2021 NFL Draft: Buccaneers create options for Tom Brady in new mock
By Rob Leeds
The Buccaneers make a change at tight end in the 2021 NFL Draft
Hunter Long, TE, Boston College
If the Bucs wanted to make some changes to their roster based on salary relative to production, adding Hunter Long to replace Cameron Brate is a great place to start.
Brate has been a reliable target for a wide range of Buccaneer quarterbacks over the past and did a good job in 2020 in O.J. Howard’s absence, but the time to move on has come.
Brate gets far too much money to be the Bucs’ TE3, but he also isn’t good enough to be the TE1 on this roster in 2022 if Howard and Rob Gronkowski don’t return. The Bucs need a new, cheaper option to be the TE3, for now, that can grow into a starter down the road.
Boston College’s Hunter Long could be an immediate replacement for Brate as a receiver, but his biggest improvement would be as a blocker. Brate isn’t nearly as good as Gronk or Howard on this front, and the inability to block makes it hard to be the TE1 in any offense.
Long would still need some time to grow, but a year or two as the TE3 on a roster with Tom Brady at quarterback could be the perfect way to jumpstart his career.
The Bucs would then save a decent amount of money, secure a solid player for the future, and accomplish all of this with only a third-round draft pick.