4 steps to fixing the abysmal Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense
By Jacob Holley
2. Stop drafting the secondary outside the first round.
The Buccaneers have drafted seven defensive backs outside of the first round in the past three years alone.
That’s a lot, by the way.
Justin Evans, Carlton Davis, M.J. Stewart, Jordan Whitehead, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Mike Edwards. All drafted in rounds two through four, and the argument could be made at this point (while it is too soon to tell on some) that Whitehead is the most successful of them all as a fourth rounder.
Clearly, it’s not working. The Buccaneers pass defense is among the worst in the league, but they’re also among the youngest. That youth can be a good thing, but the inexperience is killing the defense right now. The Bucs need some experience in the secondary if they want to turn the corner, but without that they remain a few years away from contention.
Either invest a first round pick into the position, although the failure of Vernon Hargreaves doesn’t help my point, or spend draft capital to trade for one. Pursuing a proven talent could also be the path that the Bucs take in order to address that gaping hole in their secondary rather than hoping draft picks pan out.
But they could have gotten closer to that goal this season.
Which brings me to…