Tampa Bay Buccaneers OL Graham Barton ESPN Analyst's 'Favorite Pick' of NFL Draft

With the 26th pick in the NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took possibly the best player at that spot in offensive lineman Graham Barton.

David Harrison | May 13, 2024

Nov 11, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils offensive lineman Graham Barton / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

There aren't too many teams that look at drafting an offensive lineman in the NFL Draft as a surefire way to sell tickets, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers know better than most that protecting the quarterback creates wins, and those will sell tickets.

So selecting Graham Barton out of Duke with the 26th pick in the draft isn't likely to sell many more season ticket packages for the Buccaneers by himself, but if he proves to help quarterback Baker Mayfield build on the surprise success they experienced in 2023 there will be plenty of fans lining up to get into Raymond James Stadium.

And if Barton pans out for Tampa Bay the way ESPN analyst Eric Moody thinks he will, those wins are coming soon.

"Offensive lineman Graham Barton to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 26. As an ex-offensive lineman, it was a pleasure breaking down Barton's film," Moody said when asked about his favorite pick in the NFL Draft. "He's consistent and showcases maximum effort on every play without mental errors. Barton can play center, guard or tackle as a rookie, and I believe he'll have a superior career to some of the names drafted ahead of him."

That last part is the boldest part of the whole statement, as the Bucs had to wait until multiple 'blue-chip' offensive linemen came off the board to get Barton.

The first offensive lineman didn't come off the board at the draft until pick No. 5 (OT Joe Alt to the Los Angeles Chargers), but from there seven came off before the Bucs got on the clock for the first time. Including offensive lineman Jordan Morgan out of Arizona to the Green Bay Packers one spot ahead of the Buccaneers.

Still, Barton looks to fit the mold of an offensive lineman general manager Jason Licht is known for bringing into the organization — guys like Ali Marpet and Ryan Jensen who have both since retired, but helped create quite the trend of hard-nosed and ultra-talented offensive linemen for Tampa Bay.

If Moody is right and Barton turns out to be the best of the batch despite being the eighth off the board, Licht will have struck offensive line gold again and Mayfield is going to be the biggest benefactor of them all.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2024 offseason.

Published May 13, 2024

DAVID HARRISON

David Harrison has been in sports media since 2015 using written, audio, and video media to cover athletes, coaches, and games. In addition to covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for BucsGameday and Locked On Bucs he also covers the Washington Commanders for Commander Country and Locked On Commanders and the Washington Wizards for Inside the Wizards. David also covers the NFL as a whole as one of the Friday hosts for Locked On NFL. He is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and previously spent 20 years as an active member of the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.