No, it might not have been the selection of J.K. Dobbins that we all wanted, but the Bucs’ second round selection of safety Antoine Winfield Jr. out of Minnesota was probably the one the Bucs needed to make the most.
Truth be told, the Bucs’ current running back situation isn’t great, but Ronald Jones II isn’t bad. And the team's selection of Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the third round may not be a big splash, but were guys like Alvin Kamara, Kareem Hunt, and Aaron Jones considered “big splashes” when they were selected in the third (and in Jones’ case, fifth) rounds of their draft? I’m not saying Vaughn will be as prolific as those guys, but I’m also not saying he won’t be.
The Bucs did the smart thing. Winfield Jr. was one of the top-rated safeties of this draft class, and the Bucs have a need at that position. I like Jordan Whitehead and Mike Edwards, but Winfield Jr. could be a game changer. He’s a great ball hawk at the position, and his speed and awareness make up for his lack of size. Besides, there have been a lot of undersized safeties that have been very successful at the NFL level (Bob Sanders, a legendary safety for the Colts in his prime, was 5 feet 8 inches. Again, I’m not saying he’s going to have that kind of impact, but I’m feeling optimistic).
Bucs add a ball hawk
Tampa Bay drafts Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr. with the No. 45 pick in the #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/oBcIdmaoud
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 25, 2020
So Bucs fans, you can feel pretty good about your team right now.
But let’s get into the more exciting stuff (because in all honesty the Bucs’ draft has been a little less than riveting so far). Winners and losers.
Winners:
The New York Giants
Wow. Never thought I’d write that again in my lifetime. I actually thought the Giants had a great draft. They got a solid offensive tackle to protect their “quarterback of the future” Daniel Jones in Georgia’s Andrew Thomas, and the best safety in the draft class Xavier McKinney out of Alabama fell into their lap in the second round. They’re building a future for once. Let’s hope it translates into some success on the field.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have been winning all offseason. First they got wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from Houston for practically nothing, then they got a defensive Swiss Army Knife in Isaiah Simmons, and today they lucked out and still managed to get an extremely talented offensive tackle in Josh Jones out of Houston to protect last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, Kyler Murray. I’m still confused as to how Jones fell to the third round, but the Cards will be a team to watch for years to come with all their young talent.
Losers:
Quarterbacks
Man, former Georgia QB’s Jake Fromm and Jacob Eason are still on the board, as only one QB was selected on day two of the draft. The two have their weaknesses (Fromm seems to lack playmaking ability, Eason needs to make better decisions on the field), but it’s still a little shocking only Jalen Hurts was selected in the second and third rounds (more on that later).
Eagles fans
Jalen Hurts in the second round? When you have Carson Wentz, who desperately needs healthy guys to throw to? I’m not even talking quality receivers, just guys with a pulse. I mean, at one point last season the Eagles only had three healthy receivers on their roster, and none of them were guys I’d ever heard of. That's inexcusable. But to then go out and spend their second rounder on a QB instead of getting a wideout, or some other position of need? Good gracious. Good luck, Philly.
Aaron Rodgers
Did you know that in the past 15 years the Packers haven’t spent a single first round pick on a skill position? And you know what they spent their pick on this year? A quarterback. And their second round pick was spent on a running back. You want to know who was tied for first in rushing touchdowns this past year? Green Bay’s Aaron Jones. Bucs fans, you may not be entirely happy with the Bucs’ picks today, but at least there’s some logic and reasoning behind them. This is just… yeah. Sorry Aaron, you deserve better.
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This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2020.