While everyone is focused on what the 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers might be able to accomplish and following along with the training camp happenings, we're taking a quick break to look back for a brief moment.
Bucs fans don't have a lot to complain about, as of late, especially because of the Super Bowl victory won by Tom Brady and his crew recently. Of course, things are looking different now as the team looks to find their identity.
But again, let's look back just a little bit. Specifically, let's take a look back at five star players the Bucs could have drafted going back to 2015 and how it would have impacted the organization as a whole.
1. Danielle Hunter, 2015
Back in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings hit a Day 2 home run when they drafted Danielle Hunter out of LSU.
Hunter was taken at pick no. 88 overall in the third round, and would go on to become a force for that Vikings defense. As a rookie, Hunter accumulated 6.0 sacks before going on to notch 12.5 in the following season. Fast forward to present day, and Hunter has made three Pro Bowls while totaling double-digit sacks in four seasons.
That season, the Bucs' starting defensive ends were William Gholston and Jacquies Smith. If we focus on just Gholston, and his 10 seasons in the league, he's never had over 4.5 sacks in a year. It's pretty safe to say that Hunter could have been used in that defense. Smith, meanwhile, totaled 7.0 sacks in that 2015 season but went on to never record another sack before his career ended a few years later.