The end of the NFL Draft signals one of the busiest and hectic times for front offices. Teams aggressively lobby against each other to land the best undrafted prospects to round out their 90-man offseason rosters.

Coming into draft weekend the Bucs had just 60 players on the roster. After drafting eight prospects, they were still a ways away from the offseason roster limit. In his annual post-draft vice president of player personnel John Spytek said he expected the team to sign about 20 undrafted free agents. Tampa Bay wound up with 19, including a few players that were projected to be drafted in between the fifth and sixth rounds.

With open spots available on the roster several of the Bucs signees will need to make the most of their opportunities. That starts next weekend when rookie mini-camp starts on May 12. Here are the defensive and special teams undrafted free agents that signed with the team following the draft.

Texas State EDGE Nelson Mbanasor – Senior – 6-2, 248 – 4.80

Mbanasor spent his first four season at Texas Tech before making the move to Texas State in 2022. While his 40-time was average for his position, his 20-yard split of 2.66 ranks 77th out of 1569th at the position all time.

Strengths: Mbanasor is a long, athletic pass rusher who excels off the edge. He possesses good size, change of direction, and closing speed that should translate to the NFL. He’s shown the ability to rush off the edge and kick inside on stunts.

Weaknesses: Mbanasor will need to improve his short area quickness and doesn’t offer much upside in coverage. He’ll need to get stronger at the next level and at this point in his career he is better fitting the run than as a true pass rusher.

Stats: The five-year college athlete put together his best season with the Bobcats in 2022. Mbanasor totaled 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, with six sacks, three passes defended and two forced fumbles. For his career he logged 72 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, with seven sacks, six passes defended, two forced fumbles and a recovery.

Bucs Fit: Mbanasor projects as a developmental pass rusher with the Bucs. He has the versatility to rush the the passer from the edge and kick inside on obvious passing downs. His best bet to stick around is to impress in training camp and land on the team’s practice squad.

Tennessee ILB Jeremy Banks – Senior – 6-1, 232 – 4.53

Banks was a highly productive linebacker for the Volunteers with his best output coming in the 2021 season. He committed to Tennessee as a running back and had 185 yards rushing and three touchdowns as a true freshman. He made the switch to linebacker his sophomore year and was projected by some to go as high as round four, but past character red flags could have caused him to drop and eventually go undrafted.

Strengths: Banks isn’t out of his element in coverage and has good burst and speed in pursuit to bring down ball carriers. He displays the ability to shed blocks and he brings good quickness off the edge. His play recognition improved in 2022 and his aggressiveness coming downhill against the run stands out.

Weaknesses: Banks is undersized for the position and doesn’t possesses the top end speed to be a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Because of his stature he can washed out by tight ends in the run game and while he’s a good open-field tackler, he will fail to wrap up the ball carrier in some instances.

Stats: Banks finished his five-year tenure at Tennessee accumulating 219 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, eight passes defended, with a forced fumble and recovery. He missed three games in 2022 but finished with 53 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four passes defended, with a forced fumble and recovery.

Bucs Fit: If Banks’ character issues are behind him, the Bucs may have gotten one of the biggest steals in undrafted free agency. He could quite possibly give veteran K.J. Britt a run for his money for the final inside linebacker spot while contributing on special teams as he acclimates to the NFL game.

UConn ILB Brandon Bouyer-Randle – Senior – 6-2, 241 – 4.85

Bouyer-Randle starter his collegiate playing career in 2016 and spent seven years in college playing for three different programs. He started his career with Michigan State but transferred to Texas Tech. After playing two seasons for the Red Raiders, he moved on UConn for his final two years.

Strengths: Bouyer-Randle displays above-average play recognition skills able to read and react quickly to make a play on the ball, especially in run support. He’s disciplined in his assignments and shows the ability to drop in space covering a good amount of the field.

