PR Roundtable: Who Is Your Favorite Bucs Draft Pick?

Pewter Report nailed two Bucs Best Bets in the team’s first-round pick, Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton, and third-rounder Tykee Smith, a defensive back from Georgia. I suggested that the Bucs trade up for Barton if necessary in a pre-draft SR’s Fab 5 column, and then in another SR’s Fab 5 I listed Smith as one of my draft crushes. So I’m thrilled the team was able to come away with both players. But it may surprise you that I’m not listing either player as my favorite draft pick this year. Instead, I’m going with Oregon running back Bucky Irving, the team’s fourth-round pick.

Watching football in the 1980s and 1990s, I grew up with an appreciation for good running backs. Having been born in Northern Virginia, Redskins running back John Riggins was my first football hero, followed by Chiefs running back Christian Okoye – the Nigerian Nightmare – once I moved to Kansas City. I love big backs and I cannot lie … but despite being just 5-foot-9, 192 pounds, Irving runs like a big back with the way he breaks tackles and forces missed tackles. I’ve really grown to love his game after re-watching some game film after Tampa Bay selected Irving.

Pewter Report alum and current Pro Football Focus draft analyst Trevor Sikkema called Irving one of his favorite players in the 2024 NFL Draft on his appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast – even before the team selected him. And it’s easy to see why. I expect Irving to have a bigger role than expected this season, and not just on third downs as a receiver out of the backfield. I think Rachaad White and Irving can make an effective 1-2 punch in the Bucs backfield. Jason Licht’s kryptonite was drafting running backs, but I really think he’s hit on the last two he’s selected in White and Irving.

Matt Matera: Jalen McMillan Can Take Tampa Bay’s Passing Game To New Heights

There’s a great opportunity for Jalen McMillan to be the draft pick that takes the Bucs’ 2024 draft class from good to great, or good to average. Many feel that McMillan could be the steal of the third round. New wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon said it best on Monday that if it weren’t for injuries last year at Washington, McMillan is probably not available for the team in the third round because he’d already be off the board.

With offensive coordinator Liam Coen going with three wide receiver and one tight end sets more often, the third receiver on the depth chart becomes much more valuable and is essentially a starter. McMillan can line up alongside Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but because of his versatility, he’ll be able to play the X, Y, and Z positions on offense once he’s cross-trained. Tampa Bay plans to have Godwin play in the slot this year, so McMillan will line up outside as a flanker (Z). He didn’t play outside a ton at Washington, but he has the speed and ability to beat man coverage and do so.

Another reason why drafting McMillan was so important is that can be a direct future replacement for Godwin, who is in the final year of his deal and there’s no guarantee he’ll return next season. Drafting McMillan gives the Bucs an option to replace Godwin and keep the offense moving along. Tampa Bay does have others the team likes in Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett, though it’s McMillan who has the best chance to shine this season. He’s the highest drafted receiver since the Bucs took Godwin in the third round back in 2017 – and they’re hoping he has the same type of career in the long run.

Bailey Adams: Graham Barton Is A Future Bucs Pro Bowler

Yes, I may or may not have borrowed my headline from Scott Reynolds’ latest Pewter Pulse video on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. Overall, I’d say the team should be pretty thrilled with its 2024 draft class. But my favorite pick of the bunch was Duke’s Graham Barton, Tampa Bay’s first-round pick who will kick inside and provide a significant boost to the interior of the team’s offensive line. Ever since Ali Marpet’s earlier-than-expected retirement and Ryan Jensen’s career-ending knee injury in 2022, the interior of the offensive line has been in limbo.

The O-line has badly missed those two former Pro Bowlers, and considering that Jason Licht sees Marpet, Jensen and even a bit of Tristan Wirfs in Barton, it’s hard not to feel good about the latest first-round pick and what he’s going to bring to the table from day one. The morning after he was drafted, I called him a future Pro Bowler during an appearance on Raleigh-Durham’s Spectrum News 1. I certainly believe Barton has that level of potential.

There may still be work to do long-term (namely at left guard if Barton does, in fact, slot in at center), but it should already be clear to everyone that the former Duke star is going to be a centerpiece of this offensive line for years to come. He is extremely athletic and plays with fire, plus he appears to possess the perfect mentality to make him an ideal fit within Tampa Bay’s O-line room. And given that I consider Marpet one of my favorite Bucs of all time, it’s hard to pick any of the other draftees as my favorite this year.

Josh Queipo: Tykee Smith Is Another Playmaker For Tampa Bay’s Secondary

Tykee Smith should be able to give the Bucs a play-making option in the slot that they have lacked over the years. Even when All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. manned the position in 2022 he only produced one interception that season and was not the turnover machine he became when Todd Bowles moved him back to safety this season.

Smith, who helped Georgia win back-to-back national championships, will be able to bring a more physical and explosive presence to the Bowles’ blitz packages. He notched a pair of sacks last year for the Bulldogs defense. With Winfield being one of Bowles’ premier chess pieces, the hope is that Smith can become another chess piece-type of player for Tampa Bay’s secondary with his ability to cover, tackle and create takeaways – in addition to blitzing from the slot.

Smith also has legitimate ball skills, evidenced by eight interceptions in college, including a team-high four picks last year at Georgia, that should improve the Tampa Bay defense’s ability to generate turnovers. And personally, I am looking forward to Smith giving the team a player who can finally pick up wheel routes or post-wheel patterns. That was a play that teams used successfully against Bowles’ defense last year, especially down the stretch.

Adam Slivon: Tykee Smith Will Make Impact In Bucs’ Secondary – Wherever He Lines Up

Tykee Smith has a lot of the qualities that head coach Todd Bowles likes in a defensive back, and he comes in as a rookie adding a lot of versatility and upside to the secondary. While the team has two starting safeties in Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead, Smith will be given the chance to be the team’s starting nickel back over Christian Izien and has enough ball skills to make the kind of game-changing plays the defense has needed more of for some time.

Smith gives off some Winfield vibes for his ability to line up wherever he is needed in the secondary and is already cross-trained, having played both safety spots and at nickel against some tough competition in college. He has a well-rounded skillset as a sure tackler, ballhawk, and even a blitzer, which will allow Bowles to be creative in deploying him. Smith will be utilized often in different capacities as he has a high football IQ and the ability to hustle to be around the ball, evoking assistant general manager John Spytek to compare his playstyle to Mike Edwards.

Smith has the chance to become a defensive chess piece as soon as this season, and his skillset provides him the chance to carve out a long-term starting role with the Bucs. Oh, and his “dawg mindset” will only help his jump to the NFL.