SR’s Fab 5: Bucs Must Start Graham Barton At Center Right Now

Welcome to SR’s Fab 5 – my weekly insider column on the Bucs that features five things that are on my mind. SR’s Fab 5 is now a quicker read, but still packs a punch. Enjoy!

Due to the July 4th holiday next Thursday, there won’t be another SR’s Fab 5 column until Friday, July 12. Enjoy the fireworks and Happy Independence Day!

FAB 1. Bucs Must Start Graham Barton At Center Right Now

You can’t blame rookie center Graham Barton for wanting to win the job through competition rather than being handed the starting duty.

But the best thing the Bucs can do is to name Barton the starting center on the first day of training camp and end any perceived camp competition between he and veteran Robert Hainsey.

After all, the Bucs spent their first-round pick on a player to replace Hainsey, who has been a two-year starter, filling in for the injured – and now retired – Ryan Jensen. So why keep up the charade?

Hainsey wasn’t deemed to be big enough, and the Bucs wanted to get bigger at the tip of the spear along the offensive line. So go ahead and make that happen, Todd Bowles and Liam Coen.

Barton is listed at 6-foot-5, 314 pounds whereas Hainsey is 6-foot-4, 306 pounds on the official Bucs roster. The Duke product is not only stronger and able to anchor better in pass protection and get more push in the run game, he’s also an elite athlete. Remember, Barton scored a perfect 10 as a center prospect on Kent Lee Platte’s RAS (Relative Athletic Score) coming out of the draft.

It’s in the team’s best interest to immediately move forward with an “all-in” mentality that Barton will be the one snapping the ball to Baker Mayfield – even if it’s not what the humble, hard-working rookie wants to hear.

“I still have to earn it,” Barton said. “It’s not going to be like that at all – at least in my mind you’ve got to earn it every day. And you have to show that you belong. Obviously, that’s what I want to do. I’m here to contribute just like everyone else – embracing my role and showing up every day and earning it each and every day. Not sitting there and saying, ‘I’ve got it.’”

I’m a big believer in competition, but if there is a superior talent on the roster like Barton, and he happens to be a rookie, the only thing holding him back is a lack of experience. Actually playing is the greatest way to gain experience because there is only so much that can be learned in the film room and on the sidelines taking mental reps.

So give Barton as many snaps as possible at center in camp working with Mayfield rather than splitting starts with Hainsey. Snapping the ball to Kyle Trask for half of camp is not going to further Barton’s on-field chemistry with Mayfield and adequately prepare him for the season.

“Building trust is the biggest thing,” Barton said. “I want Baker and I want the offensive line to be able to trust me at center. Like when I’m in the huddle, just trying to be assertive and knowing the offense. So when we get up to the line of scrimmage and there is a confusing look that I’m the one who knows the answers. Just consistently being that person as a center, it makes you the center teams looks for – a guy that knows the offense inside and out and can get us out of a jam. That’s the biggest way I’m trying to build some trust, ‘Graham is here to work and we can trust him on the field.’”

Barton has the right idea for sure. But the only way to truly achieve that is to end any charade and tell Hainsey that he’s going to be the backup this year. Because Hainsey is in a contract year, why not throw him into the mix to start at left guard with Ben Bredeson and Sua Opeta? See if he can handle the switch to guard. Hainsey should be plenty motivated with free agency looming in 2025.

Tampa Bay was wise to set its offensive line prior to training camp last year. The team inserted rookie Cody Mauch, the second-round pick, into the starting lineup at right guard immediately during the OTAs and it greatly benefited not only him, but right tackle Luke Goedeke. The chemistry between Mauch and Goedeke grew from training camp and became quite strong by the end of the season.

We already know that the Bucs will have an open competition at left guard. So why complicate things and have a competition between Barton and Hainsey at center, too? Solidifying four out of the five starting spots across the line sooner rather than later makes more sense than just three.

FAB 2. Graham Barton, Baker Mayfield Must Be On The Same Page

Another reason why Graham Barton needs as many snaps as he can get with Baker Mayfield is because Mayfield will have a much greater freedom to call audibles at the line of scrimmage this year. So it’s even more imperative that Barton and Mayfield get on the same page as early as possible.

“That’s another part of my role that we’ve talked about – knowing when the play change is going to come,” Barton said. “I have to know in my head, ‘Hey, we’re calling this … but if we get this – we’re going to change the play.

“So for me to know in my head, ‘Hey, Baker is about to change the play, I already have what I’m about to say ready in my head. As soon as I hear it, I can get everything adjusted and we can snap the football and not give the defense time to maybe get out of something. That’s a really important part of my job, definitely something I’m starting to learn and will continue to learn.”

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles know that his top draft pick has a lot of weight on his shoulders during his rookie season. But he’s also encouraged by the high football I.Q. of the Duke product.

“It’s a heavy load, especially after playing tackle for three years and then going against a defense that does a lot of things,” Bowles said. “This will be a good baptism for him, as far as getting ready for the season. I think he’s learned a lot. I think he’s eager to get in pads and really show what he can do physically. He’s a smart guy.”

Robert Hainsey, the Bucs’ starting center over the last two years, snapped the ball to Mayfield for all 19 games last year, including both playoff contests. If called upon to start due to a Barton injury or ineffectiveness, Hainsey has three years of NFL experience under his belt heading into camp this year to lean on.

Hainsey is a smart center who can quickly re-establish his chemistry if necessary. But right now, Barton and Mayfield need the reps together to gel and read the defense’s alignment the same way.

Remember that Barton is also making the transition from left tackle at Duke to center. He last played center for five games as a freshman in 2020. So Barton and Mayfield – and the Bucs offensive line as a whole – will only benefit from getting the rookie snapper as many snaps as he can get this August so when Tampa Bay’s QB wants to change the play, the rookie center will be on the same page and make the appropriate, corresponding line call.

FAB 3. Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey Will Get Graham Barton Ready To Roll

Whether he is named the starter or not early in training camp, Graham Barton will have his hands full come July 24. And that’s a good thing.

Barton will get some amazing looks in practice from Tampa Bay’s two distinctly different – yet similarly talented – defensive tackles. Both 347-pound Vita Vea and 286-pound Calijah Kancey will present a pair of separate challenges for the rookie center.

“It’s great they’re on our team,” Barton said. “I’m glad I get to go against them all of training camp and then I don’t have to see them in the season, you know? (laughs) It’s great to have guys with that much talent and ability and experience too – with Vita.

“To be able to go against them all training camp, and Calijah has been here the whole time and Vita was here this week. Just getting a taste of what that is going to be like and the talent that they have – that will be great in training camp to sort of get used to. Those are going to be two of the best that I’ll see all year. I think getting that experience now is going to be really helpful down the road.”

Bucs outside linebacker Markees Watts, who was a recent guest on the Pewter Report Podcast, said that Barton’s learning curve is about to be accelerated due to facing the contrasting styles that Vea and Kancey will present.

“He’s going to learn a lot of lessons really fast,” Watts said. “His growth curve is going to go absolutely bend. He’s in such a hard position because he’s got a mixture of everything. Not only is he keeping eyes on one person, he has to keep an eye on Vita Vea, who just might club you and dislocate your shoulder he’s so powerful. And you have someone like Calijah who is going to clean your hands right up and run past you.

“He’s absolutely going to have his hands full. But with pressure comes a lot of knowledge and a lot of growth. He’s going to grow. I believe in him. He’s going to be really good.”

From rookie mini-camp to the OTAs to the team’s mandatory mini-camp, Barton has learned a lot already. Now he’s spending his time reflecting on those lessons and preparing for training camp.

“I don’t want to stand up here and say, ‘I got it,’ because there’s a long way to go,” Barton said at the end of mini-camp. “We’ve only been here a couple of weeks. But, I definitely think the biggest thing is it’s okay to make mistakes, but don’t beat yourself up over making a mistake – just correct it, don’t let it happen in a game. When you make it twice, that’s when you get mad at yourself.

“I just think keeping my head above water and taking in as much as I can, just trying to listen to everyone. Understanding my position as a rookie, I just got here, I don’t know anything. [I am] telling myself that and trying to soak everything in has kind of been my mindset. I feel like I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from the vets, the coaches, the meeting time, on the field. I feel like I’ve learned a ton and [I’m] excited to take these next couple weeks and sort of digest it and come back for training camp ready to roll.”

