The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not have made it to the postseason in 2019, but the second half of the regular season saw them playing some of their best football in ages. A 4-2 finish to the season has people thinking playoffs next year.
But that’s easier said than done. The Buccaneers have a number of big-name free agents, including quarterback Jameis Winston and linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who led the NFL with 19.5 sacks this past season. While free agency looms large for the Bucs, they also have the NFL draft coming up in a few months.
Last year, Tampa Bay reloaded on defense with players like Devin White, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean. The Bucs’ rookies were so impressive that NFL.com ranked them as the second-best rookie class of 2019, behind only the San Francisco 49ers.
Here’s their breakdown of the Bucs’ young rooks:
“White (91 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three passes defensed, one pick, three forced fumbles) was a stud, proving himself worthy of the No. 5 pick. Murphy-Bunting (44 tackles, three picks) also proved to be a legitimate player as a rookie, as did Dean, who finished with 17 passes defended and two interceptions in 13 games. Edwards was a valuable contributor as well, recording 45 tackles, one sack and six passes defended. Gay solved Tampa Bay’s kicking problem, showing off his strong leg on multiple occasions in making five of eight attempts from 50-plus yards. Miller caught just 13 passes but made the most of them, recording 200 yards (15.4 yards per catch) and a touchdown in 10 games.”
Tampa Bay owns the 14th pick in April’s NFL draft, and Will Brinson of CBS Sports thinks the Bucs will look to LSU safety Grant Delpit to help their secondary. Hopefully, the organization will have just as much success this time around in the draft as they did last year.
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