The Pewter Plank
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Buccaneers: Predicting the contracts of cornerstone stars

By Jerry Stalheim

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 29: Jameis Winston #3 and Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look on from the sideline in the fourth quarter of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 29, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts defeated the Bucs 25-12. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 29: Jameis Winston #3 and Mike Evans #13 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look on from the sideline in the fourth quarter of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 29, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts defeated the Bucs 25-12. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 15: Danielle Hunter #99 of the Minnesota Vikings puts pressure on quarterback Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Donovan Smith #76 sets a block during the preseason game on August 15, 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Buccaneers 26-16. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 15: Danielle Hunter #99 of the Minnesota Vikings puts pressure on quarterback Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Donovan Smith #76 sets a block during the preseason game on August 15, 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Buccaneers 26-16. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images /

DONOVAN SMITH and ALI MARPET

Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet will be grouped together since they were both taken in the second round of the 2015 draft (Jason Licht’s Grand Slam Draft) and were started immediately.

Smith was the sixth offensive tackle taken in the 2015 draft out 26 total drafted, but so far only Washington Redskins left tackle Brandon Scherff (fifth overall) has made a Pro Bowl appearance.

Smith has played every single offensive snap (2,224) in his first two seasons, and … now for the bad part … but per the PFF crew he has been ranked near the bottom of the tackles earning a 37.1 grade in 2015 and a 42.0 grade in 2016.

He is also responsible for 23 accepted penalties (including ten holding and ten false starts) for 190 yards during his two-year career.

Offensive line coach Warhop still sees his potential:

"“I’m going to say this, if you look at Donovan last year, the first thing he has to improve on is just being consistent,” Warhop said. “I love the guy. I think he’s got strength. He’s got quickness. He’s got athleticism. I think through the early part of last year he just wasn’t consistent. If you watch him in the second half of the season, he played a lot more consistent. “He is an unbelievable talent. I think he literally can be one of the top two or three tackles in the league.”"

Moving on to Ali Marpet, who speaking of moving, was announced by Coach Koetter in June that he would officially be moving from right guard to center this season.

Marpet was the third guard taken in the 2015 draft out of sixteen total drafted and has started 29 games playing a total of 1955 offensive snaps including every snap last season.

He has accounted for fifteen accepted penalties (including ten for holding and four off sides) in his career for 127 total yards.

Per the PFF crew again, he was graded out as the thirteen (84.5) best guard in 2016 which was an improvement from his rookie grade of 75.5, and was the fifth best run blocking guard and eighteenth best pass blocking guard.

Now let’s get to the contracts. Donovan Smith plays the all-important quarterback’s blind side which is the most expensive position on the offensive line, but as mentioned above he has had his struggles so unless he dominates this season I do not expect him to be paid like a top ten left tackle.

The top thirteen left tackles all make over $10,000,000 per season annually. I expect Smith to get more within the $6-7 million range, again unless he is just dominant this season.

Ali Marpet’s move from right guard to center could upgrade his value greatly when it comes to his new contract because there are more guards then centers to flood the market. For example, this July Jacksonville made their third year center Brandon Linder the highest paid center in the league with an annual average of $10,340,600. The reason I bring this up is because he also started his career at right guard and played two seasons before switching to center prior to the 2016 season just as Marpet is about to do.

Linder is the only center making $10,000,000 or more per season the average of the top centers is between $8-9 million per season, so if Ali continues to improve his blocking game in his third season and becomes a dominating center he will get a hefty raise.

CONTRACT PREDICTIONS:

Donovan Smith signs August of 2018 to a four year deal worth $29,000,000 for average of $7,250,000 annually with $12,500,000 guaranteed.

Ali Marpet signs May of 2018 to a five year deal worth $43,750,000 for average of $8,750,000 annually with $14,350,000 guaranteed.

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