Thursday Night Football: Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams team needs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams 2016 NFL Draft team needs.

Tonight’s match up doesn’t mean anything as far as the playoff race is concerned, but we will still get a chance to see some exciting young stars. Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams have electrifying rookies in the starting lineup. Jameis Winston and Todd Gurley are the main building blocks for their respective franchise.

The problem is that both teams are several players away from becoming legitimate contenders. Tampa Bay appears to have the most important position field with Winston on board. However, they need to make some improvements on defense and along the offensive line.

Tampa Bay would be smart to ensure Winston is surrounded by players that will help him succeed. Donovan Smith was forced to play left tackle this year and it hasn’t been a good showing. He lacks the focus and foot speed to consistently protect the edge.

The entire offensive line would benefit from Smith shifting to right tackle or guard. Targeting someone like Auburn’s Shon Coleman in the first round of the draft would allow this shift. Coleman is a terrific athlete who features quick feet and balance.

St. Louis is a tough team to figure out because there’s plenty of talent on the roster but it hasn’t led to wins. Obviously, the quarterback position is the main problem and must be addressed during the offseason. The Rams find themselves in a tricky spot as they’re projected to have a mid-round draft pick.

I’ve been vocal about how this is the year the Rams need to be very aggressive. They need to explore the trade market and see if they can move up in the draft in order to get in position to grab a quarterback. This year’s draft has two top-10 type quarterbacks in California’s Jared Goff and Memphis’ Paxton Lynch.

St. Louis will remain an average to below-average team until they get the quarterback situation fixed.