So I didn’t anticipate writing this sort of article, but I did find this stat very interesting. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have just recently trimmed their roster down to 53 men. A process that seemed a lot faster than most people expected. But one of the things that Fox Sports Greg Auman remarked on Twitter is that 44 of the players on the team have been drafted by the Buccaneers.
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Now, no one yet has tried to figure out if that is the most in the league as there are a lot of teams; 32 to be precise. However, it is still an absurd number and I may update this article if someone does have the final tally for most players drafted or joining their original team as an UDFA.
To break it down farther, all of the picks from 2024 have made the team. 22 of 23 players drafted over the last three years are still on the team. And 26 of 30 players drafted by the team over the past four years are still on the team. Yeah that’s pretty fricking good. The only starters that were not drafted by the team are Baker Mayfield, Chase McLaughlin, and Ben Bredeson. The rest of the players not drafted by the team: Justin Skule, Brandon Walton, Greg Gaines, Brown, Bryce Hall, and Tavierre Thomas.
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There are two reasons why I think this matters so much. One, it speaks volumes about the skill of Jason Licht and the scouting department. It feels like preaching to the crowd, but Licht is a really good GM. The fact that he managed to draft guys that all managed to get onto the team (plus two UDFAs in Tyler Funderburk and Cam Johnson) is again, an impressive feat.
This includes 7th rounders like TE Devin Culp. In fact, Culp is an example of how good the draft is. To the surprise of many in the Bucs’ space, the team decided to carry 4 TEs onto the team. Something that Liam Coen is not really known for. The reason why? The TEs for the team, both the ones drafted in 2023 and before, were so damn good, they couldn’t cut them.
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What’s the second reason? Well, I think this also speaks to the team having a good culture. it must feel nice being a player drafted by the team knowing there’s a really good chance you’ll stay there. I mean, the team already has the built-in chemistry of having six players from the University of Washington (which still feels strange). It would’ve been seven, but the Falcons snatched Michael Penix before he could fall to them. Just kidding, Licht isn’t stupid like the Falcons front office.
But to get back to the point, the chemistry between guys that were drafted by the team and have been here for a year or three depending must be really good. Not having to churn through a ton of players means you don’t have to keep teaching new guys the system and they get more familiar and thereby better by staying in it.
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