The Tampa Bay Buccaneers strengthened their offensive line on Thursday night by picking Duke center Graham Barton with the 26th pick in the NFL draft.
The Bucs recently won their third consecutive NFC South championship and made it to the playoffs for a record fourth year in a row.
They have four picks in the first three rounds of the draft and seven picks overall. The team hopes to find players who can make an impact right away as rookies.
General manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles believe Barton, who played left tackle at Duke for the past three seasons, has the potential to compete for a starting role at center for the Bucs.
“He hasn’t been given the starting job,” Licht said, “but I think there will be a good competition. Todd and I have discussed this since last year. It’s an area we needed to improve.”
With Baker Mayfield taking over as quarterback after Tom Brady’s departure, the team won five of their last six games before the playoffs. They beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round but lost to the Detroit Lions in the NFC divisional round.
Licht has focused on keeping the team’s free agents this offseason. This includes signing Mayfield for three years and $100 million, extending Mike Evans for two years and $52 million, and bringing back veteran linebacker Lavonte David for another season.
Negotiations for a long-term deal with All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and an extension for Pro Bowl tackle Tristan Wirfs are still ongoing.
