Buccaneers’ Draft Review: Day Two

The Buccaneers entered day two with one pick in each of the second and third rounds. We analyze here as they make out with two players in the second round that project as starters.

Mixed reviews came from the Buccaneers’ first round pick Vernon Hargreaves III, who fans and experts had been up-and-down on all off-season.  Entering rounds two and three, fans were looking for the franchise leader, Jason Licht, to do something in order to bring excitement for the upcoming NFL season.  It didn’t take long either, as Licht made a splash with the 39^th overall selection.

The Eastern Kentucky defensive end began his career as one of the best defensive linemen at “The” Ohio State University.  In two seasons playing for the Buckeyes, Spence totaled 8.5 sacks and was set to take center stage as one of college football’s best defensive linemen when his career was derailed by drug abuse and after two failed drug tests.

Following a phone call from head coach Urban Meyer, Spence was able to continue his college football career at Eastern Kentucky where he accomplished the most important feat of his football life – staying clean.

More from The Pewter Plank

• Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
• ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
• Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
• Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
• The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023

There were still concerns, as there always is with drug abuse, and Spence predictably fell into the second round where the Buccaneers scooped him up to help improve upon a pass rush which hasn’t produced 40 or more sacks since the 2004 season.

Bucs’ fans have to be excited to see what Spence can do on the field and with leaders like Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David on the roster, he’ll have every chance he needs to succeed.  Something interesting to keep in mind is when the announcement of the selection was made, the Bucs listed him as a linebacker.  With the signing of Daryl Smith to presumably fill the linebacker slot left by the departure of Danny Lansanah, it will be interesting to see just how Spence translates within Mike Smith’s defense.

While fans of Tampa will be happy to see Spence on the roster, the next move of the day for their favorite team probably brought more confusion and many other emotions.  It’s no secret the Bucs had one of the worst kicking games in the league last year; in fact the team used multiple kickers to combine for a made field goals percentage of just 72%.

After completing a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs the Buccaneers acquired the 28^th pick in the 2^nd Round (59^th overall) and selected:

Drafting Aguayo has been a regular topic of conversation when discussing the Bucs, but trading up for him is a whole other subject.  In order to get the Florida State field goal specialist the team send Kansas City their 2016 third and one of their fourth round picks, meaning 49 players will be drafted before they pick again.

That’s a steep price to pay for a kicker, and will only add to the pressure Aguayo will be facing as a second round pick. It’s safe to say that a career not matching the numbers of Sebastian Janikowski or Adam Vinatieri will render Aguayo a bust.

For most Bucs’ fans, they’re now left to watch and wait as they hope this move produces results on the field.  It is safe to say the team has added three players in the first two days of the draft who will certainly have an impact on how much success the franchise experiences in 2016.

Next: Experts Weigh in on the Trade Up for Aguayo

Overall, it was a good day for the franchise.  Licht addressed two areas of need, and anyone who watched Bucs’ games in 2015 should appreciate the aggressiveness in solving the kicking game problems.  It may be a hard pill to swallow when looking at the players the team could have had in the third round, but wins will make it go down smoother, and wins is what the team is building to do.

Comment below or find me on Twitter and let me know how you think the team did on day two, and what you would have done differently.