The dust has fully settled on the NFL Draft this year, which is why we're finally seeing a little more clearly why teams made the decisions they did. One of the biggest things the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did was what the team didn't do during the draft.
Everyone thought the Bucs were going to go heavy on defensive talent, given how things went last year, and for the most part, that was true. Tampa Bay doubled up on cornerbacks and edge rushers but didn't address linebackers, which leaves it as the most painfully obvious roster hole the team can't afford to ignore for much longer.
ESPN's Aaron Schatz agrees, pointing to inside linebacker as the position the Bucs still need to address after the NFL Draft. Part of that is due to the fact that Tampa Bay didn't do anything to help the position out, using all of its draft picks elsewhere -- including two on wide receivers.
Nobody is going to accuse the Bucs of having a thin receiver room, with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin leading the way alongside Jalen McMillain. Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson joined the party during the draft, but using those picks to fortify a room that was already solid meant not drafting any linebacker help.
Buccaneers need to figure out their linebacker situation before it's too late
To be fair, it wasn't a particularly great year to use the draft to fill that specific need. Jihaad Campbell made sense at No. 19, but the Bucs passed on him due to his medicals. That's perfectly fine reasoning if Jason Licht thinks it was the best move, but it magnifies a pretty significant need even more than was already the case.
Lavonte David is back, which helps the situation tremendously. It doesn't, however sovlve the whole problem; Tampa Bay doens't have strong depth behind David, nor does it have a clear runningmate alongside him.
Anthony Walker is a familiar face for David and was added in free agency after Miami let him go. That move was to replace K.J. Britt, who ironically signed with the Dolphins, and Walker is hardly a proven player to take the sort of role the Bucs need him to step into.
Former Falcons Pro Bowler Deion Jones is also on the depth chart behind David, and the Bucs are hoping SirVocea Dennis can remain healthy enough to finally develop. Those are lottery ticket solutions to a problem that needs a far more pressing answer, but the Bucs are sort of up against it in terms of finding help.
There are still options in free agency but none that offer much more stability than the gambles Tampa Bay is making with what it has. Guys like C.J. Mosley, De'Vondre Campbell, and Eric Kendricks are still unsigned but are veteran lottery tickets.
Right now is seems like the Bucs' best bet is to roll with what they have and hope for the best. It's not the way anyone wants the situation to play out but it doesn't seem like there are much better options at the moment.
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