NFL Today: Tampa Bay Lands a Difference Maker

This week, we found out that Ty Simpson had secret meetings with Rams coach Sean McVay prior to the draft; as expected, Philly picked up the fifth year options for Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith; and the Bills say they spurned offers for WR Keon Coleman as they plan to keep him. Other Fantasy football news items we’re tracking include…

Buccaneers Will Count on Bain for More Sack Attack

In November, we noted how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept winning despite some glaring issues they faced. Well, we were right to be concerned as Tampa Bay only managed two wins over its last nine games, a slump which put an end to its five-year streak of playoff appearances.

The good news is that only a couple of teams graded out better than the Buccaneers when it came to nailing the first round. Without having to trade up, Tampa Bay had a possible top 10 player land in its lap in the form of Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr., and it will be interesting to see how many teams curse themselves for passing on a dude that can do this…

Sure, there’s been plenty of talk about his arm length being an issue, but we’re talking about a player who led the entire FBS in pressures and is clearly excited to start sacking QBs – especially Cam Ward and Lamar Jackson.

Besides, studies suggest arm length is not correlated to long-term value, so maybe in this instance, size doesn’t matter.

Regardless, Bain has a nasty edge to his game and considering the Bucs are coming off their lowest sack total since 2017, he’s going to be a very welcome addition to this team’s defense. And whatever he lacks in arm size, he makes up for with flexible hips and attacking hands to get into rush mode quicker.

The Rams Reach

Conversely, one team that was not lauded for its first round tactics was the Los Angeles Rams, who seemingly reached for QB Ty Simpson at pick No. 13. We’re not sure what the odds were that the Alabama product would go this high considering most believed he was not even a first round talent.

Consider the source, but Simpson’s dad says there were teams picking before 13 and after that were considering drafting his boy.

With Matthew Stafford still on the payroll, this wasn’t exactly a position of need for L.A., but what the hell… it now has its QB of the future, even if it was a questionable use of resources.

We speculated whether Pittsburgh might reach for Simpson at No. 21 given the uncertainty surrounding Aaron Rodgers, but concluded that it would be better off upgrading its offensive line. So if picking Simpson at 21 was considered a reach, you can draw your own conclusions about how wise it was to pick him at 13.

Obviously, history will be the ultimate test of how smart this selection was, but for what it’s worth, there are those who believe this could turn out to be similar to when Green Bay took Jordan Love and let him back up Rodgers for three years before he took over the gig.

In their defense, the Rams are coming off a 12-win season and have made the playoffs in three straight seasons, so perhaps in an effort to stretch out this period, they opted to install a succession plan. But this is rare footage… it’s just the fourth time a team with 12 or more wins picked a QB in the top 15.

Small wonder that many maintain they would have been better off picking up a wide receiver. However this plays out, you know this draft decision is going to closely scrutinized over the next couple of years.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1992. Back in 1979, the compilation effort The Essential Jimi Hendrix Volume Two was released, which included his brilliant cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.”