PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The most glaring sign that the Bucs are prepared for the NFL draft manifested itself beneath cloudless skies late Monday morning at the edge of Innisbrook’s esteemed Copperhead Course.
Among those loading their bags onto carts for the Arians Family Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic were new head coach Todd Bowles, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, general manager Jason Licht, vice president of player personnel John Spytek and vice president of football administration Mike Greenberg.
As all awaited the event’s shotgun start, only 80 or so hours remained before the draft’s commencement in Las Vegas. Licht joked about whether to answer his phone if it buzzed while he was on the course. Bowles, a left-hander, bemoaned his lack of practice.
“I hit a lot of balls sideways,” he said. “But at some point I’ll become Aaron Judge and hit a home ru
All signs that, as far as draft preparation goes, the hay’s in the barn.
“That’s been done,” said event host Bruce Arians, new senior advisor to Licht. “The board’s set, and it’s just now seeing how (the players) fall off of it.”
Until the Bucs’ first-round pick (No. 27 overall) is announced some time after 11 p.m. Thursday, speculation will keep percolating over which position the team will address, or whether it trades out of its slot. Naturally, no one was tipping their hand Monday, though a consensus seemingly had formed that this draft, while not terribly top-heavy, may be deeper than recent ones.
“It’s interesting because you go through all the scenarios and you have all the pre-draft drafts in your mind, and you meet about everything,” Bowles said.
“It’s just a matter of how many guys that are there that you want to take at that spot, that’s when it becomes nerve-wracking. ... There’s usually only one or two left that you can take that late in the draft that you like, so it shouldn’t be as nerve-wracking.”
In accordance with league tradition, commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the first-round picks Thursday. Local benefactor Thaddeus Bullard, known globally as WWE superstar Titus O’Neil, will announce the Bucs’ second-round pick Friday evening — his 45th birthday.
As it stands, the Bucs have six total selections, including an additional seventh-round compensatory pick (No. 261 overall). They recently traded their fifth-rounder for veteran Patriots guard Shaq Mason, and gave up this year’s sixth-round pick to acquire defensive tackle Steve McLendon from the Jets during the 2020 season.
“I probably worked harder on the draft this year than I ever have, until Tom (Brady) came back, then it made it real easy,” Arians said Sunday evening during his pre-golf gala at Innisbrook.
“I looked at a bunch of different positions, so Jason and I always have great collaboration about how we stack that board and how the team fits, where they’re going to fit. So yeah, this past week we got a lot of that done, and now it’s just sit back and see how they fall.”
