The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a splash this offseason by landing future Hall of Famers Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Adding the dynamic duo to an offensive unit that already features Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin has the Buccaneers looking more like a Madden team than an actual NFL squad.
While Tampa Bay is likely more than content with the team they have heading into the 2020 season, both on offense and defense, ESPN decided to have a little fun by having their NFL Nation crew re-draft the entire NFL, imagining a scenario where there is no salary cap and every player is a free agent. The goal is to have each team build a squad that can win a Super Bowl within five years. Each team was allowed four rounds, and had to select a quarterback, a non-QB offensive player and a defensive player. The fourth pick was a wild card, open to anything.
See who the Bucs landed in Jenna Laine’s draft:
Round 1 (14): Tom Brady, QB
Round 2 (51): Alvin Kamara, RB
Round 3 (78): Chris Jones, DT
Round 4 (115): Kenny Golladay, WR
Here’s part of what Laine had to say about her selections:
“Kamara was the third-best non-QB offensive player on my board, so I was thrilled to land him. He can line up anywhere on the field and can help Brady in the screen game. I like that Jones can move all across the defensive line, and his 69 wins against double-teams over the past four seasons puts him second only to Aaron Donald in the NFL, according to ESPN pass-rush metrics powered by NFL Next Gen Stats. Golladay has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, so I consider him terrific value in the fourth round.”
Kamara on the Bucs would be the ultimate dream for fans, but let’s not forget there is still a former NFC South running back on the free agent market in Devonta Freeman. Freeman took to Twitter last week telling the Bucs to “reach out to me directly” and Tampa Bay fans appeared more than happy to try and recruit him.
Golladay in round four sounds like a steal, and while he won’t actually be suiting up for Tampa Bay this fall, the Bucs did use a fifth-round pick in April’s draft on Minnesota wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who some feel could be a hidden gem.
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