Buccaneers 2021 NFL Draft: Why Kyle Trask was the right pick

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made some headlines on day two of the 2021 NFL Draft, taking Florida Gators quarterback Kyle Trask with the final pick of the second round. The announcement was meant with some bewilderment amongst Buccaneers fans, which is somewhat surprising considering the general consensus was that the Bucs would take a quarterback somewhere during the draft. That’s not saying it’s everyone, but the Bucs Nation pirate ship appears to be a ship divided.

Sure, the choice to choose the quarterback in the second round may catch some off-guard, but this isn’t like the Philadelphia Eagles taking Jalen Hurts last season, or even the New England Patriots drafting Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round. Trask is not threatening Tom Brady’s job, nor are there rumors of the head coach, front office, and Brady being in disagreement over the state of the quarterback situation like in New England. Trask is simply there to keep the seat warm and learn from the GOAT.

The thing that needs to be understood about taking Trask in the second round is, it provides a sense of stability.

God forbid Brady should go down and Trask was to see some early playing time, it provided a ray of hope for not only the future but also the present with a young second-round pick showing his stuff. This is as opposed to Blaine Gabbert or even Ryan Griffin coming in and feeling like a band-aid. Sure, Gabbert is a former first-round pick, but no franchise is going to hang their hat on him at this point.

The other thing to consider is this. With Trask being a second-round pick, it gives him value. Should Brady actually decide to retire, and the Buccaneers find another heir apparent option, perhaps in the first round, Trask’s learning under Brady and draft selection should give him value on the trade market so the Bucs get something out of it.

Speaking of learning under Brady, this is a perfect scenario for someone like Trask. He is a bit of a project, and who gets to help work on that project? The greatest quarterback to lace up a pair of cleats. Bruce Arians knows what he’s doing with quarterbacks too, so Trask gets to hone his skills and learn from the best. A knock on Trask is that he can be a bit slower in the pocket. Do you know who else had that knock coming out of college? Tom Brady. What better person to help him break out of that.

While the Buccaneers free agency period focused on the short-term, the draft has been about the long-term. Taking Trask ensures that the cupboard will not be completely bare once the plethora of veterans, especially Brady, decide to hang them up. It’s a wait-and-see type deal, but at the same time, the Buccaneers have literally every starter and then some coming back, what was there to expect with the draft? The Bucs were always going to draft for depth and the future. Going with Kyle Trask was the right move.