Luke Goedeke
Vital.
Joe knows his fawning over the Bucs offensive line — when healthy! — drives some folks nuts.
Joe knows it’s cool to always slam the Bucs offensive line. Always! You know, just because.
Two years ago, when last fully healthy, Joe believed the Bucs’ front line was, at worst, the third-best in the league. Joe sincerely believes this.
Last year? Ha. What a trainwreck.
Now Joe’s favorite Bucs player, with Lavonte David and Mike Evans gone for good, likely is Tristan Wirfs. What’s not to like about him?
But you know what, last year when Wirfs did return from his knee surgery rehab, he wasn’t his best week-in and week-out. That may sound like heresy, but that’s the ridiculous, sick standard that Wirfs has established for both himself and his offensive line teammates.
(Joe’s favorite run play last season by the Bucs was when Rachaad White ran left toward the left pylon, running behind Wirfs. The All-Pro left tackle took out a would-be tackler at the line, took out another on the second level and splashed a defensive back at the goal line to spring White into the end zone. Joe was damn near standing at attention while watching that.)
But if you think about it, last year, Joe isn’t so sure Wirfs was the Bucs’ best offensive lineman. Why’s that? Because Kevin Patra of NFL.com noted earlier this year that right tackle Luke Goedeke didn’t allow one sack all year.
Sure, Goedeke missed a bunch of time with an injured foot. But when he returned, he was dominant.
(This is partly why Joe has been so freaked out by how Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield’s play sank after the bye. His offense got healthier, and he fell off a cliff.)
If Goedeke plays like that this year, who exactly has a better pair of tackles than the Bucs?
Patra also noted strong blocking by both Wirfs and Goedeke is why he believes that new Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will have success this fall. Hard to argue.