Weaknesses: After playing seven years of college football there might be concern about how much tread he has left. At 26 years old he’s one of the older prospects to come out in recent years. Bouyer-Randle has limited athleticism and can get washed out of plays by lineman climbing to the next level and doesn’t possess high-end speed in pursuit.

Stats: After marginal production over his first five years, he redshirted as a freshman and Bouyer-Randle enjoyed a breakout season with the Huskies after that. He tallied 98 tackles, eight for loss, one sack, two interceptions, two passes defended and a forced fumble. For his career, which included a bowl game appearance with each program, he totaled 179 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two interceptions, nine passes defended and three forced fumbles.

Bucs Fit: Bouyer-Randle profiles similarly to K.J. Britt, as he’s not an uber-athletic linebacker and projects more as a two-down thumper in the NFL. He’ll have to stand out on special teams in camp in order to be considered to stick around on the practice squad.

North Carolina State CB Derrek Pitts Jr. – Senior – 6-0, 177 – 4.52

After playing at Virginia Tech his first two years, Pitts transferred to Marshall for two years before finishing out his final two seasons of his collegiate career at N.C. State.

Strengths: Pitts plays with tight coverage staying on the receivers hips through breaks and battling throughout their routes. He’s aggressive in run support, and while he’s not a burner displays good closing speed. He also played a variety of roles on special teams coverages throughout his career.

Weaknesses: Pitts lacked ball production over his college career and struggles to track the ball in coverage. He lacks high end speed to keep up with quicker receivers, can display tight hips in transition and he’ll need to continue to improve his back pedal at the next level.

Stats: He finished his final season racking up 51 tackles and six passes defended. Over his entire college career Pitts totaled 176 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three interceptions, 13 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Bucs Fit: Pitts excelled on special teams, registering a blocked a field goal, returning it 72 yards for a touchdown. He has some versatility at the next level especially in nickel and dime packages. He’ll need to show that special teams prowess in order to be in consideration for a roster spot.

Rutgers S Chris Izien – Senior – 5-8, 199 – 4.43

Izien spent all four year at Rutgers University, staying close to his Brooklyn home. He is a versatile defender who has modeled his game around current Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. The Bucs gave him $165,000 in total guarantees and a $15,000 signing bonus to sign.

Strengths: Izien posessess elite speed and can cover from sideline-to-sideline. A gritty defender, he isn’t afraid to get his nose dirty in run support and plays with a fiery mentality. A tackling machine, he had over 60 tackles in each of his seasons. Izien is equally sound in man coverage as he is in zone and has the football IQ to read and react quickly to get to the ball.

Weaknesses: Izien doesn’t have ideal size and will struggle with bigger receivers in in jump ball situations. He is a much better defender facing the action and can struggle to find the football when his back is to the the play. He’ll need to show smoother transition from his backpedal and can be susceptible to double moves. He also didn’t display great ball skills with just four interceptions all coming in 2020.

Stats: Super productive over his four years at Rutgers, Izien ended his tenure with 41 starts. Compiling 297 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four interceptions, 15 pass breakups, and three fumble recoveries.

Bucs Fit: Izien has positional flexibility and could be the Bucs answer at the nickel position after playing some there in college. He’ll compete with sixth-round pick Josh Hayes out of Kansas State. With just two established safeties on the roster, the former Scarlet Knight faces good odds to make the roster with an impressive showing in camp.

Iowa S Kaevon Merriweather – SR – 6-0, 205 – 4.69

Merriweather is another high-character athlete and a leader on and off the field. A team captain, he was voted second-team All-American and was a finalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. While his 40-time was average, his 10-yard split of 1.46 seconds was one of the best ever generated at his position. He was a projected sixth-round selection.

Strengths: Merriweather has exceptional instincts and moves quickly on the ball. He has excellent short-area quickness and diagnoses coverages with the ability to stop ball carriers in their tracks. He’s a sound tackler who can lay the lumber and is an asset in run support.

