The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted a total of 16 players in the 2017 NFL Draft and made two draft day trades.
Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just drafted one of my favorite players in the draft — O.J. Howard. Not only am I a little salty over that, but the fact that the Buffalo Bills will have to play him Week 7 just kills me.
I was really pulling for the Bills to jump on him at No. 10, but I am also happy with the addition of Tre’Davious White — and that first round pick next year. Not drafting O.J. Howard showed that Sean McDermott was running the Bills’ draft, not Doug Whaley. The firing of Doug Whaley confirmed that.
I think Howard will do well with Winston throwing him the ball. Getting him with the 19th overall pick was a steal and he will provide instant production. In addition to that, the Bucs added a talented safety, wide receiver, inside linebacker, defensive tackle and an excellent running back that led the FBS in all-purpose touchdowns in 2016 (53).
Let’s see those two trades that were made on draft day:
- The Bucs trade their fourth round (125) and sixth round (204) to the Jets for a third round (107).
- The Bucs trade their seventh round (237) and 2018 seventh round to the Dolphins for a seventh round (223).
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And the players the Bucs drafted:
- Round 1 (19): O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
- Round 2 (50): Justin Evans, SS, Texas A&M
- Round 3 (84): Chris Godwin, WR, Penn State
- Round 3 (107): Kendell Beckwith, ILB, LSU
- Round 5 (162): Jeremy McNichols, RB, Boise State
- Round 7 (223): Stevie Tu’ikolovatu, DT, Southern California
Out of the bunch, I say watch out for Howard and McNichols — both can turn any play into a big play. Godwin could also fit into that category, meaning the Bucs will have a strong offense when they travel to New Era Field.
Who are you most worried about seeing vs. the Bucs?
Let’s move on to Week 8 when the Raiders also make the journey out to Buffalo.