On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released their 53-man roster to the public. Throughout training camp and preseason, players on the Bucs squad impressed the coaching staff and other team members. The Bucs had some departures during the offseason, such as Devin White going to the Philadelphia Eagles through free agency and Carlton Davis III being traded to the Detroit Lions, to name a few. So, the Bucs had some positions to fill in their roster.
When drafting its players for the 2024 draft, did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan on using all seven picks for the roster? Did they know that every player picked in this year’s draft would have an impressive training camp and preseason? Let’s be serious: unless they had a crystal ball, there was no way of knowing if those players would pan out. All they had was predictions and hopes, like us fans. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have all seven rookies on the roster, plus two undrafted. Let me break it down for you.
Ready The Cannons
Six of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ nine rookies will be playing on the offensive side of the ball. First-round pick Graham Barton will be at the center of the offensive line. As a backup, sixth-round pick Elijah Klein will help out at guard. Two rookies will play at the wide receiver position. Third-round pick Jalen McMillan, who has impressed the coaching staff since day one, did make the roster. Kameron Johnson, who went undrafted, may be small but is fast, as he displayed in the preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins.
The fourth-round pick from Oregon, running back Bucky Irving, amazed the coaching staff with his ability to elude the defense during training camp. Irving was one of the top college running back in yards after first contact. Irving had two touchdowns during preseason on limited snaps. With the seventh-round pick, the Bucs drafted Devin Culp from Washington, offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been working on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense with a new scheme. This scheme relies on having leading tight ends. Culps speed and ability to get out in the open field should surprise the defense since he won’t be starting but as a backup.
Young Defenders On Squad
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Chris Braswell in the second round from Alabama. The young linebacker will be playing at outside linebacker along with Yaya Diaby, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and Jose Ramirez. Head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Todd Bowles, had this to say about Braswell during training camp; according to the team website,
The experience and the leaps and bounds in which he gets better by the day, he’s been one of the more pleasant surprises here since we’ve been up here in Jacksonville. He keeps getting better and better. I love the things he’s doing and love where he’s at.
In the third round, the Bucs picked Safety Tykee Smith from Georgia. Smith was so impressive during training camp he caught the attention of starter Antoine Winfield Jr. Winfield Jr, who has been with the Bucs in his fifth season, had this statement about the young rookie during camp, according to Brianna Dix,
“He’s been doing a phenomenal job, especially picking up our defense. You know, it’s loaded. He’s doing a great job. He’s running with the ones, and getting things like that, so, he’s picking up fast.
Tyrek Funderburk was an undrafted cornerback from Appalachian State, and he had four interceptions, with two for touchdowns. Funderburk had a good training camp but could not play the last two games of the preseason due to an ankle injury. The Bucs Head Coach, Todd Bowles, was still amazed by his talents during training camp. Bowles made this statement about him on the team’s website,
Conclusion
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have other players who have moved up from the practice squad to the main roster. The Bucs have a young team, with 40 players being 26 or younger. Will a younger team hurt or help the Bucs? We will soon find out. Kickoff for the season, the Bucs will play the Washington Commanders at home.
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