The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned plaudits for selecting Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton in the first round (No. 26 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.
Most of that praise centered around Barton’s versatility — something the Buccaneers will put to the test right away.
First-year Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen talked with The Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud about making a position switch official for Barton, who will play center after spending the majority of his college career at left offensive tackle.
“We’ll definitely start (Barton) 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.”
Barton, 6-foot-5 and 313 pounds, started five games at center for Duke as a freshman in 2020 because of an injury to another player before starting 34 consecutive games at left offensive tackle.
Tampa Bay Won Despite Struggles at Center in 2023
Barton is already being slated as the starting center by OurLads.com on the Buccaneers’ depth chart, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched Tampa Bay’s offensive line closely.
Robert Hainsey has started every regular season game for the Buccaneers at center the last two seasons — 34 consecutive starts — and was one of the NFL’s worst-graded players at his position in 2023.
According to PFF, Hainsey was called for 9 penalties in 2023, the second-most in the league at center, and his 4 sacks allowed were tied for eighth in the league.
Hainsey graded out at an anemic 52.8 percent for the entire season.
By comparison, the two centers who made the NFL All-Pro Team in 2023 both graded out at over 80 percent Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles (80.7 percent) and Frank Ragnow of the Detroit Lions (88.8 percent).
PFF’s Gordon McGuinness listed Tampa Bay among his list of the most improved offensive lines in the NFL following the draft.
“The selection of Duke’s Graham Barton in the first round isn’t just a good move because of his excellent college career, during which he earned an 88.7 PFF grade over the past two seasons to rank fifth among FBS tackles,” wrote McGuinness. “It’s also a good move because of his versatility. Barton played center early in college and will likely play on the interior of the line for the Buccaneers; he is comfortable across the unit.”
Barton’s Position With Bucs Wasn’t Totally Certain
Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager, who correctly guessed Barton at No. 26 to the Buccaneers in his final mock draft, had him listed as just a generic “OL” but indicated he could play several positions.
As the No. 26 overall pick, Barton will receive a 4-year, $14 million rookie contract.
“Tampa might’ve had the best offseason of any team in the league to this point, retaining many key assets from last year’s Divisional Round squad,” Schrager wrote. “Offensive line is still an area of need, though. Barton played tackle and center at Duke — he could do either in the NFL.”
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