We continue our three-part series that will evaluate each NFC South team’s off-season, including the 2021 NFL draft, free agency, and hire / fire. Next up is the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t been relevant in a while, but it’s been a complete cultural shift since the inclusion of former New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady. The Bucs added more stars over the last off-season including Leonard Fournette, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, LeSean McCoy and many others. Those steps ultimately helped them achieve a Super Bowl victory.
This off-season roster doesn’t look much different from last season, with Tampa keeping all 22 starters. They are the first Super Bowl winning team to ever bring back all starters after players like Chris Godwin, Shaq Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Leonard Fournette and Antonio Brown were all re-signed this off-season.
Bringing back their own was the most important step for the Buccaneers, starting with franchise-tagging wide receiver Chris Godwin. Godwin has grown to be one of the finest slot receivers in the entire NFL. The extension of LaVante David was also a priority because of the space requirements and of course long-term security. The expansion of David (and Tom Brady) added space for the ceiling to hold other fellow buccaneers like Star Pass rusher Shaq Barrett.
Tampa certainly didn’t need any further help, but when they did it was in the position of the recipient. The team went on to sign veteran dual threat running back Giovani Bernard and include him in the backcourt with Ronald Jones, Leonard Fournette and Ke’Shawn Vaughn, among others.
April’s draft for the Bucs consisted of seven picks. Since there weren’t many obvious needs, they went into the draft with the ability to add depth to their roster. With their top round pick, they added depth with high potential with Joe Tryon, OLB, of Washington, 32nd overall. Her next pick came as no surprise to many and chose the hopeful Heisman QB Kyle Trask from Florida. The rest of the design went like this …
Round 3, # 95 overall: Robert Hainsey, OT, Notre Dame.
Round 4, # 129 overall: Jaelon Darden, WR, North Texas.
Round 5, # 176 overall: KJ Britt, ILB, Auburn.
Round 7, # 251 overall: Chris Wilcox, CB, BYU.
Round 7, # 259 overall: Grant Stuard, LB, Houston.
For Tampa Bay, who celebrated a Super Bowl win, they had a very successful offseason while keeping all of their stars and adding depth to their roster. No team has ever brought back all 22 starters after winning the Super Bowl, but of course the Bucs did.
Design grade: A-
Free agency: A +
Trades: N / A
Overall: A
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The post NFC South Offseason Notes: Tampa Bay Buccaneers first appeared on Daily Florida Press.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/nfc-south-offseason-notes-tampa-bay-buccaneers/
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