Buccaneers: Correcting “pros” bad draft grades for team

Let’s take a look at how the NFL pundits, mind readers, and chief phrenologists wind up sticking our Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a ratty C+ draft rating. It’s amazing to think that the cumulative load of professional scouting and draft prognosticating could judge a pig catching contest, no less judge how a selection by team B is so much better or worse than a selection by team A.

Part of the reason has to be related to the type of high school coaching in which the coach is more interested in a certain style of play, even if their components aren’t quite fitting that mold. For instance, if a team wants to play the spread offense, but their wideouts are 5-feet-4 inches and mediocre catchers of the football, but your two best receivers are the full back and tight end.
Somehow that isn’t going to work out well. However, if you would take into account the pieces you have to play with, then build the offense and defense around that you might have a better opportunity to win than the other way around.

That’s pretty much how the pundits go about their business. They cite right away that a team, like Tampa, which is bringing back its entire starting squad from last season’s Super Bowl run and then promptly starts grading the team’s picks as if they had needs everywhere. Thus, the Bucs get some pretty outrageous ratings on their choices.

So, how do they judge? The apparent methodology has little to do with talent and a lot to do with team needs. Despite stating the obvious “all the starters are coming back” the pundits start grading as if the team has more voids on both sides of the ball than the team that garnered the first pick. Oh, by the way, did they tell you that Tampa had the 32nd pick of the first round? Really? Get a real brain transplant; not that one from Abby Normal from Young Frankenstein.
So, let’s be honest and take a look at Tampa’s lot of 2021 draft picks: