Now that the NFL Draft is behind us, it's time to start digging in and seeing just how well teams did and which ones might have made some mistakes.
It's always hard to judge players when they haven't done anything yet, rather this time of year is more about getting a read on fit and how well-positioned some players may be over others. It's also not hard to see things like a team that paid $180 million to a quarterback using a Top 10 pick on the same position isn't the smartest idea.
Thankfully the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't do that.
Instead, Jason Licht seems to have put together another masterclass on how to draft well and mine for talent. Tampa Bay was armed with four Top 100 picks and made the most of each one, as well as seemingly landing potentially important depth pieces with the remaining picks.
Mini-camp doesn't open for a few weeks, which is when we'll start to get a better look at the incoming rookies. For the time being it seems like everyone is loving what the Bucs did this weekend at the draft.
Buccaneers fans will love PFF's 2024 NFL Draft grades
It seems PFF's experts weren't a fan of only a single pick the Bucs made, and even then the criticism wasn't that sharp.
Devin Culp got a short write-up while being labeled as 'limited', but PFF still highlighted his strong run-blocking grade for 2023. That's pretty much all Bucs fans need to hear about him, as anything to help get the run game going next year is going to be greatly appreciated.
As for the rest of the class, the top five picks Tampa Bay made received glowing endorsements. Graham Barton was hailed for his versatility and being a top lineman; Chris Braswell was dubbed an 'immediate starter'; Tykee Smith's ability to set the edge was applauded; Jalen McMillan is set up for success; Bucky Irving was called one of the 'toughest running backs' in the class.
Even Elijah Klein, who PFF didn't even have on their Big Board, got a positive write-up about how impressive some of his numbers were. Flying under the radar is something Jason Licht looks for in guys, and it seems he found it in Klein.
The dust still needs to settle on these picks and it's hard to judge them without actually seeing them in action. Based on the tape from college, though, it seems the Bucs nailed this class. Not everyone who got a glowing review will totally live up to expectations -- something we saw last year as the class normalized -- but it's hard to not feel really good about what the Bucs did to keep adding pieces for the future.