NFL Draft 32 for 32 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Outlook

March 30, 2019

Brandon Murchison's 2019 NFL Draft team previews moves on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that will be looking to turn things around with new head coach Bruce Arians. What impact will the rookies drafted have on the fantasy values of this team?

Another team at the top of this draft under new management is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and new HC Bruce Arians. He will be bringing with him a pedigree that ensures that this offense will be one to keep an eye on in 2019. The defense will potentially be suspect, especially in the tough NFC South, but the offense may wind up being one of the more explosive in the league.

First on the agenda will be to figure out how to get some consistency out of Jameis Winston at QB. The offense can only go as far as he takes them and the mental mistakes that he makes at times can be mind-numbing (career TD-INT ratio of 88-58). If Arians can reel in Winston and improve on his accuracy, a return to the conversation as a low-end QB1 could be in store, especially with receivers like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and O.J. Howard to work with. The real question with this offense will be who will be the beneficiary at RB in the Arians offense? Whether it be incumbents Peyton Barber, Ronald Jones, or a rookie, history says that the back in this system will be a fantasy starter.

Going into the draft, the Bucs will be one of the few teams with at least one selection in each round. They have several holes in which they can fill on the defensive side of the ball, but perhaps a look at RB and offensive line will be in order as well. Whichever direction the team goes in, odds are they will make sound moves to improve the depth in several areas.

Top Three Projected Selections

First Round- Montez Sweat, LB Mississippi State (5th overall)
Second Round- Damien Harris, RB Alabama (39th)
Third Round- JoeJuan Williams, CB Vanderbilt (70th)

Remaining Picks
Fourth Round- 107th
Fifth Round- 145th
Sixth Round- 208th
Seventh Round- 215th

Montez Sweat is a prospect that is kind of a tweener projecting into the NFL. His size and length will likely have him as a three-down edge rusher. But, he can also line up and play outside with above-average speed to track down a ball carrier. His addition will help ease the loss of Kwon Alexander, but more from the perspective of a player that will disrupt the QB and alter plays. Sweat will be a day one starter for a Bucs defense in need of playmakers.

The selection of Damien Harris could prove to be rather intriguing. He has all the makings of a player that can fill the David Johnson role for Arians and his offense. His patient zone running mentality fits in nicely behind an offensive line that helped Peyton Barber look like a serviceable starter in the NFL. Harris doesn't blow you away with game-breaking speed, but he rarely gets caught behind the line for negative yardage. Add in the untapped potential as a pass catcher out of the backfield and you have a player that could potentially be the top scoring rookie back in this class. Harris won't be the first RB selected in seasonal or rookie drafts, but if this is the landing spot, I like his chances to finish 2019 as a low-end RB2 in any format.

The third round of JoeJuan Williams will give the Bucs some needed depth in the secondary. He has an excellent combination of size and length that he uses to cover up some deficiencies as a cover corner. He plays much better in zone coverage and improved his ball skills each year in college. Being battle-tested against some of the SEC's top tier receivers should ease his transition into the NFL and slow the learning curve. If coaching can clean up some of his negative techniques, Williams projects out as a solid starter in the league for years to come.

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