TAMPA, Fla. _ Here's the truth about the Bucs team Tom Brady will quarterback this season: it is below average but improving.
The Bucs don't have the most talented roster in the NFC South. That belongs to the New Orleans Saints. They're certainly not the favorite to win the conference or reach Super Bowl 55 in Tampa.
At 42 _ 43 in August _ Brady still may be one of the NFL's best passers. He's clearly among the best leaders.
"He makes everyone better that walks into that huddle," coach Bruce Arians said.
But Brady is not a miracle worker. He can't block a guy off the edge at right tackle. He can't split out from the running back position and catch passes. He can't stretch the field vertically like a speed receiver. And he certainly can't make a defense, anchored by 30-something-year-old players, suddenly younger.
In other words, the Bucs probably aren't as good as Brady thinks they are. And with or without Brady, chances are they're not as good as you believe they will be in 2020, either.
But Brady doesn't have any time to waste. That's why it's hard to remember an NFL draft as important as this one for the Bucs. Every decision that general manager Jason Licht and Arians make, starting Thursday night, must carry a "win now at all costs" sense of urgency.
Of course, the Bucs don't want to mortgage too sizable a chunk of their future in terms of players or future draft picks. Brady signed a two-year, $50 million contract. If things go perfectly, maybe they squeeze out a third year in 2022.
There are plenty of good pieces on this football team. A pair of 1,000-yard receivers. Two tight ends capable of being big red-zone targets. The league's best run defense that grew up a lot in the secondary.
"There were a lot of things that were intriguing to me about the organization," Brady said. "The players and the coaches and the willingness of everyone to try and accomplish what the goal of playing football is, which is to win."
But Brady has a skill set and a way of attacking defenses that will require the Bucs' front office and scouting department to be at the top of their game to build around the six-time Super Bowl champion.
At minimum, the Bucs will need to acquire at least three key offensive players in the draft in order for Brady to operate at the level he is accustomed to: a plug-and-play, pass-protecting starting right tackle; a three-down running back who can split out as a receiver; a third receiver with straight-line speed capable of striking fear into a defense as a legitimate deep threat.
