The Buccaneers have decided to draft Florida quarterback Kyle Trask with the No. 64 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
There was a lot of chatter surrounding this potential pick and it finally came to life Friday night. The Bucs added significant quarterback depth and now have a potential replacement for Tom Brady.
Who is Kyle Trask?
Trask is a redshirt senior quarterback from Florida. He had a phenomenal final season in college, throwing for 4,283 yards, 43 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Trask becomes the first quarterback to be drafted by the Buccaneers since Jameis Winston went No. 1 overall in 2015.
Trask finally got his opportunity to start in 2019 when starter Feleipe Franks suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the Gator’s opening game. Trask took the opportunity and never let up, forcing Franks to transfer to Arkansas after the 2019 season.
Our own Evan Winter called the Trask pick in his latest mock draft. He predicted the Buccaneers would trade up in the third round to select Trask, instead the Bucs use the last pick of the second round to get their guy.
How does this help or hurt the Buccaneers?
If all goes well for the Buccaneers in 2021, Trask will only play snaps in the preseason and in blowouts. And that’s not a bad thing.
Last year’s backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert was not re-signed this offseason, sparking rumors the Bucs could look to go younger at backup quarterback. Trask is one of the older quarterbacks in this class at age 23, but is still relatively new to starting as a quarterback so there is room for development. In High School, Trask was a backup behind current Miami quarterback D’Eriq King. That made it tough for Trask to earn scholarship offers, but he persevered and ended up a premier passer in the SEC. Whenever Trask has the opportunity to overachieve, he takes it with both hands.
Trask doesn’t have a rocket of an arm, but does possess excellent accuracy at all levels of the field. He was not afraid to throw 50/50 balls to his top target Kyle Pitts last season at Florida. Some quarterbacks have difficulty adjusting from ‘college open’ to ‘NFL open’ early in their career. That won’t be Trask.
What will take time is adjusting to is the Bruce Arians offensive system. It typically takes at least two years to thrive in that system unless your last name is Brady. The good thing for Trask, he will have time to develop and learn the offense behind the goat.
Who else was available at No. 32?
A lot of Bucs fans will wonder why they didn’t opt for interior offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz at No. 64. While that would have also been a good pick, all draft selections for the Bucs this year are for depth purposes. Offensive lineman that fit the Bucs will still be available in later rounds.
The Bucs could have gone for just about any position at No. 64 with how well their roster has been constructed. Here are a few more players that could have been selected at No. 64 overall. Keep in mind, one of these players could still end up Buccaneers by the end of the day.
– Quinn Meinerz, IOL, Wisconsin-Whitewater
– Elijah Molden, S/CB, Washington
– Jamar Johnson, S, Indiana
– Milton Williams, DL, Louisiana Tech
Final Thoughts
If any team is in the position to take a quarterback outside of round 1 to develop, it’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is the locked-in starter until he wants to hang up the cleats and retire, but at 44-years-old the Bucs would be smart to start molding their next signal caller.
All picks for the Buccaneers are a luxury this year. Worst case for Trask is he is not the guy long term for the Bucs and becomes an above average backup. Best case, the Buccaneers are able to slot in a young quarterback who knows the system and can take advantage of an excellent surrounding cast.
How do you feel about the Buccaneers and their decision to draft Kyle Trask? Let us know in the comment section below!