FAB 4. Graham Barton Must Be Prepared For A Washington Buzzsaw In Week 1

Another reason for Tampa Bay to just go ahead and commit to having Graham Barton be the team’s center this year and give him all of the first-team reps in training camp is the team’s season-opening opponent. The Bucs host the Washington Commanders in Week 1.

That means Barton and Tampa Bay’s interior offensive line will be facing one of the most dangerous defensive tackle tandems in the league in Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne.

Allen, a two-time Pro Bowler, is 6-foot-3, 300 pounds and has a perfect blend of power and speed. He has posted 39 sacks in seven years, including 5.5 last year and a career-high nine sacks in 2021. When he’s not getting to the quarterback, Allen is making life miserable for running backs, notching 57 tackles for loss in his career, including 10 last year.

Payne is just as monstrous, and even bigger and stronger at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds. He has 30 sacks in his six years in Washington, including four last year. He’s just one season removed from a career-high 11.5 sacks, which came in 2022 – his lone Pro Bowl campaign. Payne is also a backfield penetrator, notching 53 tackles for loss, including 18 in 2022 and 13 last season.

New head coach Dan Quinn is a defensive guru who will certainly deploy Allen and Payne in ways to best disrupt and confuse Tampa Bay’s rookie center.

Even Barton said that the amount of detail from veterans at the NFL level has taken him by surprise a bit.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the biggest surprise, but the depth and the detail at the NFL level of what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, technique, fundamentals, tips and tricks, things like that,” Barton said. “How much more there is to the game of football, I guess, that you didn’t always understand in college. So, learning that has been the biggest leap, going through that.”

Getting Barton as ready as possible by giving him as many reps as the starting center as possible is clearly the best way to prepare him for the Commanders’ 1-2 punch up front.

FAB 5. Bucs Can’t Wait To Face Jayden Daniels In Season Opener

Speaking of Washington, Tampa Bay’s new center Graham Barton isn’t going to be the only rookie who will be under fire in Week 1. New Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, will have the unenviable task of facing defensive mastermind Todd Bowles and his troops in his first pro game.

Daniels will likely play in at least two of Washington’s preseason games, but not the full contests. Commanders new offensive coordinator Kliff Kinsgbury has squared off against Bowles before when he was Arizona’s head coach in 2019 and 2022. The Bucs narrowly won both games, 30-27, in Bowles’ first year as defensive coordinator in 2019, and on Christmas night, 19-16, back in 2022.

Yet Bowles will have had all summer to invent new pressure packages, new defensive looks and disguised coverages to fool the rookie QB and get his head swimming early. Bucs running back Rachaad White, who is best friends with Daniels from their playing days together at Arizona State, believes Daniels is in for a rough NFL debut.

“Coach Bowles’ defense is so tough,” White said. “I just thought about it, and I was just telling my guys (Bucs rookie running backs) that running backs come in and you want to protect the quarterback, and obviously that’s huge. When we slip or something like that I tell them, ‘If you can pick up the blitz against Coach Bowles defense, bro, you’re going to have a great shot of picking up any blitz on any defense.

“For him (Daniels), I like our chances because Coach Bowles … yeah, they dial it up. And our defensive players, man – we have a bunch of young guys stepping into certain roles, and we’ve got veteran guys that are just ballplayers.”

The last time Tampa Bay’s defense took the field, it surrendered the lead to Detroit in a 31-23 defeat in the NFC Divisional playoffs late in the fourth quarter. Bucs outside linebacker Markees Watts said that the defense can’t wait to take the field in the season opener to play better and avenge that painful loss.

“It left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth,” Watts said. “We have to make up for what we did. I think everyone is going to come out with a chip on their shoulder to avenge our fallen goal from last year. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen, especially with our new guys out there. It’s going to be fun.”

Watch The New Pewter Report Podcast With Special Guest Bucs OLB Markees Watts

Tampa Bay outside linebacker Markees Watts joined the Pewter Report Podcast on Thursday, June 27 and was a fantastic guest. We’ve had several great interviews with Bucs players and personnel this offseason, including inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis, defensive tackle Will Gholston, outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, general manager Jason Licht, cornerback Zyon McCollum, assistant general manager Mike Greenberg and Watts.

To check out any of those episodes click here.