The Bucs snagged Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs with the 13th pick in last night’s NFL draft, trading up one spot to make sure they got one of this year’s top tackles.
Wirfs will fill an immediate need for the Bucs along the line and provide much-needed protection for Tom Brady. It was a surprise that Wirfs fell as far as he did, as many mock drafts had him as a top-10 pick. Even Mel Kiper of ESPN was high on the super athletic Wirfs, which is likely why he named the Bucs as one of his big winners from Day 1 of the draft.
Per Kiper:
“We said all along that the Bucs really needed an offensive tackle in Round 1. It was the biggest hole on an offense that no longer has many. And as Wirfs dropped a bit — I thought he might go to the Giants at No. 4, and he is my second-ranked OT — general manager Jason Licht moved up one spot to get him, throwing in a fourth-round pick to the 49ers to do it. While that’s a high price to move up one spot, Wirfs is worth it. He can step in and start immediately in front of Tom Brady, and he can manhandle defensive linemen in the run game. It’s a great get for a Bucs team that has Super Bowl aspirations.”
The Bucs are all-in on Brady right now and drafting a guy like Wirfs only adds to their hand.
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