2015 NFL Draft grades: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

How did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2015 draft stack up and grade out after seven rounds?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers should have had a B or better draft picking first in the first-round. They did some moving around the draft board, and ended up with a pretty solid draft. It was better than a “B” grade, though only slightly.

Here are the picks, with a grade for each pick and then an overall grade below.

Round	Pick	Overall	Player	School	Position	Grade
1	1	1	Winston, J.	Florida State	QB	A+
2	2	34	Smith, Donovan	Oklahoma	OT	C+
2	29	61	Marpet, Ali	Hobart	OG	A
4	25	124	Alexander, Kwon	LSU	LB	B
5	26	162	Bell, Kenny	Nebraska	WR	A+
6	8	184	Clay, Kaelin	Utah	WR/KR	B
7	14	231	Iosefa, Joey	Hawaii	RB	B-

If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers only got quarterback Jameis Winston in this draft, their grade would still be fairly high and respectable. But they did even better.

Winston was the obvious choice at No. 1 and promises to become the first true franchise quarterback the Bucs have ever had.

But they Jason Licht and Lovie Smith didn’t stop at just acquiring their quarterback. They went and got him some significant help, especially along the offensive line where Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet will likely come in and start from day one.

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Meanwhile Kwon Alexander was probably a bit of a reach in the fourth-round since he will not start in year one for the Bucs, but should be a solid special teams contributor. The player to get really excited about in the back half of this draft is Nebraska wide receiver Kenny Bell.

Bell is a SPARQ-approved wide receiver, and the leading receiver in Nebraska’s storied school history (granted they’ve never been much of a passing school, but still). He figures to come in to compete immediately for playing time and the third receiver spot, which will make him a friend of Jameis Winston.

Bell has great hands and is just a really good receiver. They then doubled up on a receiver, though Utah’s Kaelin Clay was more known for his return ability. That is likely the role he’ll play in Tampa.

Lovie Smith loves his returners. He ought to love Clay, one of the better returners in this draft.

Finally, the Bucs nabbed Hawaii running back Joey Iosefa, an underrated running back who can do a little bit of everything. He’ll bring competition to the running back spot and may battle Chris Rainey for the second running back spot in 2015.

Overall Grade: B+

The grade is pretty high because the Bucs got a quarterback who should become a franchise quarterback, something they’ve never had as a franchise.

The fact they gave him a good amount of help only sweetens the deal for Tampa.

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