The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a lot of production from their newest faces last season.
The 2023 draft class worked out pretty well the Bucs, as Calijah Kancey, Cody Mauch, YaYa Diaby, SirVocea Dennis, and Trey Palmer all saw significant playing time throughout the season, with Kancey, Mauch, and Diaby turning into key starters and Palmer working his way into the team's third wide receiver role.
However, those weren't the only rookies to have an impact on the Buccaneers' roster in 2023. Bucs general manager Jason Licht inked 19 undrafted free agents after the 2023 draft and added more after rookie minicamp, namely Markees Watts. Incredibly, nine of them are still on the roster.
The two names that stick out the most are Christian Izien and Kaevon Merriweather, who made the initial 53-man roster in August. Izien competed for the starting nickel back job and was announced as the winner at the end of the preseason. He'd end up playing in all 17 games with 4 starts, compiling 65 combined tackles with 2 interceptions. Merriweather appeared in 16 games with 2 starts, compiling 21 total tackles.
Watts, Sean Tucker, and Rakim Jarrett all also made the initial 53-man roster and stayed with the team all season. Despite seeing limited action, that's still no small feat for an undrafted free agent to make a final NFL roster. Silas Dsanzi, Luke Haggard, Keenan Isaac, and Ryan Miller are all a part of the team's current roster as well.
Like it was said in Rudy, out of all you dreamers we might keep one or two of you. That's probably closer to the norm for most teams than what the Buccaneers produced last year.
It goes to show that the work doesn't end once the draft goes final. That's when Licht begins to really show why he's become one of the best general managers in the league.
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