BSPN Rates Bucs’ Best Draft Picks
April 30th, 2026
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Fans are still jumping up and down about Rueben Bain, the Bucs’ first-round draft pick last week. Now the real test is here: Can Bain overcome Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ indifference about an edge rush?
If you read BSPN, Bucs fans should be jumping up and down about a different player the team drafted. In selecting the 100 best picks, Matt Miller has new Bucs nickel cornerback Keionte Scott as his No. 23 best player picked in last week’s draft (Round 4). The heralded Bain, Miller has at No. 26.
BSPN tied the rankings to a player’s talent, scheme fit and the probability of how the player will be used by his new team.
Miller also has Ted Hurst, the wide receiver out of Georgia State, taken by the Bucs in Round 3, as his No. 44 best player.
So in Miller’s top-100 best picks, the Bucs have three players in Miller’s top-44.
At least on paper, that’s a damn good draft for Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
April 30th, 2026 at 12:27 am
If you stand on other people’s shoulders, are you allowed to call yourself tall???
What needs to be done is some hard core sports journalism holding the power structure accountable.
Every year since this regime took power in 2022 we get a non stop wave of boot licking and Pom Pom waiving.
Perhaps trying something different is in order.
April 30th, 2026 at 1:23 am
I’m rooting for Licht and Bowles, although I’m not very confident in Bowles. I’m finding myself very resentful of Mike Evans. I’m not rooting for him. I’m rooting for the rest of his career to suck.
April 30th, 2026 at 2:15 am
Of course, this is just the opinion of Matt Miller which I am not knocking.
With, thirty-two teams, 3 in the top 100 is not really special.
The fact that all of ours are in the top 50 with a mean rank of 33 when the average team’s mean rank should be 50, that’s nice.
It’s too bad Miller found no love for our second round pick.
He gave the 15 spot to CJ Allen who went to CJ the Colts for pick 2-21.
He awarded the 24 spot to Anthony Hill, Jr. who went to the Titans for pick 2-28.
He awarded top 100 spots to five other ILBs taken after the Bucs second round pick, but he found no special value in our guy.
Oh well, another year of mediocrity at ILB.
6 decent picks out of 7 ain’t bad, but poor ILB play year after year is getting old, and failing to aggressively address a glaring need for a coverage linebacker – in a draft where we pick a linebacker with very good do-it-all coverage linebackers on the board – well, damn!
April 30th, 2026 at 2:46 am
toopanca, we have 3 in the top 45.
Two in the top 26.
It’s actually not that bad. I do agree Bain and Scott should be as closely ranked as they are, as they are partners on the field. They key off one another. Opponents will have their double team their side and Vita, and it probably won’t work. Plus it will free up YaYa on the other side.