Draft Possibilities, Remaining Free Agents & Depth Needs | Bucs Insider

last one of these, we signed Ryan Griffin. So it was kind of funny that we had questions recently about the backup quarterback situation and your answer had been we don't have any because technically they hadn't been resigned it. So at least now we do know there is technically a backup quarterback on the rosters. So tell me about this resigning, what this could mean, and what we know about what this means overall quarterback draft, you know, roster,

all of that stuff. Yeah, now we have two. We have Tom Brady and Ryan Griffin, and uh, I think you'll probably end up with four for the start training camp, and the way the patterns held for years now taking three into the regular season, so the buck are far

from done there. They also still have blame Gabbert on their ever dwindling list of unrestricted free agents, which at the end of the Super Bowl was going to be twenty four players long, and now it is down to like six or seven, and only three or four of those have gone anywhere else. So it just continues an amazing ability to keep this team intact. And Ryan Griffin, you know, he's only thrown four passes in the regular season. That's part of the story. It's kind of amazing that

it's worked out that way. It's not an indictment. It just means when he when he was the second guy, the first guy always stayed healthy. You know, two years ago in two thousand nineteen, Blame Gabbert her his shoulder in the preseason, ended up on injoy reserve, and Ryan Griffin was your number two, and you know, Jameis Winston just played every snap just about. And then last year Blaine Gabbert was healthy. So Ryan Griffin was the three. And when UH we were torching the Lions at halftime

and they pulled Tom Brady, he was blamed. That got to play. So Ryan obviously knows the system very well. He's got two years now under his belt in UH in Bruce arians offense, and they always talk about how much they like what he does in the practice field, and I know we don't get to see most of that, but they say it all the time, so we have to assume, especially because they resigned him again. This is the third new contract he's gotten with the Buccaneers since

arriving in two thousand fifteen. There's obviously value there. And of course, uh the questions that we've been at answering in the last however many weeks, is when you talk about how dwindling the list of free agents, is Antonio Brown still one of those names on that list? What are the chances that he gets resigned? What would it mean either way? And and maybe just overall, what the wide receiver room looks like with him and without him, and the order of who would be considered maybe that

third fourth wide receiver on the team. Well, as as this goes on longer and longer, you start to get the feeling that maybe the you know, Antonio Brown won't be back, It certainly could still happen, and obviously there must be some disagreement on how much it would take for that to happen. And I guess one side or the other would have to change their mind on that.

But the longer goes on, you have to come front the reality that he might be the one guy that was kind of a significant contributor to the team last year that isn't back, and if you only lose one, you have to be pretty happy about that. UM. As for the receiving corps, obviously it starts off with one of the best players in the league and Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown. When he was here, uh, he and healthy, he was basically the number three receiver

most of the time. So that's what you're talking about. The guy that comes in Chris Godwin usually goes into the slot. This guy would play on the outside. UM. Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson are the two obvious guys to pick up more playing time, and you know, there's a reason to be excited about that. We saw that Scotty Willer can make big plays at big moments too.

And Tyler Johnson, you know, his catches were here and there because he just didn't get a ton of playing time, but he made some big plays and I'm sure the Bucks would like to see more out of both of those guys. So it's not like the cupboards bear there at all, but it also does open up the possibility. And when you talk about the draft of the Bucks being able to go in any decision in any direction they want, that receiver maybe becomes something you think about

a little bit more. Yeah, and I know that sometimes some of the wide receiver group can be used in the return game. And we had a couple of people asking what our return situation could look like this year and if that would be something that the team would go after in the draft, that would that be a factor in you know, maybe not your first round pick, but one of your middle round picks of taking a guy that could serve in a return role as compared to a guy who couldn't. Well, I hope it would.

I would like to see that happen. You know, you could take a receiver who you're not sure that he can contribute right away, uh as a receiver very much at least, but if he can start his career by being your main return man, then you definitely get value out of that pick. And um, you know, Bruce arians and and Jason might have talked about it. How you know, in addition to looking at players that they think will

be good two years down the road. They're also going to be looking to see if these guys can contribute right away on special teams. And with some of those guys, like say a corner or something, they mean can they be good cover guys? But that could also mean can they help us a return man? And I would love to see that happen personally, and I'd even be happy to see it happened with a fairly high pick, like a first or second round pick. So um, but that's

just me. I don't know for sure if Jason Lytton is crew and Bruce Arians are gonna be tarting that specifically, but I'm in favor of it. Yeah, I thought this is interesting. Richard asked, do you expect the Bucks to simply pick the best player available in each round, regardless of position? So I know we've talked about this a lot in terms of the thirty two pick and whether or not that's just a you know, best player available

or a certain position. But is the answer to that different for different rounds in terms of positions of need versus just best player available. I think absolutely it's a different answer. Um, I do think the best player available strategy will be I don't ever think personally that it's best player no matter how stronger depth chart is. If you've got two guys and one is this isn't the scale.

