Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie from 2024 finds himself low on a national outlet's list that he deserves to be much higher on

Pro Football Focus is an interesting tool for evaluating players and teams.  I enjoy using it a good bit.  However, sometimes they can lose sight of the forest through the trees. 

That's the case with PFF and their recent list ranking the top 32 centers in the NFL.  The popular national outlet was not very high on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' rookie center Graham Barton in 2024, putting him 21st on their list. 

This is what PFF had to say about Barton. 

While Barton’s rookie season didn’t culminate in an excellent grading profile, he showcased a solid foundation. In his second season at just 24 years old, the Buccaneers center will be hoping to build on his ability as a pass protector, where he allowed just a single sack across 640 pass sets in 2024. - Mason Cameron, Pro Football Focus

Barton earned an offensive grade of 55.6 for the season, worst of the team's starting offensive linemen.  He was given a 63.7 pass protecting mark and 55.1 run blocking. 

However, if you look at the totality of his play, his play was better in reality than the grades he was given.  The Bucs' offensive line was one of the best in the NFL in 2024, punching holes for one of the league's most effective ground games.  Tampa Bay's 5.3 yards per carry average was third best in the entire league. Barton had plenty to do with that success. 

And Barton was particularly adept in pass protection for a rookie.  He allowed one sack, 2 QB hits, and 23 pressures in 651 pass blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.  He'll need to clean up 13 penalties moving forward, but that should improve with experience. 

Sometimes, numbers don't paint the full picture, and in this case with PFF's grades and rank, it might as well be a blank canvas regarding Barton.