Bucs Mailbag: Bucs Not Done In Free Agency?

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Do you see the Bucs signing guard Dalton Risner? It would be a move similar to signing Randy Gregory, a veteran who could start and help address a glaring hole on our roster. This move would also greatly help address a draft need.

K-State RT Dalton Risner – Photo courtesy of KSU

ANSWER: As a Kansas State alum, I’m very familiar with Dalton Risner as he was a star offensive lineman for the Wildcats, playing primarily right tackle in college. Risner has spent all five of his NFL seasons playing left guard, but has not emerged as one of the best players at his position. The former Broncos second-round pick was not re-signed by Denver and opted for a one-year deal with Minnesota. Despite not allowing a sack in 485 pass blocking snaps, the Vikings didn’t re-sign him after the 2023 season.

The 2024 NFL Draft is loaded at interior offensive line and the Bucs could draft one or more players who could play guard for them this season. But if the team comes up empty and doesn’t find the right guard candidate in the right round for some reason, Risner could be a post-draft free agency signing. He’s a much better pass protector than he is a run blocker though, and graded out with a 67.4 pass pro grade and a 50 run block grade from Pro Football Focus.

I don’t think the Bucs would sign him prior to the draft, especially after adding a pair of interior offensive linemen in free agency in Sua Opeta, who will compete for the starting left guard job, and Ben Bredeson will also be in the mix there as well as at center. But Tampa Bay isn’t done in free agency. There will be another round of players available after the draft as some teams shed older, veteran players in favor of cheaper rookies at the same positions, especially those drafted with premium picks.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht has made some notable roster additions going all the way up to the start of the regular season with the signing of running back Leonard Fournette a few days before the start of the 2020 campaign. Licht also cut long-time defensive tackle Gerald McCoy on May 20, 2019 and replaced him with Ndamukong Suh the next day. The Bucs also claimed edge rusher Carl Nassib off waivers from Cleveland the week before the start of the season in 2018 and he became a two-year starter.

QUESTION: Who are potential linebackers to keep an eye on in the draft for the Bucs radar?

North Carolina ILB Cedric Gray – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: The Bucs could very well draft a linebacker this year to fill the hole on the roster created by Devin White’s departure in free agency. But given the fact that the Bucs will likely keep only four on the 53-man roster, the team could roll into the 2024 season with Lavonte David, K.J. Britt, SirVocea Dennis and J.J. Russell and feel comfortable.

David is an ageless wonder and still one of the best inside linebackers in the game today at age 34. Britt took over the starting role at middle linebacker when White was benched late last season and proved he could handle that role. Russell got one start last year and it made it count with a great showing against Carolina, while Dennis also played okay in spot duty during his rookie season.

But adding talent and competition is never a bad thing, and the Bucs have had their eyes on some linebackers this offseason leading up to the draft. Tampa Bay had formal interviews with North Carolina’s Cedric Gray, Michigan’s Junior Colson and Mississippi State’s Nathaniel Watson at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The team also met with North Carolina State’s Payton Wilson, Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper, Florida State’s Tatum Bethune, Temple’s Jordan Magee, Michigan’s Michael Barrett and seven others informally. The Bucs either have hosted or are going to host Cooper, Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace on Top 30 visits.

This is not a great off-ball linebacker draft, as there will likely not be any drafted in the first round, and maybe just three or four on Day 2. If the Bucs are going to draft a linebacker on Day 2, it would likely be Cooper. Trotter could possibly be a third-round pick, but the fourth round seems more likely given his questionable speed. Gray and Wallace could be Day 3 options.

QUESTION: Have the Bucs had their eyes on any potential powerbacks as that is one facet of the run game that fails?

Notre Dame RB Audric Estime – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: It kind of depends what your definition of “powerback” is. I typically look at 220 pounds or more being the definition of a “big back,” but there are some powerful runners who weigh much less. For example, you won’t find many backs who run as tough and as hard as Kansas City’s Isiah Pacheo, and he’s 5-foot-10, 216 pounds.

