2022 Draft recap
The BUCS entered the draft with six picks. One pick in each of the first rounds and two in the seventh. When the smoke had settled, the the team walked away with a total of eight draftees. The Buccaneers’ GM Jason Licht did his part to see that this draft was full of trades and surprising moves. He’s been on his Ric Flair wheelin’ and dealin’ since he’s had control of roster dating back to 2016. This year was no different.
First, he traded out of the 1st Round to gain an additional 2nd Round, a 4th Rounder, and a 6th. Licht used that extra 6th Round pick to move up in a trade with the Bills to move up three spots in the 2nd Round. He later traded a 4th Round pick in next year’s draft to move up for a 5th Rounder and 7th Rounder this year. And lastly, he used two original 7th Round picks to move up into the 6th.
Like most drafts for most teams, the BUCS came away filling in some obvious needs and a few head-scratchers. It’s the nature of sports and spectators. How and when players get drafted affect both the reactions and expectations of the player.
The first of two 2nd Round picks was used on the defensive lineman Logan Hall. Jason and Licht and Coach Todd Bowles were looking to fill one of the vacant spots along the defensive line.
The Belton, TX native hit the field as a true freshman at the University of Houston. He was a three-star recruit.
Hall progressively got better throughout his college career. In his final year at Houston, he at least doubled his previous career highs in tackles, tackles for losses, and sacks.
At 6’6” and 285lbs, he has the physical presence of the BUCS’ William Gholston, who was a 2013 4th Round pick and is now one of the longest-tenured BUCS on the roster. It’s said that Hall is likely a much better athlete than Gholston was coming out of college. But it will take a lot more than athleticism to match and hopefully exceed what Gholston has done to stay in Tampa. Fortunately, it looks as though Hall has the maturity and willingness, and the eagerness to learn how to be better.
What I Like About The Pick: It fills the need along the defensive line. The BUCS needed more versatility, more youth, and pass-rushing talent in the rotation. Hall could be an actual pass-rushing specialist on the front line. He may not get the sack numbers right out of the gate. But, he may be a player that requires a double-team, which frees up others. Next to Vita Vea, that’s a scary situation for opposing offenses.
Concerns About The Pick: Little to none. The learning curve does exist. There’s an even more significant step up in competition as The Cougars didn’t play in the toughest conference. He’ll have William Gholston to learn from, and he’ll have Vea to alleviate a bit of the pressure with double teams.
“I bring versatility. I bring aggression. I bring a lot of juice to the pass rush.”
With the defensive side of the ball getting betting the trenches, Licht decided to tighten things up on the offensive line. The additional 2nd Round selection was Luke Goedeke, right tackle out of Central Michigan.
Goedeke is the second Chippewa to be selected by Jason Licht and his crew. The first was Sean Murphy-Bunting.
Goedeke, like Logan Hall, could fill in as a starter on day one. The loss of both Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa left a need for both the left guard and the right guard on the offensive line. It’s assumed that free agency pickup Shaq Mason will take the right guard spot. With such a high investment, one would think Goedeke has the inside track on the left guard position where Marpet made the Pro Bowl last season.
What I Like About The Pick: It fills an immediate need if he becomes the starter.I like the thought of versatility.
Concerns About The Pick: Goedeke has only played in 20 games in college. They’ve mostly been against relatively mediocre competition. He’s played in two games against the notably strong competition(LSU and Missouri). Both Marpet and Capp proved that small-school talent could rise to the occasion and even excel in the NFL. However, they both had twice the experience Goedeke has coming into the League.
The biggest issue with the pick isn’t necessarily about Goedeke’s talent. It’s more about the method of building the team. Last season, the BUCS selected a similar talent in Notre Dame’s Robert Hainsey. He didn’t touch the field last season. Hainsey has twice the college experience compared to Goedeke and has played against more challenging opponents.
If Goedeke doesn’t take one of the starting spots, it will feel like a high-round investment for depth. And the BUCS were not in a position of privilege to take that big of a risk.
Staying on the offensive side of things, the BUCS went with a RB in the 3rd Round. Even with Leonard Fournette being re-signed to a 3yr/$21M, the team felt the position was high priority.
The BUCS are also carrying 9yr veteran Giovani Barnard and 2020 3rd Round pick Ke’Shawn Vaughn as options for the running game.
Rachaad White spent two years as a junior college standout before going to Arizona State. He went from being a Mountaineer to a Sun Devil in 2020. He had proved he could handle the uptick in competition. As a redshirt senior, White put up some significant numbers that caught the attention of many. He had a monstrous 202-yard rushing day against USC. That put him on the radar of even casual college football fans.
White has a running style reminiscent of Le’Veon Bell. He’s patient when setting up his blocks. And he doesn’t do a lot of wasted movement. He runs so smooth that, at times, it looks like he has no urgency. But that’s something to fool defenders because he can hit the switch and outrun guys.
What I Like About The Pick: I like the running ability of White. He’s got really good vision. I love the patience. He’s not quick to go full speed into contact when there’s an open field.
White could very well be the Ronald Jones of the RB room now that he’s gone. White could be the RB2 right off the bat.
