Buccaneers 2018 Off-Season Position Preview: Quarterback
Potential Draft Targets
Right now, looking at the Buccaneers’ options in the draft at quarterback, there is a big gap in talent between the top shelf and the bottom.
Still, there are two guys who could prove to have the talent and youth necessary to bump Griffin from the roster and develop behind Winston and hopefully a seasoned veteran for at least one year before stepping into backup duties.
Mike White – Western Kentucky
This prospect is going to be a bit older than you’d like a rookie to be when he gets drafted, but he also comes with five years of experience in multiple offensive systems.
Coming off a good Senior Bowl game, I’ve yet to hear a whole lot about him coming out of the practices during the week.
Still, his poise and accuracy shown during the live action can’t be ignored. It can be overstated, so it’ll be important to see how he does at the NFL Scouting Combine assuming he attends.
If he doesn’t, then it’ll be a big hit to his stock, as he needs to get a chance to compete side-by-side with this year’s top quarterbacks.
White has a college career completion percentage of 62% with over 11,000 yards passing and a touchdown to interception ratio of almost 2.5:1.
J.T. Barrett – Ohio State
Ok, I was thinking it. But Trevor Sikkema said it. On the episode of the Locked on Bucs podcast linked at the end of this post, the Pewter Report’s own Cover-3 genius speculated about how Barrett could come into Tampa and have success.
Nobody is looking to crown Barrett as a Hall of Famer, so let’s not overreact here. We’re still talking late rounds. But, Sikkema pointed to the Buckeye quarterback’s solid week at the East-West Shrine game as cause for optimism.
Sikkema didn’t predict a union between the Bucs and Barrett, but it’s an interesting thought. When you go from a quarterback like Winston to one like Barrett, you change the way a defense approaches you schematically.
Going to the bullpen in the NFL is hardly ever a positive, but being able to switch gears a bit when you do, gives you a slight advantage created in a bad situation.
Both of these guys figure to go no earlier than the fifth round, and possibly as late as the seventh, depending on combine and pro-day performances. It’s also hard to tell how months of scouring game film will truly impact a player as teams get deeper and deeper into their evaluations.
The Buccaneers may know something none of us can confirm with Ryan Griffin, but at this point, it seems hard to conceive a 2018 training camp without at least one more serious contender for the understudy position.
Winston is the guy in 2018 as long as he’s available, but who steps in if he isn’t, can be just as important as anything else happening with the team.
What are your thoughts on all things quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneer? Are there other free-agents or draft prospects you have your eye one? Let me know in the comments or on social media to discuss.
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