Although selecting offensive linemen in the first round is rarely romantic, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are proof that doing so can result in a lot of wins down the road.
Under the guidance of quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bruce Arians in his debut season, Buccaneers left lineman Tristan Wirfs has never missed the postseason in his three NFL seasons and is a Super Bowl champion.
Rome Odunze is hopeful about constructing a bear-passing game.
In addition, Wirfs has made three trips to the Pro Bowl and has been selected once for the First-Team All-Pro Roster. While it’s fair to argue that he’s had a Hall of Fame-caliber start to his career, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht won’t be taking any consolation when he selects another tackle in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Considering how widely praised for safety the first-round selection of Graham Barton was,” NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice said, placing the Bucs’ draft class 27th in the league this year. “The Duke left tackle does, in all honesty, seem to have a flexible skill set that would work in any setting. He will most likely play the pivot position in Tampa, like he did in Durham as a true freshman. Sadly, he is unable to play left guard concurrently, where there is still a weakness in the depth chart. However, the Bucs’ high-floor selection sort of set the tone for the remainder of the draft, hitting singles after solid pick after solid pick.”
Even if Filice appears disinterested in Licht’s first-round selection, the Buccaneers’ draft rating appears to have been doomed by the pick he never made.
“Jason Licht traded Carlton Davis III to Detroit in March, putting a large wager on 2022 fifth-round pick Zyon McCollum. The Tampa Bay general manager then went even beyond selecting not to select the position in the draft, according to Filice. “Bold strategy, Jason — we’ll see if it pays off.”
Tampa Bay has made four straight postseason appearances for the first time in franchise history. Every stretch also saw a Super Bowl victory for the team.
Even then, it seems that all that success doesn’t bring him any recognition—at least not according to these rankings.
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