A better rule is to wait and take the totality of how that

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They say you’re supposed to wait three full years before you can really judge a player , or a draft class. or players performed on their rookie deal(s). But sometimes there are exceptions, such as the moves a team makes, which can tell us how they feel about a player. There’s no time constraint on that. Such is the case of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2016 Draft class. The Bucs traded down from nine to eleven to select cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III in the first round, then took edge rusher Noah Spence in the second round at 39th overall. Then, infamously, the Bucs used the fourth-round pick they got from trading down in the first round, packaged it with their third-round pick, and moved into the second round to take a kicker, Roberto Aguayo. They followed that by taking cornerback Ryan Smith in the fourth, guard Caleb Benenoch in the fifth, and linebacker Devante Bond and fullback Dan Vitale in the sixth. Just two weeks into this class’ third season there’s enough information to believe this class is a near-total disaster. You can reasonably expect that in general a team will do what’s best for its future. That’s what makes Sunday’s inactive report before the Week 2 game against the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles so disappointing:Setting aside the fact there are five former draft picks on it, the name that really stands out right now is Spence. Spence was a starter last season on what was perhaps the worst defensive line in the NFL, and that was with bona fide All-Pro Gerald McCoy. So as Tampa Bay remade their defensive line around McCoy this off-season, Spence was relegated to a backup. He was also coming off shoulder injuries. The idea was that he could get healthy and the Bucs could work him back slowly. But in the preseason he played with backups that normally get cut, and he logged just four snaps last week in the Bucs’ Week 1 win over the New Orleans Saints. Now he’s inactive. Hargreaves is still technically a starter at nickel; he was recently placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury he suffered vs the Saints. But he’s not what Tampa Bay drafted him to be, which was the heir-apparent to Brent Grimes. An athletically limited but so soundly technical, a solid player you could plug and play at cornerback for the next ten years. However, his physical limitations showed up too often, and in the worst ways, as he was regularly torched when he was asked to play outside cornerback against team’s No. 1 and No. 2 receivers, and has been relegated to nickel corner. Now that he’s done, possibly for the season, he will enter the last year of his rookie deal next season coming off an injury. Spence showed tremendous promise and flashed, when healthy; a rare and highly coveted talent who was athletic enough to ‘bend the edge’, but issues with alleged drug abuse in college dropped him in the draft. He was projected as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 system but the Bucs liked him as a defensive end in a three-point stance. The problem is he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He recorded 5.5 sacks as a rookie, but a shoulder injury derailed his 2017 season, which was supposed to be his breakout year. He played in just six games, and logged one sack. Fans and the team patiently but eagerly awaited this season , which was again supposed to be a breakout year. But instead of fireworks Spence has landed with a soft and disappointing thud, and if this isn’t related to another injury then his release looks all but certain. He looked far from the player he was his rookie year this preseason, and his considerable promise looks like it will go unfulfilled (at least with the Bucs).The Aguayo pick turned the Bucs into the league-laughingstock, and was widely mocked as the worst in NFL history (it wasn’t). But it was certainly a horrible pick the second it was made, regardless of how it turned out. And it turned out a disaster. Aguayo’s unconventional kicking mechanics proved too difficult to sustain with any consistency, and the pressure to live up to his high draft pick compounded his issues. He looked frustrated and broken both physically and mentally, and was cut in just his second training camp with the team. The Bucs have taken their time with Ryan Smith, developing him first at safety and then at cornerback. He got starting opportunities this preseason at outside cornerback due to injuries and depth issues, but the former fourth-rounder looked woefully overmatched, and was repeatedly picked on and burned. He didn’t look like he even belonged on the roster, much less as a starter. But depth and injury issues have allowed him to stay on. Time is running out for him to put it all together. The Bucs have also been patient with Caleb Benenoch, the raw offensive line talent out of UCLA. Benenoch saw limited snaps last season as the Bucs tested him out, and he clearly wasn’t ready. This season, with the release of the injured J.R. Sweezy, Benenoch has gotten his chance. Sort of. He’s been okay, but the Bucs for some reason still have him splitting snaps at right guard with journeyman Evan Smith. Is Benenoch a starter, or isn’t he? Why does the team not trust him to start full time? As for the Bucs’ sixth-round selections in Bond and Vitale, Vitale was cut quickly, and Bond has barely played. He went on injured reserve his rookie year, and in 2017 he played mostly special teams, appearing in fourteen games but logging just twelve tackles. The 2016 draft followed the 2015 one, a cornerstone for this Bucs’ team. They took franchise quarterback Jameis Winston, left tackle Donovan Smith, and guard Ali Marpet all in the first two rounds, and found a gem in linebacker Kwon Alexander in the fourth. It can’t be understated how badly the Bucs needed to hit on the 2016 class in order to solidify a core of players they could build around for the future. Unfortunately, that looks like it hasn’t happened. While 2015 was about the offensive core, 2016 was supposed to be that for the defense. But they didn’t get the No. 1 cornerback they were looking for, or the