Why offensive tackle is the Bucs’ biggest need entering the NFL draft
TAMPA ― If the Bucs’ Tristan Wirfs remains healthy and plays another five years or so at his current level, he could be fitted for a gold jacket at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The only question is whether he will be remembered as a right or left tackle.
Wirfs, who is capable of playing either position, may be asked to move to protect the quarterback’s blind side this season, following the release of left tackle Donovan Smith.
Wirfs played three games at left tackle in 2019 at Iowa, but Bucs general manager Jason Licht has been non-committal about a potential move.
“That remains to be seen,” Licht said at the NFL scouting combine in March. “We haven’t seen it yet in the NFL. I think he has all of the traits to do it if that were the case to do it, but we haven’t had any spring practices, OTAs or anything like that yet.”
However, the fact that the Bucs have a versatile Pro Bowl talent such as Wirfs could make their decision at No. 19 in the NFL draft much easier.
Who’s available in the draft?
This much is certain: the number one need for the Bucs is an offensive tackle. Fortunately, there are at least four expected to go in the first round.
The Bucs currently own the No. 19 overall pick, but Licht isn’t averse to moving up for the right player.
In fact, Wirfs was the fourth offensive tackle taken in the 2020 draft. The Bucs dealt a fourth-round pick to the 49ers to move up one spot and select Wirfs 13th overall.
“We were trying to move up before that, but we were striking out,” Licht said Thursday during his pre-draft news conference. “It worked out, but there was a good hour, an hour and a half of a lot of phone calls and a lot of, ‘What do you mean you’re not going to take (the deal)?” It takes two teams to want to trade.”
In a perfect world, the Bucs will have the opportunity to select a left tackle and leave Wirfs on the right side, where he has been a two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro.
Ohio State’s Paris Johnson is the consensus best tackle in the draft by virtue of his size (6-foot-6, 313 pounds), athleticism and length (36-inch arms).
But Johnson likely will be gone within the first seven selections. The list of likely first-round tackles also includes Georgia left tackle Broderick Jones and Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, who some project as a guard at the next level.
The lineman most linked to the Bucs in various mock drafts is Tennessee’s Darnell Wright.
Could Wright be the right pick?
The 6-foot-5, 333-pound Wright is a massive man who started 13 games last season for the Vols at right tackle while allowing zero sacks. He then produced solid workouts at the Senior Bowl and NFL combine.
However, Wright started at left tackle his junior year and allowed only three sacks. His versatility will only improve his draft stock.
“It ended up benefitting me,” Wright said of the move to right tackle during his media session at the NFL scouting combine. “When I think of myself, I think of a left tackle. We just had some things we needed to help with the team, blah, blah, blah, and I had to play right. It worked out.”
Playing and dominating in the Southeastern Conference is a pretty good proving ground for any player, much less an offensive lineman. Wright also is a student of the game, and his preparation enabled him to neutralize elite pass rushers such as All-American Will Anderson of Alabama or LSU’s BJ Ojulari.
“When you’re studying for a guy like Will Anderson, I break down guys into categories,” Wright said. “You have speed. You have power. You have finesse. Rarely do you have somebody who’s going to hit every one of those categories, so you give them maybe 2 out of 3. A guy like Will Anderson, you’ll give him speed and power. A guy like BJ Ojulari, you’ll give him speed and finesse.
“Going against BJ, in practice — you’d think it wasn’t a good thing to do — but I would overset. We don’t have a BJ Ojulari on scout team. But I’d overset every rep on scout team just because I know that BJ Ojulari makes all of his money on the edge. ... You’d think I’m out of position, but it’s kind of like I’m just baiting him. Then you have a guy like Will Anderson, and it’s a whole (different) process.”
If the Bucs go another direction with their first pick, they will be looking for an in-house solution at tackle.
Luke Goedeke, who struggled at left guard, could move to right tackle, the position he played at Central Michigan and where performed well at in the final regular-season game at Atlanta. That would leave center Robert Hainsey to compete at left guard. Ryan Jensen should be back at center, having recovered well enough from three torn knee ligaments to start the wild-card game against Dallas. Nick Leverett would get a good look at the other guard spot, with Wirfs moving to left tackle.
But Wright makes a whole lot of sense for the Bucs if they try to address their biggest need in the draft.
USF head coach Alex Golesh, who was the Vols’ offensive coordinator during much of Wright’s career, was stunned by his growth and maturity during his time at Tennessee.
“ “A young man that was really slow to trust when we got there; I think he had been through a lot in his life,” Golesh said. “This ending to his story, in terms of this next chapter, is going to be fascinating. He loves football, he loves people. I think if he gets into an organization where somebody genuinely cares about him, I think he could be as good as anybody that’s ever played.
“So athletic, powerful, strong, smart — like, dude dude. He’s played left tackle, right tackle, he can play inside. High-end intelligent. He’s still growing as a player in terms of from a technique standpoint. But he’s so athletic that sometimes he made bad technique look good, and he’s just unique. But a really special dude (that) I think would be awesome to have here in Tampa.”
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