Bucs nation is still shifting into NFL Draft gear after a wild Super Bowl championship season, and as a result news has been slow to come in on meetings with potential draft prospects. But thanks to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, we now know the first (to our knowledge) prospect the Bucs have met with this offseason: Northwestern CB Greg Newsome.

Newsome wasn’t even a blip on the radar as a prospect heading into the 2020 college football season, but he posted a strong six games to close out his college career, working his way into the early round conversation. He recorded just one interception, but broke up seven passes and surrendered only 12 catches without allowing any big plays. Friend of the Pewter Report Podcast and The Draft Network expert Jordan Reid tweeted the following on Newsome:

If Newsome truly goes in the top 64 picks as currently expected, it would be a shock to see the Bucs actually select him. They have drafted defensive backs sometime in the first four rounds of each of the last four classes, and have three young cornerbacks under contract right now. If they did select a cornerback early in the 2021 draft, it would be a mild indicator that they aren’t sure about offering Carlton Davis a second contract just yet.

We won’t get ahead of ourselves, but it’s never a bad thing to have a ton of good cornerbacks. It’s one of the most important positions on the field, and Newsome is an ascending player with a lot of intrigue around him right now.