Is it Time to go All in?

With the off-season about to get into full swing in a few weeks, many Bucs fans are talking about what direction this team should take. Personally Im excited to see what route Bucs Gm Jason Licht decides to take as the last two off-seasons he has built the foundation through the draft while adding key depth and role players through free agency. The question I ask now, "is it time to go all in"? I say yes and no as I believe it is time to be more aggressive in free agency and the draft as long as it is what is best for the team. With expectations growing, along with the core players having more experience and are now ready to take that next step, it might be time to speed up the process and go for it all.

I expect Licht to follow what he did last off-season in terms of re-signing his own, adding good starters/role players via free agency and then finding core players through the draft. The big topic has been about adding more weapons on offense in which the unit had some setbacks and could be much better with a few more pieces to work with. With that being said, I would like to see the Bucs go after these positions via free agency: WR, DL, DB and perhaps OL. Then go after those positions in the draft as well including the RB and TE position which are probably the two deepest positions in this years draft.

The Bucs did this last year by adding CB Brent Grimes and DE Robert Ayers via free agency and then went on to draft CB Vernon Hargreaves and DE Noah Spence. This allowed Hargreaves and Spence to grow into their roles and eventually became big pieces of the defense in their rookie years. At the same time, the defense got instant impact from Grimes and Ayers whom both helped this defense become one of the better units in the league down the stretch of the 2016 season. Now the Bucs can do the same on offense this year by adding some impact players via free agency.

Some names I like for WR are Desean Jackson, Kenny Stills, and Pierre Garcon. Any of those 3 would be a big help then in addition add a guy like Cordarrelle Patterson to help with special teams and the team instantly becomes more dynamic. Then add some pieces to the defense by going after a Dontari Poe or even Calais Campbell to help the front four, and then go after a playmaking safety in either Eric Berry or Tony Jefferson to help solidify the secondary. If the Bucs could pull off some of these moves and then go into the draft and double down on a few of these positions there depth would be tremendously improved. So will the Bucs go all in? Is it time Bucs fans to go for more than just making the playoffs?

Will The Bucs Get a DT to go Next to McCoy?

This time last year I really thought the Bucs were going to finally put another young DT next to Gerald McCoy to give the D-line an extra boost. Last year's draft had many promising defensive tackles in which many Bucs fans thought one of them was coming to Tampa. However, it didn't work out that way for Bucs Gm Jason Licht as he decided to go in a different direction. Now fast forward to the present, the Bucs front four made strides this season but improvement is still needed. The Bucs have a good trio with Gerald McCoy, Robert Ayers, and the rising Noah Spence but could use more depth across the board.

Getting Jacquies Smith back will help but he has been injury prone during his time as a Buc, so another edge rusher would be helpful. Let's look at the interior though as we have McCoy, Clinton Mcdonald, and Akeem Spence which creates a solid rotation plus Will Gholston and Ayers rotate inside as well. However, if the Bucs can add a young force at DT who can stop the run and get after the passer would be a big plus for this defense. There are options in both free agency as well as the draft in which the Bucs could add a player who could have a impact right away and also help McCoy get more one on ones matchups.

A few names I like from free agency is Dontari Poe and Nick Fairley from the Chiefs and Saints respectively. Poe is a big force in the middle and would instantly big a upgrade to our run defense while also able to take on double teams to free others to get sacks. There will be a good market for Poe's services and the Bucs will likely be interested. Fairley is someone we were very high on last year and surprised the Bucs didn't offer him a deal. Fairley for the Saints had a great year as he racked up seven sacks and had over 40 plus tackles and was one of the best defenders for the Saints. Bucs would be smart to take one of the better players in the division and would be an instant upgrade to the Bucs defense. Adding either one of these two would be a big help and really give the d-line the depth that is needed. I think it's time Gm Jason Licht make a play at the DT position whether it is through free agency or in the draft, there will be options.