3 quarterbacks Bucs can draft to replace Tom Brady
By John Buhler
If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to find Tom Brady’s replacement this year, they have a few interesting options in the 2022 NFL Draft.
With Tom Brady retiring, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could look to the 2022 NFL Draft to find a potential long-term replacement.
Admittedly, this is not a strong quarterback class, perhaps the weakest since the Buffalo Bills reached on E.J. Manuel out of Florida State as the long first-round pick in 2013. While every draft is different, we should expect anywhere between two to five quarterbacks to be overvalued and taken in the first round. Tampa Bay has the No. 27 overall pick in this upcoming spring’s draft.
So if the Buccaneers do not want to roll the dice with last year’s second-round pick in Kyle Trask, here is who makes the most sense for them to draft this spring.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 quarterbacks to draft to replace Tom Brady
QB. Liberty Flames. 3. player. Pick Analysis. Malik Willis. 2384. Scouting Report
Malik Willis has all the physical tools, but has not played vs. great competition
One quarterback who could be coming off the board in the top 32 this spring is Malik Willis of Liberty. The former Auburn transfer helped make this national independent program worth talking about the last few years. Though he was coached up playing for Hugh Freeze, Willis remains a very raw prospect coming out of Liberty. He has all the physical tools, but is a total project quarterback.
Had Willis stuck at Auburn and played like he did at Liberty, there is a chance he would be a sure-fire top-10 pick. However, the level of competition he went up against will be a knock against him. The good news for Willis is he has been a name to look out for as a potential draft prospect since 2020. Unfortunately, Liberty was not as good this past year as they were during the COVID year.
In short, Willis is the type of quarterback prospect a well-run organization with a proven veteran starter should look into. Had Brady not retired, this might have been a savvy pickup for them at No. 27. However, thrusting Willis into the spotlight to replace the greatest quarterback of all time seems like too big of a hill to climb. It is too risky of a draft pick for the Buccaneers to make now.
The good news with drafting Willis is the NFC South projects to be terrible in 2022, so that may help smooth out the learning curve just a bit.