No. 1 edge rusher capable of double-digit sacks they needed , or the Pro Bowl-caliber reliable kicker for close games they wanted. Now, two years and going on three seasons later, the Bucs are still looking for those players. This is certain to be Grimes’ last season, which will leave Tampa Bay short of two starting-quality outside cornerbacks. They had to trade for defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, giving up two potential players with 2018’s third and fourth round picks to do so, and signing a litany of players in free agency. There has been a revolving door at kicker, and the Bucs settled with a lower-tier player in Chandler Catanzaro. The 2016 draft class is a disaster. In the world of NFL mock draft’s, seven-round versions are the ultimate glimpse into the potential future of the league’s 32 franchises.Luke Easterling of The Draft Wire recently published a full slate of selections, and since he took the time to construct it, we’ll take time to break it down.1st-Round: DL, Ed Oliver - Houston CougarsPhoto by Tim Warner/Getty ImagesThe rumblings about Gerald McCoy’s departure from Tampa Bay are getting louder and more direct. Following a series of sub-tweets and cryptic Instagram posts by McCoy, there are those pointing at sources inside the franchise indicating a split is imminent.It would be a little unorthodox to see a franchise spend their first-round draft pick on interior defensive linemen twice in consecutive years, but the potential for Oliver to be a disruptive presence up front helps to support the hype.I’m still not a fan of taking Oliver with a Top-5 selection, but a departure by McCoy certainly helps this idea gain traction if it happens.Notable Players Still Available After Pick: OT, Jonah Williams (Alabama); EDGE, Clelin Ferrell (Clemson); CB, Byron Murphy (Washington)2nd-Round: CB, Amani Oruwariye - Penn State Nittany LionsPhoto by Justin K. Aller/Getty ImagesAmani Oruwariye is widely considered the third-best cornerback in this year’s class behind Washington’s Byron Murphy and LSU’s Greedy Williams. His attendance at the Senior Bowl gave him a shot at sticking his nose into the Top-2 conversation, but alas, it didn’t happen.He struggled to stand-out against expectations and was limited in the game due to an injury. His knee shouldn’t keep him from the combine or pro day festivities, but missing out on his chance to shine under pro tutelage had to be frustrating.Still, it didn’t hurt his stock. It just didn’t help. Cornerback is an area of need for the Buccaneers, and Oruwariye its what fans have wanted and what we expect new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to target in his perimeter defenders.The Penn State standout is 6’1 with solid size and should take well to an aggressive defensive scheme.Notable Players Still Available After Pick: LB, Mack Wilson (Alabama); DL, Charles Omenihu (Texas); OL, Chris Lindstrom (Boston College)3rd-Round: OT, Andre Dillard - Washington State CougarsPhoto by Loren Orr/Getty ImagesMany Bucs fans think the team should jump on an offensive tackle early on in the NFL Draft, but here in Easterling’s mock Jason Licht waits until the third-round to bolster the unit.After adding Alex Cappa to the interior of the offensive line in the third-round of the 2018 draft , adding a left tackle this year fits. There are a few questions on the line though, so the new coaching staff in Tampa Bay is going to have to figure out a way to make the best of the pieces they have, and one or two potential rookies being added to the mix.Notable Players Still Available After Pick: CB, Isaiah Johnson (Houston); S, Amani Hooker (Iowa); CB, Rock Ya-Sin (Temple)4th-Round: OL, Beau Benzschawel - Wisconsin BadgersPhoto by Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesPerhaps drafting back-to-back linemen will make the fans happy who were previously upset about the team passing on the group in the first two rounds. Perhaps not.Benzschawel plays a position of need as the team obviously needs help at the guard position opposite of Ali Marpet.However, nobody should expect a fourth-round selection to step in as a day one starter. Stranger things have happened, but I don’t see this Wisconsin Badger being the exception to the rule.Caleb Benenoch and Alex Cappa won’t be too threatened here, so we’ll have to see what happens in free-agency.Notable Players Still Available After Pick: TE, Foster Moreau (LSU); WR, Andy Isabella (UMass); QB, Tyree Jackson (Buffalo)5th-Round: RB, Miles Sanders - Penn State Nittany LionsPhoto by Scott Taetsch/Getty ImagesDidn’t get as much work due to the presence of Saquon Barkley, but has talent of his own to add to an NFL roster.Sanders was a five-star recruit when he left for college, and if there’s a coaching staff that could help him get the most out of his natural ability it’s Bruce Arians’ collection in Tampa Bay.With Ronald Jones awaiting his chance to make his sophomore season much better than his first, Sanders will certainly look to take advantage of a wide-open running back race with the Bucs.Notable Players Still Available After Pick: WR, Parris Campbell (Ohio State); RB, Bryce Love (Stanford); WR, Penny Hart (Georgia State)7th-Round: LB, Darrius Harris - Middle Tennessee State Blue RaidersChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsHarris (not pictured) represents a draft pick spent on a position group with some debate about the need - or lack thereof - for the Buccaneers.Lavonte David tops the list of Bucs linebackers with Kwon Alexander a solid co-captain of the group and Kendell Beckwith pending his return from a season-costing ankle injury suffered in the 2018 off-season.With Beckwith already out, and Alexander suffering a torn ACL mid-season, the depth of the linebacker group was tested throughout the season.Adding a young prospect to develop who can also contribute immediately to special teams if needed, is a smart move.Waiting until the seventh-round or not to do so is all going to depend on whether or not the team can secure Alexander’s services for 2019 and beyond.Notable Players Still Available After Pick: OL, Nick Harris (Washington); QB, Trace McSorley (Penn State); WR, Terry Godwin (Georgia)

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