Alex Cappa trending up, solving right guard issue for Buccaneers

As the Buccaneers offensive line as a whole has seen a decent share of struggles so far this season, Alex Cappa looks to be a part of the line’s future.

The offensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers falls right in the middle of the pack compared to all of the other teams in the NFL. As of now they are ranked 19th in the league despite being one of the highest paid lines in football.

While a decent chunk of the money is tied up in the tackles who are struggling the most, the interior of the line has been performing well specifically second year player Alex Cappa. While Cappa is a Division II product, his ceiling is very high and the odds are solid that he can learn from Ali Marpet and turn into a stellar guard for the Buccaneers in the future.

Marpet was a Division III player as well and has turned into one of the better guards in the league and has been one of the most consistent parts of the Buccaneer offensive line throughout the years since his drafting. The hope is that Cappa can follow this same path as him, and in his first season as a starter, he has held his own.

Cappa has graded at with an average 61.9 grade according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and has allowed just one sack this season. To put his grade into perspective, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is graded out at just a 58.2 this season according to PFF.

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Coming into the season there were many questions surrounding who would start at right guard. The competition was one of the fiercer ones in training camp, but it seems as though it was always Cappa’s position to lose. After winning the position, Cappa has been able to work very well alongside the other interior linemen with run blocking and pass blocking.

Regardless of how many wins the Buccaneers end with this season, the experience will only serve to better Cappa as a player. This season will provide some excellent reps for the second year guard against great defensive tackles across the league, including the All-Pro Aaron Donald.

While Cappa will struggle against some of the higher end defensive linemen that are on the remainder of the schedule, the experience will all pay off in the end. With the tackle position being a huge need in next year’s draft, it should be relieving for the Bucs that guard will not be if Cappa keeps up the strong play.

While the future of some of the members of the offensive line is up in the air, it is almost assured that Alex Cappa will remain a contributor for years to come. Right guard was a position that struggled for the Bucs in 2018 and as of now that problem has not resurfaced under Cappa. As long as these trends continue, Cappa will be seeing a pay boost in the future that will actually be warranted.