Tampa Bay Buccaneers Move First Round Pick Graham Barton Inside

After spending his college career playing left tackle, Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round pick Graham Barton will make a position change.

Nov 11, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils offensive lineman Graham Barton / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't wasting time in finding a spot for first-round pick Graham Barton, as they will be playing him at center.

A left tackle at Duke, Barton was successful for the Blue Devils. However, there were some size and length questions surrounding Barton during the NFL Draft process in terms of him playing there long term. A move to the inside was projected by many and that is exactly what hte BUccaneers plan to do.

Offensive coordinator Liam Cohen spoke about the running game and wanting to get better. Barton could end up being the starting center with the willingness to slide him over to guard.

“We’ll definitely start him off at center and see how he handles everything,” Coen said. “There’s a lot of communication and things that can occur with the quarterback and the rest of the unit. We’ll see how that communication goes, but we feel confident he’ll be able to do some of those things. But if not, hey, we’ll slide him over to guard and give him a shot there as well.”

The Buccaneers have a major need on the interior and general manager Jason Licht has had some success in drafting interior offensive linemen in the past. Barton hopes to be their biggest success story.