Which side of the ball should

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Which side of the ball should Jason Licht be targeting for his first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft? Adding a Top-5 talent to any NFL roster has the potential to drastically change the trajectory of any franchise. Get it right , and your team could be competing for a title one or two years later.Get it wrong, and a general manager could be looking for a new job. So. No pressure.Here, we’re going to bring you both sides of the coin and leave the final decision to you, Bucs Nation.DAVID HARRISON - DEFENSEChuck Cook-USA TODAY SportsIt’s #FollowTheLicht season, and Jason needs to point his beam squarely onto the defensive side of the ball.Quinnen Williams, Ed Oliver, Byron Murphy, Nasir Adderley, Deionte Thompson, Devin White. These are all guys on the short list of who the Bucs could potentially land at or after pick five.Williams is the least likely to be there in my opinion, but any of these other guys carry quite the reputation and play in areas of need for Tamp Bay.In the 2018 version of the NFL, teams surrendered an average of just over 23 points per game.The Bucs surrendered 29 per game. Not good. Only the Raiders, who just happen to have the pick right before Tampa’s, gave up more points per game in 2018.Only two teams surrendered more points per game than the league average and made the playoffs (Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams) and both did so because they had ridiculously efficient offensive units as both just happen to have the top and second-best scoring teams in the NFL.The Bucs had a 12th-best 24.8 points per game. And their defense was nowhere near where they needed to be to get them into the post-season.However, eight of the ten teams who scored the same or more points per game than the Bucs who also made the post-season defenses that held opponents under the league average.Two more teams scored fewer points per game than the Bucs and made the playoffs. Because their defenses held opponents under the league average. There’s a trend.But, Jameis Winston is about to step into a new offense and needs a better offensive line and/or running game. True.Consider this though, Carson Palmer’s worst statistical season with head coach Bruce Arians was his first one in 2013. Ben Roethlisberger threw for less than 3 ,200-yards in his first season with Arians. Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning were both rookies in their first seasons with Arians, but both also had their worst years in their first years.If we think a 2019 turn-around for the Buccaneers is going to come on the shoulder of Jameis Winston alone, history says this isn't the case. The offense should still score enough to keep them competitive, even without a Top-5 draft addition.But, unless the defense gets one touchdown per game better in the upcoming season it'll all be for nothing when January 2020 rolls around.James Yarcho - OffenseMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY SportsI have no issues with the arguments David made above. That said, the Bucs will need to secure the best offensive lineman in the draft if at all possible. Bruce Arians’ offense is predicated on the deep ball, the run game, and maximizing the ability to score from anywhere on the field. In order to do so, the Bucs have to keep Jameis Winston upright. That won’t happen with the state of the current offensive line.Now, if Williams is gone - which he may be - then the Bucs will be in prime positionto trade back with a quarterback needy team that will have to pay that franchise quarterback premium to move up. Given that the Bucs only have six picks, this would be the ideal situation.I’m not going to advocate that the Buccaneers take a receiver or a running back at number five. IF they go offense, it has to be in the trenches. And if Williams is gone, they will need to go to the defensive side if they can’t move down.Something has to be done about this line. There’s a solid chance Donovan Smith returns, so he’s likely going to keep the left tackle spot regardless of the draft. That doesn’t make him any less of a question mark, though. Then you have the entire right side with Caleb Benenoch, Alex Cappa, and Demar Dotson. Dotson has been a solid starter for years , but the knee injuries and age seem to have caught up with him in 2018.You can’t win in the NFL if you don’t win the battle up front. That should be the number one focus this off-season for the Bucs before they address the needs at cornerback, linebacker, and defensive line. You can’t fix it all in one year, but the Bucs will do their best to do just that - and it starts by protecting the franchise quarterback. When the Buccaneers were the only NFC South team to win in week 13, it felt pretty unusual. Things got back to normal in week 14, with Tampa Bay losing and everything going the Saints’ way. With a Carolina loss, New Orleans was able to clinch the division before its game was even over. The Saints went on to win anyway, effectively ending the Bucs’ playoff hopes. Winning, clinching the division and ending a rival’s season? That’s not a bad Sunday.Let’s check out the what went down in the NFC South during week 14.New Orleans Saints (11-2)The Saints survived a poor first half to pick up a 28-14 road win over the Buccaneers on Sunday. Drew Brees and the offense started slow for a second straight week, picking up just three points in the first 30 minutes. They trailed 14-3 until over halfway through the third quarter, when a Taysom Hill blocked punt set them up with good field position. Brees found Zach Line for six, then Alvin Kamara took the two-point conversion in to bring New Orleans within three. From there, the Bucs fell apart. By the end, the Saints had scored the final 25 points of the game to crush Tampa Bay’s already-slim playoff hopes.Brees finished the day 24-of-31 for 201 yards and two total touchdowns, but did turn the ball over twice. Mark Ingram led the team in rushing with 52 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. The New Orleans defense was the story, shutting out the Bucs in the second half while finishing the day with four sacks and 10 quarterback hits. Up Next: at Carolina Panthers (6-7)— Monday Night FootballCarolina Panthers (6-7)The Panthers continued their free-fall on Sunday afternoon, losing 26-20 to the Browns on the road. The loss was Carolina’s fifth straight after a 6-2 start to the season. The two teams went back and forth early on , heading into halftime in a 17-17 game. Carolina won the third quarter 3-0, with former Buc Chandler Catanzaro connecting on a 30-yard field goal. But the Browns shut out the Panthers in the fourth quarter, putting up nine unanswered points to win the game. Carolina outgained Cleveland 393-348, but couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half. One last drive ended in a Cam Newton interception, sending the Panthers under the .500 mark.Newton threw for 265 yards and the interception on 26-of-42 passing. McCaffrey carried the Panther offense once again, rushing for 63 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries while catching six of his seven targets for 38 yards. Catanzaro was two-for-two on extra points and two-for-two on field goals in his Carolina debut.Up Next: vs. New Orleans Saints (11-2)— Monday Night FootballAtlanta Falcons (4-9)The Falcons lost their fifth straight game on Sunday, falling 34-20 on the road against the Packers. Atlanta took an early 7-0 lead on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones, but Green Bay came back and scored the next 34 points to take a 34-7 lead into the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored the final 13 points of the game, but it wasn’t nearly enough. They outgained the Packers 344-300, but turned the ball over twice in the loss. One of the turnovers was a 22-yard pick six by Bashaud Breeland in the second quarter.Ryan completed 28 of his 42 passes on the day for 262 yards and three touchdowns, but did get picked off for a touchdown. Ito Smith was Atlanta’s leading rusher, going for 60 yards on 11 carries, while Julio Jones caught eight of his 11 targets for 106 yards and two scores. But overall, the Green Bay offense was too much. With the loss, the Falcons are still alone in the NFC South basement.Up Next: vs. Arizona Cardinals (3-10)