Why the Bucs got it right: Graham Barton

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started the 2024 draft with a brand-new offensive lineman.

Round one of the NFL Draft seeded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 26th overall pick. In the lead up to the draft, there were flurries of speculation regarding the potential of Tampa moving around the board before the night’s end— depsite a small run on edge rushers in the picks before them, the Bucs stood firm at 26 and made Graham Barton the newest Tampa Bay Buccaneer.

Edge rusher was believed to be a large position of need for the Bucs and one they may look to address early in this year’s draft but, with all of the top-tier edge defenders off the board Tampa declined to reach for a position of need.

Adding talent to the interior of the team’s offensive line was also very high on Bucs fans’ wishlists this offseason—

In our previous Draft Profiles, we elaborated—in depth— how an addition at the center or guard position would be a crucial move for the Buccaneers.

“Aaron Stinnie, Robert Hainsey, and Cody Mauch. Those three players were the [Bucs] three interior offensive linemen [in 2023]. The challenge for Tampa Bay is Aaron Stinnie, Robert Hainsey, and Cody Mauch used to be Ali Marpet, Ryan Jensen, and Alex Cappa. Marpet, Jensen, and Cappa were the three interior linemen Tampa Bay’s offense went to battle with for most of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.”

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images

When the Tampa Bay Bucs were victorious in Super Bowl 55, a large portion of credit went to guys like Tom Brady and Todd Bowles (deservedly so), but a forgotten hero of the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl run was the team’s offensive line— Tampa boasted one of the better units in the league, at the time.

Just three seasons have come and gone since Tampa claimed Super Bowl glory and in that short span of time all three of those interior linemen (Marpet, Jensen, and Cappa), via one avenue or another, are no longer Buccaneers. In each season following their departures, the Buccaneers have been dead last in rushing league-wide.

Our Graham Barton Draft Profile, detailed the impact Barton could have on Tampa’s rushing attack—

“[Barton] is the exact type of lineman Jason Licht loves. [He] embodies the toughness and physicality that Tampa lost with Ryan Jensen’s injury. Ian Cummings of ProFootballNetwork.com described him as a player who, “Eagerly capitalizes with physicality when defenders give up leverage.”

An added effect of dropping a player like Barton into the Bucs’ offensive line will be the increased protection for Baker Mayfield. When pass protection is a topic of conversation, attention often goes to the tackles on the outside as the key components, however, with Baker Mayfield under center, the Buccaneers have a relatively undersized quarterback. Having a passer that is smaller in stature creates an increased importance of not allowing pressure in his face. In the pocket, at just under 6’1″, Mayfield will benefit immensely from having Graham Barton in front of him next season.

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