Buccaneers land Demar Dotson replacement in mock draft

Addressing their offensive line, the Buccaneers land their Demar Dotson replacement by selecting Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs in a recent mock draft.

Pressures, pressures, pressures. This is all we hear about week after week as quarterback Jameis Winston has limited time to throw the football on a weekly basis. At some point the scapegoating of the offensive line has to stop, and Winston just needs to step up and make a play; in a recent mock draft the Buccaneers gave Winston one less excuse by selecting Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs with the sixth overall pick to replace the aging Demar Dotson.

Dotson deserves to be commended for this time in Tampa Bay, as he is the longest tenured Buc after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss a decade ago. Unfortunately for the veteran right tackle, however, father time has finally caught up to him as the play of Dotson has significantly decreased over the past two seasons.

His contract is set to expire after this season, and it is a pretty good assumption to make that the Bucs will not be bringing Dotson back in 2020. Still financially on the hook for struggling left tackle, however, the Bucs will have to ride out Donovan Smith for one more year.

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But hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

There has still been no definitive answer as to how the Bucs will handle the future of Winston beyond 2019, many speculating that he could be franchise tagged and given another year. If this is the case and the Buccaneers will not be drafting a quarterback (likely back in the top five), the Tristan Wirfs is a slam dunk for the pewter and red.

The mock draft done by The Draft Network’s Joe Marino has the Bucs doing just that: filling the hole that will be left with the departure of Dotson rather than draft a quarterback with the sixth overall pick. Marino had this to say about the selection:

"“If Bruce Arians is going to showcase his signature vertical passing offense, the offensive line has to be upgraded to afford the quarterback more time to throw. Wirfs is arguably the most physically gifted prospect in the rising class and he has the makeup of a dominant NFL offensive tackle. Now to figure out the quarterback position…” (via TDN)."

Doing a good job of addressing a need for the Buccaneers while still refusing to let Winston off the hook, Marino gives the pewter and red one of the best pass blocking tackles in the class. With the interior of the Bucs’ offensive line playing well in Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, and Alex Cappa, even upgrading one tackle position could make a massive difference.

Fast forward to this time next year: the offensive line is upgraded, Winston still throws over 16 interceptions after getting the franchise tag, and the Buccaneers no longer have anyone else to blame for his failures. Goodbye Demar Dotson, may you ride off into the sunset and be proud of the career that you had in Tampa Bay. Hello Tristan Wirfs, let’s get to work.