Concerns About The Pick: Much like the concern with the Goedeke pick, it’s more about the pick's timing than the pick's talent. For this pick to make sense, White needs to be the RB2 almost immediately to make. If he’s sitting as the 3rd RB spot after the first three or four weeks of the season and either the BUCS’ secondary or defensive line goes through any kind of struggles, it’s gonna be the second time in the last three years that Licht has reached on a RB.
The reloading of the offense continued with the 4th Round selection of Cade Otton. The 6’5”, 247lb TE out of Washington has a relatively solid skill set as for a potential offensive weapon. His run blocking is okay. He’s wasn’t known as being a mauler of any kind. But he’s willing. And that’s the notable part. He’s not just out there finessing until he gets a chance as a pass catcher.
His pass protection is probably better than average though. He’s shown that he’s not a liability going up against some pretty mean pass rushers over his career. If the season started today, he’d be the best pass protecting TE on the BUCS roster. Otton also solid hands as a pass catcher. He was the 3rd-leading receiver for the Huskies in his last year. So, he’s adept at handling targets when needed.
What I Like About The Pick: Cade Otton has the potential to be the starter at TE. As a 4th Round pick, that’s usually a win to find a starter in the middle rounds.
Concerns About The Pick: He can also be as low as the TE3 on the roster if the BUCS continue to leave the door open for Gronkowski.
With the amount invested in the WR position and the offensive line, prioritizing the TE spot over some of the lacking areas is a bit questionable. Even a potential TE1 can’t compare to the need for a potential CB2 or DT3 on this roster which houses the likes of Evans, Godwin, Gage, Johnson, Miller, and Brate as receiving options.
Concerns About The Pick: I think Licht did it again. I think he got cute with the pick. This time, he did it in the 4th Round.
Licht has drafted 3 kickers/specialists between 2016 and 2022. So far, 2 of them haven’t made it past 1 season in Tampa.
When you invest so much to be a high-powered offense, it just doesn’t make sense to invest so highly in a punter. I understand the contract situation for Bradley Pinion played a part of the decision. But, it’s just damn irresponsible to use a mid-round pick on the position when there’s so much more that could’ve been addressed.
In the 5th Round, the BUCS finally got back to addressing the defense. They did so by taking a small-school defensive back. Licht has had his success with offensive linemen coming from lesser known schools. That brings lot of confidence that his scout team can find good talent everywhere.
McCollum possesses some highly intriguing attributes as a defensive back. At 6’2”, he’d be the tallest DB on the BUCS’ roster should he make the team. He’d be the 2nd-fastest . He posted 4.33 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Jamel Dean, who has recognized as the fastest cornerback on the current roster, topped out at 4.30. That combination of size and speed makes McCollum a possible steal as a 5th Round pick.
If you like judging talent by the numbers, you’ll probably love McCollum. His 37 pass breakups and 13 INTs over his college career will make you a bit giddy. Obviously, his small-school competition played a big part of his production numbers. But, it also shows that he was playing at a level his contemporaries weren’t. And oftentimes, that carries over to the next level.
What I Like About The Pick: This size. The speed. The possibility that McCollum could possibly fill in the role of either Sean Murphy-Bunting or Jamel Dean should one miss time and/or leave at the end of the season for due to contractual restraints. McCollum has Dean’s size and speed and maybe has coverage skills and aggression equal to Murphy-Bunting already.
Concerns About The Pick: The lower level of competition. There’s nothing to say McCollum can’t or won’t take the necessary step to face NFL-level talent. But, it’s a legit reason to be slightly less optimistic about his chances of producing the way he did at a small school.
The 6th Round brought us Ko Kieft. You won’t find a lot of highlights focused on Kieft as a scoring threat. But, what you will find is a whole lot of big plays with the big fella seeking out blocking opportunities in the run game. You’ll see him take out a DE or LB so one of his fellow Golden Gophers can break a big chunk of yardage.
Ko Kieft has a specialty on the offensive side of the ball. And it should be much appreciated in Tampa.
What I Like About The Pick: First and foremost, just the name Ko Kieft could sell 1.5 million mixtapes. Secondly, Kieft feels like a throwback FB. If that’s the route the BUCS with him, I’d be ecstatic. The usage of higher round picks on the TE position dampens the excitement a little. But, a 6th Round pick on a additional blocker that can move and constantly looks for work is a decision I can get behind. Plus, the thought of using a FB in Tampa again just makes me smirk a little bit.
Concerns About The Pick: As much I love the thought of Kieft making the team and being an active part of the game planning, I just don’t know that there’s actually a spot carved out for him. Leftwich is gonna have to show some creativity to make a pick/player like this work out.
In the 7th and final round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Jason Licht and company finished the same way they started. They addressed the pas rush.
They took Andre Anthony with the 248th pick.
Anthony is another LSU product. And Licht has an affinity for LBs coming out of Louisiana. Anthony played linebacker for most of his collegiate career. But, he was moved to DE in his final year. In the three games he played in in 2021, he got 3.5 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. Things were definitely looking up before an injury shortened senior season.
There’s a whole lot of room to grow for the young prospect. But, there’s a good bit of talent to work with.The former Bayou Bengal could make a place for himself as a pass rush specialist in Tampa.
Things I Like About The Pick: He’s got potential. He’s seen time as a starter. As a graduate senior, there’s a heightened level of maturity present.
Concerns About The Pick: It’s a developmental talent with good groundwork taken with a late pick. And it’s in a position of need. Nothing to dislike.
