Well, Bucs fans, the first day of this year’s NFL draft is in the books. The Bucs did manage to find Buffalo to trade out of the number 7 spot, which was the smart thing to do after Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb and Quenton Nelson were all of the board at that time, as expected.
So Tampa Bay ended up trading the 7th overall pick for the 12th pick and another two 2nd rounders, which was a brilliant move. Picking up Vita Vae, Defensive Tackle out of Washington, might have come as a surprise to many, yet it was a solid pickup. The Chris Baker experiment did not pan out. Now Licht is looking to seek help alongside Gerald McCoy by using his first rounder on the best Defensive Tackle available this year. Vita Vae is 6’4” and weighs 347 lbs. He is a freakish athlete for his size and frame. Has played Running Back in High School. Vae will start next to McCoy by Week 1. Tampa Bay’s front seven has all the tools to be a very scary unit this upcoming campaign, potentially one of the best in the league.
While most Buccaneers fans would have preferred the Bucs to pick Derwin James, who was available at the number twelve spot, as well, there are still plenty of opportunities to find help in our defensive backfield in Round 2. This need will certainly be addressed tonight.
All in all, it was a decent first day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Acquiring the two additional picks in the second round was excellent. The rest of the draft picks should be spent exclusively on Defensive Backs, Offensive Line and a Running Back.
