A Look At The Bucs’ Asset Allocation

Protection wins championships, proper? That’s the idiom that represented typical pondering for many years within the NFL, and it’s really labored for the Bucs twice in Tremendous Bowls in 2002 and 2020.

Construct a championship protection and discover simply sufficient offense and also you had a superb probability to be a perennial playoff, if not Tremendous Bowl contender. Consider all the dynasties all through league historical past through the Tremendous Bowl period. The Packers within the Nineteen Sixties. The Metal Curtain Steelers of the 70s. The Purple Folks Eaters in Minnesota. The Bears within the 80s. The early 2000s Ravens and Bucs. All had been constructed primarily based off of protection.

Man, has the world modified. Today the pondering has turned to “discover a quarterback and construct round him” on this modern-day offense-driven NFL. Increasingly you’re seeing a deal with creating elite offense and a “ok” protection all through the NFL. Whereas Tampa Bay’s protection starred in opposition to Kansas Metropolis in Tremendous Bowl LV in 2020, it was Tom Brady who gained the MVP whereas the offense put up 31 factors.

Trying on the contributors of the final 5 Tremendous Bowls and all 10 groups ranked tenth or higher in scoring offense whereas solely six of the ten groups had been High 10 in defensive scoring. No, nowadays it’s a must to have a superb offense to maintain success. It will comply with that groups have modified how they allocate their sources to match.

Is that the case with the Jason Licht and the Bucs? It will appear sure is the reply. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com just lately tweeted about offensive vs. defensive spending, which received me pondering “How do the Bucs allocate their premium sources between offense and protection?”

Cap Spending

Utilizing Fitzgerald’s analysis technique, I seemed on the how the Bucs spent on their High 5 most costly gamers on offense and protection. The outcomes? Licht is spending on offense to the tune of an additional $19.2 million/12 months. On offense, Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Donovan Smith and Ryan Jensen mix for $90 million in common annual worth on their contracts.

In the meantime on protection, Lavonte David, Vita Vea, Carlton Davis, Shaq Barrett and Akiem Hicks add as much as slightly below $71 million per 12 months. This represents a 28% premium to the offense.

It may be argued that this can be a pure perform of league spending. The highest paying positions within the NFL presently are quarterback and large receiver. But additionally contemplate that outdoors of particular groups, the bottom 4 paying positions come from that facet of the ball. Guard, tight finish, operating again, and middle rank decrease in AAV among the many High 10 paid gamers at their respective positions than every other positions on both facet of the ball. It evens out within the mixture. To see the Bucs entrance workplace focus their obtainable {dollars} extra on offense reveals they perceive methods to maintain a winner in right this moment’s NFL.

Premium Draft Picks

The opposite important useful resource groups use to construct their roster is premium draft picks (picks within the first three rounds). Does the Bucs penchant for specializing in the offense proceed right here? Nope. On the subject of the draft, Licht and firm have been way more balanced of their allocation.

Since Licht arrived in 2014 he has used 16 picks within the first three rounds on offensive gamers, 14 picks on defensive gamers, and one choose on a particular groups participant (kicker Roberto Aguayo – always remember). And every spherical individually there’s equally even distribution. The primary spherical has three picks on the offensive facet of the ball to 5 on the defensive facet. The second spherical has the offensive facet with the sting seven to 6. And the third spherical is six to 3 favoring the offense.

these as a complete and it seems the Bucs entrance workplace understands the draft remains to be fairly the crap shoot and invests picks evenly alongside either side of the ball. However when they should spend on “positive issues” they’re extra more likely to dish out on offensive gamers than they’re defensive ones. And that technique is exhibiting itself to be one that’s paying off for them in right this moment’s offensive-driven NFL.