Bucs Moving Tristan Wirfs To LT, Luke Goedeke To RT
The Bucs’ fallback option if they didn’t find a left tackle in the 2023 NFL Draft was always moving two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro Tristan Wirfs from right tackle to left tackle. That premise now becomes reality as the left tackle Tampa Bay drafted in the second round, North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch, will move inside to guard, which is a more natural position for him at the next level.
The Bucs had the chance to select Oklahoma left tackle Anton Harrison with the No. 19 overall pick, but chose a superior prospect and a higher-rated prospect on the team’s draft board – Pittsburgh defensive tackle Calijah Kancey – instead. Harrison was the last quality left tackle available in the draft and went to Jacksonville with the No. 27 overall pick. The Bucs simply had a much higher grade on Kancey and couldn’t afford to pass up on an elite defensive tackle instead of taking the fourth-best offensive tackle on the Bucs’ draft board.
“Would we have loved to [draft an offensive tackle]? Sure, we would have loved to,” Bucs vice president of player personnel John Spytek said after the draft. “But at the same time, we’re not going to force players around here. That, I think, is the worst thing to do. You end up taking a guy in [the second round] that you have a fourth-round grade on and he walks in the door and it’s like, ‘yeah, he’s a fourth-round pick.’ And you’ve missed all these other guys.”
Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, the Bucs had needs at offensive tackle, defensive tackle, edge rusher, nickelback, tight end, inside linebacker and safety, and did a very good job of addressing most of them. Getting a fast, productive defensive tackle with rare athleticism like Kancey was just too good to pass up in the first round. With just Vita Vea, Logan Hall and newcomer Greg Gaines as starting-caliber players along the defensive line, adding Kancey was a smart move – even at the expense of missing out on the last decent offensive tackle.
“I felt like we wanted a tackle, but you just can’t get everything you want in the draft,” Spytek said. “Unless you want to lose a bunch of games every year and then you can pick in the Top 5 then you can pick whoever you want. We tried to. We have a great process. We take everything into account – the character of the kid, the film, the position of value. It’s less about position of need than it is the position of value, and we try to rank it that way and we try stick to it.
“Especially early in the draft, we’re going to stick to it. Because our experience – Jason’s experience – would suggest that when you don’t stick to that you regret it ultimately. You make get lucky, and you may catch a ‘one-off’ and, yeah, it works out. Sometimes it just doesn’t go the way you want.”
Tristan Wirfs Moves To Left Tackle, Luke Goedeke Goes To Right Tackle
Tristan Wirfs has the athleticism to jump out of pool at 6-foot-5, 345 pounds. So don’t doubt that he can’t make a seamless transition to left tackle until he proves otherwise.
Wirfs started three games at left tackle in his final season at Iowa in 2019 and graded out very well. He’ll have the entire offseason with OTAs and mini-camp to prepare, along with training camp and the preseason. Wirfs will spend the next four months becoming the Bucs’ new left tackle before he has to play in the 2023 regular season opener.
The big question becomes who replaces Tristan Wirfs at right tackle? The Bucs would love to see Luke Goedeke man that position the way he did for two years at Central Michigan. Goedeke, last year’s second-round pick, was moved to left guard where he struggled in a number of ways.
Not just going from a MAC school to the NFL, or switching from tackle to guard, but also the challenge of moving from the right side to the left side of the offensive line. That required Goedeke to step and punch with his opposite foot and hand, which can be awkward for some.
“We all would have loved to add [offensive] tackles, but I don’t want to lose enough games every year to be up there [in the Top 10] where those tackles typically go,” Spytek said. “We’ve got guys we feel good with, and guys we know can compete. [Matt] Feiler has been out there [at right tackle] before. Luke Goedeke did a good job there last year. Tristan is obviously one of the best there is. Brandon Walton has played out there and played in a pinch last year in Week 2 against the Saints and some good players.”
Goedeke will receive competition from Feiler, a free agent addition, who has some starting experience playing right tackle, and from Walton, who saw some action at left tackle last year. Feiler was signed to be a candidate to challenge for the left guard spot, which he played the last two years with the Chargers. But he’ll also get a shot to compete with Goedeke at right tackle along with Walton.
“We saw Luke play right tackle in an NFL game,” Spytek said. “We saw Luke play right tackle in Baton Rouge against some really good edge rushers in college [versus LSU]. Am I betting my house that he’s going to be great at it? I wouldn’t bet my house on anything probably. But I know he’ll go out and compete and he’s done it at a great level. He’s going to give it everything he’s got.
“We’ve got Feiler, and like I said, we’ve got Walton. We’ve got options. And we have one of the best there is, too [in Wirfs], which most of the teams can’t say.”
The Bucs plan to move Mauch inside to guard where he’ll compete with Feiler, Nick Leverett, Robert Hainsey and Aaron Stinnie for one of the vacant guard spots. Should Goedeke falter at right tackle during camp, the Bucs could move him back inside and give him a shot at right guard instead.
