Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Re-evaluating the draft two months removed

Throwing darts at the wall and hitting some potential bullseyes

Anthony Nelson comes in as the fifth Buccaneer taken in the draft and was arguably the first player taken that the Bucs desperately needed. Nelson looks in place to be a starter almost immediately with a body type that allows him to line up at defensive end and outside linebacker, both positions that the Buccaneers desperately need depth at. This fourth round pick has aged very well on a team that lacks sufficient depth at any pass rushing position and has made very few moves at the spot in the offseason, especially after the injury to Jason Pierre-Paul.

Matt Gay was taken in the fifth round for the sixth overall Buccaneer drafted and this move upset Bucs fans everywhere. With the Roberto Aguayo debacle fresh on the minds of those who support the Bucs this pick looked like a disaster.

While there will still picks on the board that would have helped the team far more than a kicker, Gay has looked good so far and even hit a 50-yard field goal to end practice early one day. Gay could be the answer to the Buccaneers’ kicking woes but if he was worth a fifth round selection will remain to be seen.

Sixth round pick Scott Miller looks to be a capable receiver on a very deep receiving team. Miller has been able to impress across the team and will make Adam Humphries’ departure less painful overall. As of now it appears that Miller will mostly get reps on special teams and if at receiver it would be second or third string for the slot but his upside in the future seems high.

The final pick for the Buccaneers was defensive tackle Terry Beckner. The questions before the draft about Gerald McCoy have now been answered with the addition of Ndamukong Suh this past month.

With Suh on the team alongside Vita Vea the Bucs did not have to waste a high draft pick on a defensive tackle, but this far removed it does not still seem likely that Beckner is the tackle of the future. If Beckner is able provide consistent depth for the defensive line, then fans of the Bucs will be able to look back upon his drafting more fondly.

After almost two months the Buccaneers 2019 draft looks to have improved. Players that were taken seem geared to be in starting spots and those that were not seem capable as backups. As the summer goes on and training camps gets into full swing it will become apparent which picks are going to stick and which will be regretted.