Honestly, I do not see the O-line as one of the top issues Tampa needs to address with the draft or the Free Agency. That being said, I do think we should touch up the O-line. Ali Marpet, Donovan Smith, stepped into their roles and played fantastically. Joe Hawley being added early in the season has been a great addition and played well, sharing starts with Logan Mankins. With Mankins teetering on retirement, it wouldn’t hurt to look at center depth for a couple of additions. Adding some cheap talent to the O-line should always be a priority, same as with the D-line, but going out and purchasing high dollar Free Agent talent hasn’t always produced for Tampa and the majority of them have been labeled Busts.
“Evan Silva published his yearly breakdown of every NFL team’s top needs and free agents today. Most of the analysis is obvious: the Bucs need defensive backs and defensive ends, and could use some extra playmakers at wide receiver if at all possible. But the fourth need Silva names is a lot less obvious: offensive line.”
” That’s a bit of a glass-half-empty look at the offensive line, and also not one the Bucs themselves will share. They see Donovan Smith as their left tackle of the future as long as he keeps developing. They’re not going to look for a replacement this early in his career, no matter who’s available. Joe Hawley and Evan Smith aren’t great, with Hawley slightly better, but they’re serviceable NFL starters. And Logan Mankins actually played very well for most of the season — the main question there is whether he’ll retire. If he does, Kevin Pamphile looked very good at left guard when he was asked to start last year.” – Reported by Sander Philipse
More on this here: Offensive line as a “need” for the Buccaneers