I really like Audric Estime, the big, 5-foot-11, 227-pound back out of Notre Dame. He’s not the most physical back in the world where he will run over people, but his size allows him to slip and break tackles the way Cleveland’s Nick Chubb does. And Chubb has the exact same measurements. Estime is a load to bring down and he has the athleticism to hurdle defenders at the second and third level.

To Pewter Report’s knowledge, the Bucs didn’t interview him at the NFL Scouting Combine, which was surprising. He was Pro Football Focus’ No. 3 ranked running back in college football last year, earning a 94.2 overall grade. Estime is not even 21 yet, which makes him even more appealing, especially after rushing for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry.

Estime ran a slow 4.71 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and he wasn’t used much in the passing game. Those are some of his concerns. But the Fighting Irish star ran a 4.58 at his pro day and he’s caught all 26 of his targets in two years in college without a single drop. I would have no problem if the Bucs drafted him on Day 2.

Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen is the other really big back in this year’s draft class. But the 6-foot-1, 238-pounder doesn’t play as big as his size would indicate. I’m not sure the Bucs are as high on him, as they didn’t interview him in Indianapolis.

Tampa Bay did interview a few big backs at the NFL Scouting Combine, including USC’s MarShawn Lloyd (5-9, 220), Ohio State’s Miyan Williams (5-8, 229), South Dakota State’s Isaiah Davis (6-0, 218), Georgia’s Kendall Milton (6-1, 221). Of that group, Lloyd was the only formal interview. Any of those backs would bring more size and power to the Bucs’ backfield and be a nice complement to Rachaad White.

QUESTION: Any Bucs’ interest in Miami center Matt Lee?

Oregon C Jackson Powers-Johnson – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: Not that Pewter Report has heard. Matt Lee is an undersized center prospect who began his career at UCF before transferring to Miami. He was a great college player, and Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 6 center in the nation last year. Lee earned an 89.1 pass protection grade and did not give up a sack.

He could be a late Day 3 selection due to his lack of size as he’ll need to add muscle and bulk at the next level to withstand bigger, stronger defensive tackles at the next level. Listed at 295 on Miami’s roster, Lee weighed in at the East-West Shrine Bowl at 288 pounds. He did weigh in at 6-foot-4, 301 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine, which helped his cause though.

The six center candidates the Bucs interviewed at the Combine were Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, Duke’s Graham Barton, Kansas’ Dominick Puni, Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini, Oklahoma’s Andrew Raym and Duke’s Jacob Monk. The Bucs do want to add some competition to the mix at center as the team is looking for an upgrade over Robert Hainsey.

Tampa Bay signed Ben Bredeson in free agency, but will likely add another center via the draft to challenge Hainsey for the job. Hainsey has started the past two years for the Bucs but is entering a contract year.

QUESTION: Which Bucs are the best trash talkers and who could easily become pro wrestlers?

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: What a great, fun question! I think the easy answer is right tackle Luke Goedeke without a doubt. He already has a great stage name in “Luke The Lifter,” which is his actual nickname and his handle on X. At 6-foot-5, 312 pounds, Goedeke is certainly big enough to be a pro wrestler.

The Bucs mic’d Goedeke up for the Jaguars game and it really showed off his ability to trash talk. Usually when the team puts out a Mic’d Up video, it’s three or four minutes long, but Goedeke’s is double that in length as he’s really a noisy player. See for yourself by clicking the link below.

Other than Goedeke, I can’t say that there is really a big trash talker on the team right now other than Baker Mayfield. But at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, he certainly lacks the size to be a pro wrestler.

Some former Bucs players that could have fit into this equation are legendary middle linebacker Hardy Nickerson, and his Incredible Hulk flexes after big plays. No Tampa Bay player was a bigger trash talker than Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp. And most recently, former center Ryan Jensen and outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul weren’t afraid to get loud and rowdy during the game, either.

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