Grading the Buccaneers 2023 Draft Class
The Buccaneers have completed their 2023 draft class and certainly made some puzzling moves while also acquiring some great talent. From the outside looking in, it seems as though Tampa may not have done enough to address the offensive line considering all of the starting offensive linemen they’ve lost in the past two offseasons. The addition of Cody Mauch was certainly a great one due to his versatility and his ability to play any position where he is needed on the line. However, Tampa has made it clear with these selections that they have faith in the development of Luke Goedeke and believe he can become a quality starting tackle. A lot rests upon his shoulders if the Bucs want to have any kind of success on offense this year. While they also chose not to address running back, another need, they did acquire Sean Tucker in undrafted free agency, a talented back from Syracuse. Overall, it seems as though the Bucs made more picks addressing the future of the defense in this class rather than players that will bring them immediate offensive success this upcoming season. With talented quarterbacks like Caleb Williams and Drake Maye available at the top of the draft next year, it is easy to see why they chose this route. However, this class did little to help an offense that struggled mightily last season with Tom Brady at the helm.
19. Calijah Kancey, DL (Pitt)
NEED: A-
VALUE: A-
OVERALL: A-
With the departure of William Gholston, the Buccaneers had a big hole to fill on the interior of their defensive line and they certainly drafted an extremely talented interior defensive lineman in the first round in Calijah Kancey. Kancey had been mocked by analysts to go as high as top ten and for good reason. He was an absolute menace on the defensive line at Pitt; he totaled 91 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, and 16 sacks over his three years there. Kancey has drawn comparisons to Aaron Donald as he is a similarly undersized defensive tackle that can rush the passer from the interior. Adding Kancey to a defensive line that already has Vita Vea should create a unit that is extremely scary for opposing centers and guards. The only thing that prevents this pick from being an absolute home run is the fact that the Bucs probably should have addressed the offensive line here. Anton Harrison or Matthew Bergeron probably would have been good choices as the team just recently lost Donovan Smith. The projected starter at right tackle is currently Luke Goedeke, who spent his rookie year struggling at the left guard position. While he did play tackle in college and was forced into a position change last season due to injuries, it is difficult to have confidence going into a season with a starting tackle that has never played the position in the NFL.
48. Cody Mauch, OL (NDSU)
NEED: A+
VALUE: A
OVERALL: A+
Tampa really knocked it out of the park with their second round pick, selecting Cody Mauch from NDSU. Mauch was a standout at both NDSU and the Senior Bowl, logging good reps at every position along the offensive line. Mauch has experience playing tackle, guard, and center. This skillset will serve the Buccaneers nicely as their offensive line has been essentially decimated in the years since their Super Bowl run; Ali Marpet, Shaq Mason, and Donovan Smith are all gone, leaving Tristan Wirfs and an aging Ryan Jensen as the only remaining starters from that Super Bowl team. The offensive line was so bad last season, that even the greatest quarterback of all time couldn’t get the offense going. Casual fans tended to blame the offensive woes last season on Tom Brady, pointing to insignificant factors like his age or his divorce. However, any real real football fans that actually watched the Bucs last year probably know that the team struggled to move the ball due to an ineffective offensive line. The offense was unable to utilize a run game or any intermediate to deep passing routes as the offensive line was unable to effectively run block or pass protect. This forced the offense to over utilize quick dump offs and screens, which resulted in Tom Brady setting a career record for completions in a season at 45 years of age. Selecting Mauch here was a good step towards rebuilding this offensive line as he should serve as a solid plug and play starter anywhere that they need him. However, it could be argued that the offensive line needed so much help that they still should have selected a tackle in the first round even after selecting a great offensive lineman in the second.
82. YaYa Diaby, OLB (Louisville)
NEED: D
VALUE: C-
OVERALL: D+
The Buccaneers elected to take another defensive lineman here in attempt to help bolster the pass rush. YaYa Diaby projects as a rotational pass rusher and a primary backup to outside linebackers Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. While Barrett is certainly not getting any younger and Tryon-Shoyinka has struggled to develop into the edge rusher that the Bucs were hoping he would become, the reality is that rushing the passer was not a huge problem for Tampa last year as they still totaled 45 sacks as a defense. Therefore, Tampa’s decision to double dip on the defensive line in their first three picks is very confusing as there were good offensive linemen and running backs still on the board here. Dawand Jones, Blake Freeland, Nick Saldiveri, Anthony Bradford, or Jake Andrews could all have been solid pieces to add to the struggling offensive line. Furthermore, running backs like Tank Bigsby, Israel Abanikanda, Roschon Johnson, and Devon Achane could all have served as nice replacements for Leonard Fournette in the run game. There were also great players like Trenton Simpson, Daiyan Henley, Demarvion Overshown, and Dorian Williams at the off-ball linebacker position, another need for the Buccaneers. This is not to try and take anything away from Diaby as he is a good player, but any of these players would probably have made a bigger immediate impact for the Bucs this year than a rotational pass rusher.
