The NFL Draft remains the second-largest event on the NFL calendar, behind the Super Bowl. Like it or not, it also remains one of the biggest things that fans and media enjoy going back and analyzing to see “what could have been.”
Pro Football Focus has done a good job this offseason by launching a re-draft series, which we have been tracking here on Bucs Wire. In their latest draft, they looked back on, it just so happens to be one of the more impactful ones in recent memory for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise: The 2015 NFL Draft.
In this draft, the Bucs had originally drafted quarterback Jameis Winston first overall in hopes he would be the franchise leader for years to come. That didn’t pan out, so in this re-draft, PFF’s Trevor Sikkema gives them wide receiver Stefon Diggs first overall.
Sikkema explains the perceived luxury pick, writing, “There wasn’t an obvious choice at No. 1 in this redraft, but we’re giving the Buccaneers wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who originally went in the fifth round to Minnesota. Diggs has made four Pro Bowls and ranks as the sixth-most valuable wide receiver in the league since 2015, according to PFF’s wins above replacement metric. Pairing him with Mike Evans would have given Tampa Bay one of the NFL’s most dominant receiver duos for the past decade.”
Diggs would eventually be paid like the All-Pro wide receiver he became, but in this instance, going from fifth round to first overall would be quite the upgrade in pay for him.
While the results may not have been much better, Mike Glennon having both Mike Evans and Stefon Diggs to throw to may have improved his odds of being more productive.