The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made two calculated gambles when putting together their starting offensive line in 2023. First, Tristan Wirfs moved from right tackle, where he had been a first Associated Press All-Pro, to the left side to replace the departed Donovan Smith. Given how obviously talented Wirfs is, that was a relatively mild gamble, and it paid off in a big way when he made the Pro Bowl at his new spot.
Second, the Buccaneers inserted second-year player Luke Goedeke at the vacated right tackle spot, where he had played exactly one game as a rookie following an early-season attempt to slot him in at left guard. Goedeke did play right tackle in college, but the competition at Eastern Michigan wasn’t on the same level as the NFL. This is a bit more of a pronounced gamble, but it too paid off as Goedeke fared quite well at the new position and gave the Bucs what appears to be a long-term solution at that important spot.
The Bucs will likely have two more changes on the five-man front this year, with rookie first-rounder the likely starting center and left guard possibly going to a newcomer like Ben Bredeson or Sua Opeta. The team is still in the early days of training camp, but Goedeke saw enough through the offseason to believe the O-Line is going to be a major strength for the Buccaneers in 2024.
“This offense is only going to continue to grow,” he said. “Just the different eye candy we put on, the different schemes we have, I think it will really complement our game really, really well. The whole offensive line up front, I think we’re looking really strong this year, just building that continuity across the line, communication, understanding where the back’s trying to hit it. Just stuff like that. At the end of the day, it’s going to take a little time, but I’ve seen it already, during OTAs, what it can be, the gashes we’ve had already.”
By ‘gashes,’ Goedeke means large running lanes created for the team’s ballcarriers, and if the Buccaneers truly can see a significant improvement in the ground game the offense can’t help but be much better. Baker Mayfield threw for over 4,000 yards and Tampa Bay ranked 17th in passing offense last year, but the run game was last in those rankings for the seventh year in a row. New Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen has made it abundantly clear that producing a better rushing attack is the number one priority on offense this seaon.
“It’s a completely new [and] different offense,”…
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