153. SirVocea Dennis, ILB (Pitt)
NEED: A
VALUE: B
OVERALL: B+
The Buccaneers definitely needed to add an off-ball linebacker in this draft as Lavonte David will likely not be on the team past this upcoming season and Devin White is currently in the process of demanding a trade and/or a new contract. Linebackers have long been a position of strength for Tampa and, given Todd Bowles’ defensive background, the Bucs probably don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. Given the shaky futures of White and David in Tampa, the Bucs definitely needed to preserve the longterm security at the position. SirVocea Dennis was a great choice here in the fourth round as he was an extremely effective linebacker at Pitt. In his three years as a starter, Dennis racked up 231 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. He also had three passes defensed and three forced fumbles. Dennis was an excellent pick for Tampa here and the only factor that prevents this pick from being graded as an A+ is a couple of linebackers that were still on the board when this pick was made and a couple of linebackers that they probably should have taken in the third round instead of YaYa Diaby if addressing off-ball linebacker in the middle rounds was always the plan. Trenton Simpson or Daiyan Henley in the third would probably have yielded higher value for Tampa in this draft, and one could also make the argument that Owen Pappoe or Henry T’oTo’o might have been better selections here with this pick. That being said, the draft is always a crapshoot and Dennis could easily turn out to be better than any of them, especially given Tampa’s history of developing linebackers.
171. Payne Durham, TE (Purdue)
NEED: B+
VALUE: B
OVERALL: B
General manager Jason Licht made it known in April that he was intrigued by the tight end class this year. While this caused many fans to speculate about names like Michael Mayer, Dalton Kincaid, and Darnell Washington, apparently what Licht was more intrigued by was the depth of the tight end class as he waited until late in the fifth round to select one. Tampa may not have taken a tight end with a ton of name recognition in Payne Durham, but what they did get is a big-bodied touchdown machine. Durham stands 6’6, 255 lbs and, while he did not test off the charts athletically at the combine, he did score lots of touchdowns at Purdue; he totaled 21 touchdowns over his career and even scored four touchdowns on only nine receptions during his freshman year. Buccaneer fans are certainly hoping that those skills translate to the NFL as Cade Otton and Ko Kieft, the two tight ends Tampa drafted last year, combined for only three touchdowns last season and were largely disappointing overall. The Bucs haven’t gotten effective play at the tight end position since the retirement of Rob Gronkowski and they are certainly hoping that Durham, Otton, and Kieft can develop into solid contributors.
181. Josh Hayes, DB (Kansas State)
NEED: A-
VALUE: C
OVERALL: C+
With the departure of Sean Murphy-Bunting, the Buccaneers needed to find a replacement at the nickel corner position. While it is absolutely mind-boggling that Tampa made it all the way to the sixth round without selecting an offensive tackle or a running back, nickel corner was also an important position of need that the Bucs needed to address in this draft. Enter Josh Hayes, a 5’11 corner with an impressive frame and athletic profile. Hayes only played one year at Kansas State after transferring in from NDSU and played most of his snaps from the nickel position. Hayes was very effective in the slot for the Wildcats, racking up 71 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and seven passes defensed. Some analysts think that Hayes would have benefitted from another year in college in order to develop his skills at outside corner as well, but clearly he did enough from the slot last season to impress the front office and convince them that he can play the position right away in the NFL. The only thing holding back this pick from being a great one are the slot defenders that were taken after him. JL Skinner, Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, and Jason Taylor II all possess the skillset and star power to make this pick seem foolish in the future.
191. Trey Palmer, WR (Nebraska)
NEED: B
VALUE: A+
OVERALL: A+
Selecting Trey Palmer in the sixth round might have been the best value that the Buccaneers found in this draft as he has true star potential and probably should have gone much higher in the draft. There are a number of reasons for this, but none are more convincing than his impressive production in the awful Nebraska offense that he was stuck in last season. Nebraska quarterbacks totaled 2,650 passing yards and 17 touchdown passes last season; those piss poor numbers somehow did not stop Trey Palmer from racking up nine touchdown receptions and a school record 1,043 receiving yards. Setting aside the stellar year that he had at Nebraska last season, Palmer could have been selected higher than the sixth round just based on his combine results alone; he measured in at 6’0, 195 lbs and ran a blazing 4.33 second 40 yard dash, good for first among wide receivers and fourth among all players in the draft. Palmer will likely compete with Russell Gage for the WR3 spot right away and has the potential to carve out a decent sized role for himself in the offense immediately, especially given the injury history of Chris Godwin and the age of Mike Evans. Buccaneer fans just have to hope that the offensive line can protect the quarterback well enough to take full advantage of Palmer’s skillset as a deep burner.
196. Jose Ramirez, OLB (Eastern Michigan)
NEED: D+
VALUE: C
OVERALL: C-
Jose Ramirez is yet another pick where the Buccaneers addressed a position group that does not necessarily need too much help right now while other rooms continue to suffer. Tampa somehow managed to make it through the entire draft without taking an offensive tackle or a running back, a shocking development. Ramirez projects as another rotational edge rusher at the outside linebacker spot behind Shaq Barrett, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson, and now YaYa Diaby. Again, Tampa’s success with rushing the passer last season probably makes this pick irrelevant. That being said, Jose Ramirez was a great edge rusher at the collegiate level despite being slightly undersized. In his three years at Eastern Michigan, Ramirez totaled 155 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, seven passes defensed, and five forced fumbles. While he probably did not face a great deal of high level competition in the MAC, Ramirez showed great bend and burst on tape. If he can put on some weight, he could become a contributor on the defensive front.