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PFF Ranks Buccaneers’ 2023 Draft Class: “A Lot of Volume and Potential”
Could Tampa Bay's 2023 draft class be the foundation for the team going forward?
The 2023 NFL season is now fully in the past as we are in the heart of the 2024 NFL offseason. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their 2023 season can be best described as a pleasant surprise after going 9-8 in the regular season, making the playoffs, and winning the NFC Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles before getting eliminated by the Detroit Lions.
The Bucs weren’t supposed to make the playoffs, let alone get out of the first quarter of the 2024 NFL Draft, but they proved everyone wrong. There were holes to fill and a ton of unknowns going into last season, but with the addition of some solid players in last year’s draft, they were able to beat those odds.
In a recent piece by Pro Football Focus, the PFF team ranked all 32 NFL team’s 2023 draft class, and they slotted Tampa Bay into their “Tier 4: A Lot of Volume and Potential - It Can Go Either Direction Next Year” and 13th overall.
PFF’s notable Buccaneers’ draft selections from 2023 included DL Calijah Kancey, WR Trey Palmer, DL Yaya Diaby, G Cody Mauch, and CB Christian Izien — three of whom were drafted in the first three rounds of the draft, a late sixth-rounder, and an undrafted free agent. Each notable player mentioned received higher than a 50.0 overall PFF grade in their respective categories last season and will look to improve off their first season in the NFL.
In total, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2023 rookie class compiled 4,708 snaps over the course of the season. Outside of the notable rookies that PFF mentioned, the likes of SirVocea Dennis, Payne Durham, Josh Hayes all saw playing time of some sort in 2023 and will look to carve out larger roles in 2024 as they get another season of development in the NFL under their belts.
Seeing a well-balanced draft like the Buccaneers had in 2023 should bring joy to the Bucs’ fanbase even though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise because of the work that GM Jason Licht puts into bettering his roster every single season. If the Bucs’ 2024 draft class can come close to what they were able to achieve out of the 2023 class then the future will remain bright in Raymond James Stadium.
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