounds seem to be ‘projects’ more than ‘starter ready’ their 1st & 2nd years. Klein was a ‘project’ and after 2 years he’s still not ready, even to be adequate depth. Chukwuma is a ‘project’ and still needs a lot of refining. The others who we had as depth last season didn’t really work out (except maybe Hazzard).
No more ‘projects’. There’s plenty of quality, starter-capable DEPTH OLinemen available for reasonable cost in the free agent market. Alex Cappa comes to mind. If per chance Mauch isn’t ready, Cappa could start no problem.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:33 pm
Teacherman, I am going to agree with you up to a point. I agree:
BPA rounds 1 – 3 in priority: Edge, ILB & DT, but first a foremost BPA. I put ILB as priority over DT only bc we are desperate there if LVD leaves. That just leaves Dennis and that is scary.
And like I said in my previous posts, I almost hate to use draft capital for an EDGE, bc Todd sucks at developing a OLB – it is likely a waste of a draft pick. But no way Licht spends money on two FA OLBs.
Round 4 we can get a quality guard, a guard that is versatile and can at least play both G positions and hopefully C.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:35 pm
Yes draft guard depth…but in round 2.
Licht knows OL. Increase the chance of a successful #2 pick.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:37 pm
Teacherman Says:
“We need every position. Except WR, QB, Safety, and LT.”
An argument can be nade for a late round QB.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:42 pm
DR, you make a fair point. Almost all non-skill positions take 1 or 2 years to develop. But how much money do you think Licht will spend in free agency?
We have so many needs. And if Licht drops a big chunk on an OLB (big for Licht being under $12M – yes, I have lost a lot of faith in Licht being a top GM), how much more will he spend on a starting ILB and TE, then a back up “quality” DT, OG, RB, etc?
March 7th, 2026 at 2:44 pm
Bonzi, round 2 is a starting guard. We desparately need a starting EDGE, ILB and DT ahead of a back up guard.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:47 pm
Are they still going to pay Elijah Klein?
March 7th, 2026 at 2:54 pm
Senor Harry, if we draft a potential starting OG, we can have a strong backup plan and can rotate them to keep them fresh.
On top of that, the idea is to get better. If we draft a guy who is better than one of our current starters, we get an upgrade.
But…my biggest reason…Jason Licht’s had the most trouble in the second round…but he knows OL best. Picking an OG there gives the best chance of success.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:57 pm
@lynchmob50
Todd may NOT be a genius but he’s surely waaay smarter than the idiots who like to sarcastically call him a genius repeatedly.
March 7th, 2026 at 2:59 pm
My suggestion is
1) Edge OR ILB BPA
2) OG OR EDGE BPA
3) ILB OR Edge BPA
4) Edge OR BPA
5) BPA
6) BPA
7) BPA
March 7th, 2026 at 3:03 pm
Tom Petty, I agree.
March 7th, 2026 at 3:05 pm
To be fair, there are 18 interior OL free agents.
March 7th, 2026 at 3:05 pm
Hainsey wanted to start? Ironic. If he had stayed, he would have had a choice of starting positions. And the team would have benefited.
March 7th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
If he’s on the roster come mid-September.
March 7th, 2026 at 3:16 pm
Grab a C that can play guard. Need a true C to move Barton if he continues to struggle.
March 7th, 2026 at 3:20 pm
Todd is a genius. It’s a proven fact. It doesn’t mean he can coach, but he’s definitely smart.
March 7th, 2026 at 3:27 pm
Round 1 thru 6. Yes
March 7th, 2026 at 4:11 pm
Nothing within reach will improve defense except new coordinator, might as well upgrade O line
March 7th, 2026 at 5:11 pm
Ben: I like the idea of drafting a big center and moving Barton to guard. I don’t think Barton is a particularly good center at picking up blitz’s. But the bottom line is that the Bucs need to focus on edge, DL, CB and ILB in this draft. Even if they get Hendrickson Bucs still need to draft an Edge.
March 7th, 2026 at 6:04 pm
“…the idea is to get better. If we draft a guy who is better than one of our current starters, we get an upgrade”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Of course Bonzi, that is always the intention. I don’t see a DL on your list? How do you intend to replace Logan Hall and Greg Gaines? And BOTH of whom were less than desirable anyway. We are not losing any starting guards. We cannot afford to sign starting free agents for every position
So Bonzi, using your statement, how do we upgrade that position?
March 7th, 2026 at 6:42 pm
Jason’s only niss in years at ol was klein.
Let him do what he wants edge, not so much
March 7th, 2026 at 7:07 pm
If the guard from Penn state is available in the first round we should draft him and then have Bredeson as our depth. That’s real depth. This guard from Penn state next to Tristan whirfs would create a real strength on the offensive line. I know everyone wants to draft a defensive player no matter what but I’d rather the top guard in the draft then the 5th best edge rusher. And drafting a middle linebacker in the first round is not what good teams do. Stick to the trenches.
March 7th, 2026 at 7:12 pm
He’s very light on his feet, especially for a guard. That’s a good pick.