Lifting The Lockout Is Bad For The Buccaneers' Draft Plans

With news breaking that the lockout will end unless the Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit grants a stay, this could have far-reaching consequences for the Bucs. The coaches are allowed to communicate with and coach the young players on the roster, which should help their development. This goes for whoever is drafted as well. The Bucs should be able to continue their success with inexperienced players, if the coaches get to work with the players.

But there's also bad news for the Bucs: if free agency starts before the draft teams will be able to fill their quarterback need, which means that a first-round run on quarterbacks becomes less likely. That in turn means that it's less likely some quality pass rushers drop to the Buccaneers' pick. That's not the only downside, it also changes the Bucs' approach to free agency. Instead of going through the draft and taking the best players throughout and then filling any remaining needs in free agency, the Bucs will have to decide which needs to fill in free agency first. This leaves them less flexibility in the draft, which is bad for a team that is trying to build through the draft. We'll likely hear today whether the lockout will continue or not, but perhaps we should counter-intuitively be rooting for the lockout to continue.

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