Did Buccaneers Coaches Unveil The Preferred Starter at Left Guard For 2024?

Buccaneers offensive coaches seem to like one of the team's recent free agent signings.

October 4, 2020; Santa Clara, California, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive guard Sua Opeta (78) / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Assembling a high-quality offensive line in the NFL is like a puzzle. It looks easy on the surface, but managing to find the right pieces that fit together, often with limited resources, can be a tricky endeavor. The importance of this challenge is magnified when you consider the obvious relationship between quality offensive line play and success as a football team. 

For the Buccaneers, this puzzle has proven to be especially tricky over the past couple of seasons.

There’s no question that the addition of recent first-round pick Graham Barton should go a long way toward fortifying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive line, specifically along the interior. With Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke both coming off excellent 2023 campaigns, it’s fair to assume both should look even more comfortable in their roles for 2024. Tampa Bay is lucky to have two big, strong, and reliable tackles to bookend their offensive line for the foreseeable future. 

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Last year’s second-round pick in Cody Mauch, who is entering his second season, was very solid as a rookie starting at right guard. The Bucs seem confident that — if he can continue to bulk up — he will continue to ascend into an above-average player at the position.

Which leaves just two positions left to finish the puzzle. 

Although Graham Barton played tackle at Duke, he will be asked to fill the shoes of former Pro-Bowler and Super Bowl champion Ryan Jensen and assume the role of center for the Bucs. All indications are that he is the right man for the job. Still, with the draft and free agency (for the most part) in the rearview, the Buccaneers remain without a dependable left guard, which is something they haven’t had since the moment former All-Pro, Ali Marpet, retired unexpectedly following the 2021 season.

So although the Buccaneers haven’t completely finished the puzzle that is their offensive line, it does feel like they’ve gotten to the point where they’re just one piece away. And without that final piece, the question of who will start at left guard this season remains somewhat of a mystery.

That being said, several of the Bucs’ offensive coaches spoke to the media this week, and several comments seemed to point in the same direction regarding a specific player who may have a leg up for that coveted starting left guard position. 

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When offensive line coach, Kevin Carberry, was asked about the challenge of weighing experience vs. talent when it comes to evaluating starting caliber players, his response immediately zeroed in on one of the team’s free-agent acquisitions. 

“ Sua [Opeta], 11 career starts in his time in Philly, Came from a really good offense, really good offensive line. He had a lot of good players on that line that he was competing with. I think Sua is one of those guys, even though he was a backup in the league, he’s going to be a starter around the league.” 

It wasn’t just Carberry who went out of his way to bring up Sua Opeta, though. When asked how he sees the left guard competition setting up, Bucs’ offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, offered the following response. 

“You give a bunch of guys the opportunity to compete at guard. We have, I think, done a great job this offseason with some of the additions we’ve gotten both in free agency and in the draft. Opeta has done a phenomenal job. All of those guys have competed, they’re pros. Opeta comes from a very well-trained O-line coach, and you can see it. You can see that these guys are eager to compete and they also fit in really well with the room”. 

When asked about the left guard position, Coen brought up one name, and one name only. Sua Opeta. 

For those unfamiliar, Opeta signed with the Bucs after spending his first four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Although the former Weber State Wildcat went undrafted in 2019, the 6’4”, 300-pound lineman played in 38 games for the Eagles, with 10 starts (six of which came last season) on his resume. 

The Eagles have had one of, if not the, best offensive lines in the NFL. So the fact that Opeta doesn’t have a ton of experience isn’t a knock on him by any means. If anything, the fact that he managed to stick with the team, and start that many games, speaks to his development behind the scenes. 

There’s no question that Sua Opeta has the size and power — he had 39 reps on the bench press at the combine — to be a starting guard in the NFL. Based on the comments made by two of his coaches earlier this week, I think it’s fair to assume that he may just get that opportunity with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.

You can follow Collin Haalboom on Twitter.

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