Kingsley Suamataia, OT/BYU
In the days leading up to the draft, Suamataia has been labeled as an early-to-middle pick in the third round, and may even be avaible towards the end of day two. With the No. 89 and No. 92 picks in the 2024 draft, the Buccaneers are able to land Suamataia, who was a physically dominating two-year starter at BYU.
Originally at Oregon, Suamataia transferred to BYU for the 2022 season, and didnt allow a sack in 361 pass block snaps while starting in 12 of 13 games, equating to a 75.6. With that, Suamataia entered with the 2023 season as the nation's sixth-highest graded offensive tackle by Pro Football Focus, and was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team. Playing in 644 snaps in 11 games, Suamataia allowed two sacks and finished the year with a 67.5 PPF grade.
Kingsley Suamataia - OT, BYU, No 78
— Zack Eisen (@zackeisen21) April 24, 2024
- elite athlete with a well-built frame
- easy movement ability to cover up the arc
- explosive first step to get into his sets
- powerful, upper body strength
- grip strength and pop in his hands
- ready-made run blocker, moves well in space pic.twitter.com/5wGRQ7Usrn
At 6'6" and 315 pounds, Suamataia is efficient in pass protection, utilizing a combination of quick, strategic hand movements to disrupt defenders. Coupled with exceptional burst and quickness, and Suamataia easily reached second-level targets with precision and force. On day two, Suamataia would be a dream target for Tampa Bay to draft.
As initially mentioned by FanSided's Josh Hill, offensive line is a position Tampa Bay may and should double-up on in the draft. With the addition of Suamataia, the Buccaneers would land a young and talented rookie that would replace the likes of 27-year-old tackle Justin Skule, 29-year-old guard Aaron Stinnie and 31-year-old guard Matt Feiler, who all rotated on the offensive line last year.
This past season, the Buccaneers' offensive line was subpar, to say the least. Per Sports Reference, Tampa Bay's offensive line gave up 40 sacks, 112 pressures, 37 hurries, and 35 quarterback hits, while giving quarterback Baker Mayfield an average of 2.4 seconds in the pocket. Drafting Suamataia and letting him start on the offensive line day one would be a good start in improving their pass protection toward Mayfield.