Draft Grade: Tampa Bay Buccaneers score big with Tristan Wirfs selection

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the decision to trade up one slot to select OT Tristan Wirfs. Here’s a look at our draft grade for the first-round pick.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had to get one of the top four offensive tackles in this 2020 NFL Draft and they did just that.

The Buccaneers came into the first-round with one simple goal: To do whatever it takes to protect Tom Brady.

In the end, that led to them making a trade with the San Francisco 49ers to move up one spot from No. 14 overall to No. 13 overall and select Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs– the final remaining top-four offensive tackle.

Here’s a look at my draft grade for the selection.

Buccaneers Draft Grade: Tristan Wirfs (No. 13 overall)

You have to take into account several different factors when grading a selection.

First, the prospect himself.

Wirfs is an explosive individual who has the ability to play right tackle or move inside at some point in his career. He is, in my opinion, the most physical offensive tackle in this draft class and there’s no doubting that he is NFL ready.

Wirfs shows great athleticism for his size and has a solid range of motion. At times, he is off-balance coming out of his stance, but there’s no doubting that his physicality and measurables make up for any shortcomings.

In the end, Wirfs has the ability and skill set to become a Pro-Bowl level offensive tackle and he may be the most NFL-ready offensive tackle of this draft class. As a matter of fact, many NFL Analysts had Wirfs going as high as No. 4 to the New York Giants and there wouldn’t have been much opposition had that been their pick.

When looking at the trade, though, I would’ve liked to see Tampa Bay potentially come out a little better. They gave up that No. 14 pick and their fourth-round pick to move up the one spot. The 49ers did give the Buccaneers a late seventh-round pick, but the value there is certainly not as high as it is in the mid-rounds.

Still, you’ve got to respect the commitment shown by the franchise to get their guy. They didn’t give up a Day 2 pick and, in the process, came away with a solid starter.

Grade: A-

In the end, that’s a win. No matter how you look at it. I can’t give Tampa an ‘A+’ because of the fac that they gave up a mid-round pick, but it’s still a major victory for the organization.