Buccaneers shed light on offseason plan with recent free agent signing
By Rob Leeds
The Buccaneers have just distanced themselves from some of the running back conjecture.
Will the Buccaneers use a first-round pick on a running back at the 2022 NFL Draft?
This topic had started to gain some traction over the past month, but re-signing Leonard Fournette seemed to stifle most of it.
Still, a team has a need for more than one top-tier running back, even if that guy does everything like Fournette does for the Bucs.
Tampa has looked like a likely candidate to evaluate Breece Hall or Isaiah Spiller (before he fell) at 27, but that seems like a distinct impossibility now with the return of Giovani Bernard.
Gio Bernard goes back to the Bucs on a veteran salary benefit deal -- $1.12 million base salary, $152,500 bonus. Got his first career playoff victory last year with Tampa, can chase a ring with Brady this fall.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) April 1, 2022
The draft needs for the Buccaneers have changed
Bernard is back on a cheap deal, flashed some great skill with Tom Brady, and actually makes sense as RB2 in Tampa behind Fournette in 2022 after the departure of Ronald Jones in free agency.
This pair mixed in with Ke’Shawn Vaughn could be the main running back room for the Bucs in 2022, although Tampa may still look for one more guy if there will be a greater emphasis on the run under Todd Bowles.
Still, that pick almost assuredly isn’t coming early. Instead of beefing up the offense, the Buccaneers are instead posturing to go after the other side of the ball.
With no major offensive needs other than a guard (which can be addressed later in the draft), the Buccaneers are in a position to give their defensive head coach a lot of freedom to target defenders in the early rounds.
The interior of the defensive line needs help. The Bucs may also want to start preparing for a future without Lavonte David. The secondary could always use depth with two starting corners about to key pivotal moments in the negotiation process. Needless to say, there are plenty of options available.
It makes perfect sense that a defensive head coach would go after making his defense better when he has already addressed the offense in free agency.
Bowles may still find a way to sneak a few offensive picks in early (receiver, guard, tight end), but Giovani Bernard being back makes it seem like running back won’t be a part of that equation.
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