But if when you have grade at ninety eight, when you have graded at ninety seven and you could probably use that second position a little bit more, you go that way. But I think later in the draft, for sure, you're you're taking guys that maybe, um, you do feel like you could use a little bit more at this part of the depth chart or that part of the

depth chart, or this guy could help us. We're looking at we've got two offensive tackles or something that their contracts are up in a year, and so we should probably start preparing for that a little bit. I definitely think me comes into it a little bit more as

you go farther down the draft. And then also it's a little harder when you're talking about like fifth, six and seventh round picks to actually say with confidence who the best player available is because lots of times that that part of the draft you're looking at guys that have one or two specific traits if they were good at everything, that they're already proven it everything, they'd be a first or second round pick. But you know, like, let's take Scotty Miller, I mean, sixth round pick a

couple of years ago. And he was fast. I mean he was really really fast. He's not a big guy, so he's not going in the first round, and he was from a fairly small school and not really a well known prospect. But he was fast, and the Buccaneers thought and quick, you know, sharpon cuts and so on. Buckeers thought something could come with that, and it has. And I think that's what you're looking at a lot

of times in later rounds. All right. Richard had asked, how would you feel if we keep trading back to accumulate draft picks since we have a lot of players on one year contracts, So we talked about trading back to accumulate more picks this year. Um, how likely would it be that they could trade back for picks for next year? Well, you might having a one on one conversation with Richard. What's funny is there's actually multiple Richard. Richard, Yeah, we both have good ideas. I like this one a

lot personally, because, um, he's right. And in addition to the idea, about a lot of one year contracts, which has been the case for a couple of years now. Um. You also you wonder if the Buccaneers draft eight players, is the room for eight players even with the sixty practice squad. I guess with that there might be, but is there really room for eight guys to make this team? And so it makes a little bit of sense to acquire picks for a year or two years down the

road when you might have more openings. And that's because, of course, as he said, a lot of one year contracts. So I think it makes a lot of sense. Um. You know, I would love to see us trade down. You just have to find a team that wants to do with though. I mean, it's not just you snap your fingers and say, okay we're trading on to in spots. You have to find a partner. Um. But I think

it would be a great move. And in terms of Geo getting signed, you know Giovanni Bernard, we haven't really got to talk a lot about him, Um since our recent shows. What does that mean for not only the draft and some of those you know needs versus best player available? And then what do you think it means for that running back room and in terms of who

gets what reps and what kind of role he could play. Yeah, well, you know, we carried four um during the season and three of them are back and the one that isn't back as a Lashawn McCoy. So it's pretty obvious that

Giovanni Bernard pretty much takes Sean McCoy's spot. And if you look back at it, you know, we didn't we had a little bit of trouble, I don't know if trouble's the right word, but didn't really find a ton of opportunities for Keyshawn Vaughan, who was a promising third round pick, and then Lachan McCoy after the first month barely played at all. So, um, it's not as if there's a ton of opportunities available if you just go

one to one, but it's never gonna from one. Of course, it's never gonna play out exactly the same, right And if Geoe Vernion Bernard perusing training camp or early in the season that he's you know, maybe our most dynamic pass catching back, then I think he forces them to give him a little more playing time. Um, you know, so maybe who who loses snaps, I don't know or maybe the Buccaneers have a little bit more balanced to

their offense. They were about twenty nine or thirtieth last year in terms of run play percentage, and I think Bruce arians would like to see that go up. But then you think about the draft and if the best player available and it's it's glaringly there and it's great

running back, you still take him. But I don't think you'd go into this draft really prioritizing getting another back because he pretty much I don't know what you would do with him with all these other guys that you have, right, Yeah, So Matthew asked, what is one position where the depth is sin So we're just somehow we got all these

all these running backs so on. On the other side of things, is there a position that you if you had to pick one, because we obviously know at this point when you want a Super Bowl, theoretically you got a pretty good roster there, especially when you brought this many guys back, but it caned to pick one that the depth was a little bit less. What would you say, Yeah, your second part of that was true, because you can win a Super Bowl but lose three or four guys

to free agency. That usually happens. So the two of those together mean the depth chart is really solid, and I'm going through them in my head. Well, I will say, I don't think it's a spot where a guy could play right away. But the Bucks inside linebackers inside linebacker position is pretty thin, and it was really all during

the last season. Fortunately the depth didn't become needed. But you have that amazing duo of Lavonte David and Devin White, and then all you have otherwise right now is Kevin Minter. So you know they could bring back Jack said to your Dawn Buchanan. But even then, I'm not sure you think you've got a guy for the long term. So, uh, the depth there isn't rate. But I don't know if that's a first round pick because I don't think that guy would get on the field for a few years

if you're only playing two of them. Um, I guess interior offensive line maybe a little bit. You know, you've got Aaron Stinny now who has proven um proven a little bit after his nice running the playoffs, But you don't have a lot of depth there behind the starters. And you do have a few guys like Ryan Jensen whose contracts are up pretty soon, so I would I probably pick those two spots, but they're definitely not glaring needs by any by any case. Yeah. Absolutely. Okay, Well,

that's gonna do it for us. On this edition of Buccaneers Inside our Live, presented by Miller Lytton. As always, we're gonna be shooting a road to the Draft after this is. Stay tuned to that on Buccaneers dot com if you have more thoughts on the draft and what you want to hear in terms of meat or what the Bucks might do. And we are so close, We've only got one more of these shows before the draft. We're almost here and we'll have some answers for all

of those questions. So we'll see you guys next week. M