Prior to this month's draft, 1SBD's Mark Hogan takes an in-depth look into each team's current projected starters and identifies strengths and lingering team needs after the first waves of free agency.
Player stats collected from Pro Football Reference. Base salary information per Over The Cap.
TAKEAWAYS
PROS
- Tampa Bay is set to get an answer on its future with Jameis Winston: New head coach Bruce Arians (also nicknamed the Quarterback Whisperer) has a wide receiver corp that balances talent, speed and strength perfectly for his scheme. If Winston doesn't look good in 2019, the team can confidently move on knowing it did its best for the former first overall pick.
- The Tampa Bay front seven should see a jump in sacks next year. New defensive coordinator Todd Bowles loves to bring pressure and has a stable base to start from with his defensive line. Recently-acquired linebacker Deone Bucannon had his best years under Bowles and should excel again in a hybrid role. (The team is expected to move on from defensive tackle Gerald McCoy however.)
CONS
- The defensive backs might not be quite strong enough for Bowles. The coach does a great job scheming for what he has, but part of that relies on guys winning one-on-one match-ups back deep. Bowles drafted *two* first round safeties (Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye) with the Jets in 2017 while he could rely on Tyrann Matheiu and Tony Jefferson in Arizona. Compared to those names, current starting safeties Jordan Whitehead and Justin Evans look average and might not be what Bowles needs.
- Arians' offense has favoured blocking tight ends in the past. Former first round pick OJ Howard started to blossom as a versatile threat last year but may no longer be used that way with the new coach.
Projected Starters
NOTE:
NAME, Draft Round.Overall Pick (TEAM, year). Starts/Games Played. Age. Cap Hit 2019
QB has an additional 'total yards, number of attempts (yards per attempt)' figure.
RB, WR and TE have an additional ‘total yards / number of touches (yards per touch)’ statistic
Age as of Sunday September 8, 2019 (Week 1)
QUARTERBACK
JAMEIS WINSTON, 1.1 (TB, 2015). 54/56. 14,628 yards/ 1,922 attempts. (7.6 y/a). 25-years-old. $20,922,000
RUNNING BACK
PEYTON BARBER, undrafted (TB, 2016). 21/47. 1,751 yards/ 438 touches (4.0). 25-years-old. $2,125,000
WIDE RECEIVER
CHRIS GODWIN, 3.84 (TB, 2017). 7/32. 1,367 yards/ 93 touches (14.7). 23-years-old. $875,041
BRESHAD PERRIMAN, 1.26 (BAL, 2015). 6/37. 920 yards/ 64 touches (14.4). 25-years-old. $4,000,000
MIKE EVANS, 1.07 (TB, 2014). 76/77. 6,103 yards/ 395 touches (15.5). 26-years-old. $20,000,000
Average: 39th overall pick. 89 starts/ 146 games played (61.0%). 8,390 yards/ 552 touches (15.2). 24.6-years-old. Total cap hit: $24.9M
TIGHT END
OJ HOWARD, 1.19 (TB, 2017). 22/24. 997 yards/ 60 touches (16.6). 24-years-old. $3,025,870
OFFENSIVE LINE
DONOVAN SMITH, 2.34 (TB, 2015). 64/64. 26-years-old. $12,500,000
ALI MARPET, 2.61 (TB, 2015). 56/56. 26-years-old. $11,025,000
RYAN JENSEN, 6.203 (BAL, 2013). 41/51. 28-years-old. $10,000,000
CALEB BENENOCH, 5.148 (TB, 2016). 22/34. 25-years-old. $2,088,296
DEMAR DOTSON, undrafted (TB, 2009). 91/115. 33-years-old. $4,803,125
Average: 140th overall pick. 274 starts/ 320 games played (85.6%). 27.6-years-old. Total cap hit: $40.4M
DEFENSIVE LINE
JASON PIERRE-PAUL, 1.15 (NYG, 2010). 101/127. 30-years-old. $14,900,000
VITA VEA, 1.12 (TB, 2018). 8/13. 24-years-old. $3,369,145
GERALD MCCOY, 1.03 (TB, 2010). 123/123. 31-years-old. $13,000,000
Average: 10th overall pick. 232 starts/ 263 games played (88.2%). 28.3-years-old. Total cap hit: $31.3M
LINEBACKERS
SHAQUIL BARRETT, undrafted (DEN, 2014). 15/61. 26-years-old. $4,000,000
KENDELL BECKWITH, 3.107 (TB, 2017). 11/16. 24-years-old. $844,572
DEONE BUCANNON, 1.27 (AZ, 2014). 56/70. 27-years-old. $2,500,000
LAVONTE DAVID, 2.58 (TB, 2012). 105/105. 29-years-old. $9,750,000
Average: 112th overall pick. 187 starts/ 252 games played (75.2%). 26.5-years-old. Total cap hit: $17.1M
CORNERBACK
VERNON HARGREAVES III, 1.11 (TB, 2016). 24/26. 24-years-old. $4,511,072
CARLTON DAVIS, 2.63 (TB, 2018). 12/13. 22-years-old. $998,435
Average: 37th overall pick. 36 starts/ 39 games played (92.3%). 23-years-old. Total cap hit: $5.5M
SAFETY
JORDAN WHITEHEAD, 4.117 (TB, 2018). 11/15. 22-years-old. $736,814
JUSTIN EVANS, 2.50 (TB, 2017). 19/24. 24-years-old. $1,417,987
Average: 84th overall pick. 30 starts/ 39 games played (76.9%). -years-old. Total cap hit: $2.2M
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