BREAKING: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Select IOL Graham Barton With Their First Pick of the 2024 NFL Draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers immediately improved their offensive line with their first selection of the 2024 NFL draft.

Nov 27, 2021; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils offensive tackle Graham Barton (62) / Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

With the 26th overall selection, Jason Licht and his team selected Graham Barton, a versatile offensive lineman from Duke. Although Barton most recently played left tackle for the Blue Devils, he is expected to kick inside to center or even guard for the Bucs.

Based on team needs, there were a number of different ways the Buccaneers could have gone with this pick. Guard, center, edge rusher, cornerback and even wide receiver were speculated as some of the most likely positions to be addressed by the Bucs in round one.

As it turns out, interior offensive line was the pick. But the Buccaneers’ front office knows what they’re doing. And to them — just like any good front office —it isn’t about the position as much as it is the player.

And the Buccaneers believe they got a good one in Graham Barton.

Since the retirements of Ali Marpet and Ryan Jensen, the Buccaneers have struggled to find a dominant interior offensive lineman. They believe they've found the next one in Graham Barton.

As BucsGameday previously wrote, the 6'5", 315-pounder has plenty of positional flexibility after starting at center his freshman season before finishing his time at Duke at left tackle. Barton explodes out of his stance with balance and positioning to sustain blocks. He has great grip strength blocking through the whistle and has the athleticism and quick feet to to be a factor against speedier rushers and pulling in space. However, he has less than ideal arm length, can be grabby at times and needs to anchor better against power.

Barton has the athleticism, tenacity, and demeanor to step in as a plug-and-play starter from day one.

However, like any prospect selected at any point of the NFL Draft, we won't have a clear understanding of exactly what type of NFL player Graham Barton will be for quite some time. That said, as the offseason churns along, we'll begin to get a better idea as to the type of person, teammate, and worker that he really is.

Once the regular season kicks off on September 8th, the process of evaluating whether or not Graham Barton was the right pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft can begin.

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