Weaknesses: Lacking top end speed, Merriweather can have trouble keeping up with speedy wide receivers and running backs that can out run his pursuit angles. Despite coming down with four interceptions in his career, he isn’t a playmaker on the back end and can get turned around in coverage.

Stats: Merriweather saved his best season for last, racking up 47 tackles, two tackles for loss, three interceptions, three pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Over his four years he totaled 117 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions, nine pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Bucs Fit: Much like Izien, Merriweather has a good chance to make the roster with his versatility to play in the slot, in the box and deep. He’s an excellent special teams player, playing on all units and with a solid camp could find himself on the active roster.

Alabama State DB Keenan Isaac – SR – 6-1, 186 – 4.58

Isaac has all the modern day traits teams look at cornerback for in the NFL. He was named the Shrine Bowl HBCU Defensive Player of the Week in October. The Houston Gamblers selected him with the 39th overall pick in the USFL draft in February.

Strengths: With a 79-inch wingspan, Isaac has great length for the position and quick feet and change of direction skills.  He displays the ability to read and react anticipating the quarterback’s throws and gets his head around to make plays on the ball. He operates best in zone coverage where he has quick closing burst to get to the action and securely wraps up the ball carrier.

Weaknesses: Isaac can play tight-hipped at times and is slow to transition out of his back pedal. He doesn’t possess the long speed to recover if he gets beat and is a better fit in zone coverage than in man. The ball skills just aren’t there for him as well. While he got his hands on them dropped interceptions plagued his college career.

Stats: Over his four years with the Hornets he totaled 99 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, 22 passes defended and a forced fumble. His senior year he tallied 27 tackles, one tackle for loss, half a sack, one interceptions, and eight passes defended.

Bucs Fit: Isaac projects as an outside corner at the next level, though some see him with positional flexibility. Because of that he will face a tough time cracking the Bucs roster. He didn’t play a ton of special teams in college and will need to make his mark there to stick around. With a good showing, he may do just enough in camp to win a spot on the team’s practice squad.

Arkansas K Jake Bates – SR – 5-10, 203 – N/A

Bates has a booming leg and can send kickoffs through the back of the end zone with ease. His biggest highlight of his college career was when he recovered his own onside kick in a game against Alabama in October of 2022. He earned first-team All-SEC honors from the coaches as the team’s kickoff specialist.

Strengths: Bates’ biggest and only strength is his leg. He has the ability to knock the ball out of the end zone on nearly every kick off.

Weaknesses: Bates was merely a kick off specialist who only handled kick offs and never attempted a field goal in his college career.

Stats: In 2022, 64 of Bates’ 75 kickoffs went for touchbacks.

Bucs Fit: The signing of Bates was puzzling as he never kicked field goals in college. With Chase McLaughlin and Jake Verity already on the roster and with kickoff and field goal kicking experience, I’m not sure where Bates fits in anything more than a live JUGGS machine in kick return portion of practice. Maybe the Bucs see something to work with, but it will be an uphill battle to unseat the two kickers with experience on the roster.

Duke LS Evan Deckers – SR – 6-3, 248 – 5.38

Decker spent his first four years with the Umass Minutemen before transferring to Duke his final season.

Strengths: He turned his skill in long snapping into a scholarship to Umass and Duke to earn a degree in kinesiology and a masters degree in management studies.

Weaknesses: Decker has no real position flexibility only playing at long snapper his entire collegiate career.

Stats: In 53 career games at both Duke and Massachusetts as the primary long snapper, Deckers helped kickers convert 44-of-60 FGs and 154-of-158 PAT.  He also assisted the punting units on 272 punts for 11,274 yards (41.45), including 73 punts downed inside the 20, via Duke Football.

Bucs Fit: The Bucs have a steady long snapper in Zach Triner on the roster who has handled the long snapping duties over the past four seasons. Triner is only 32 and is signed throughout the end of the season. There is no realistic way Deckers unseats Triner in training camp, if he makes it that far, and may just be a rookie mini-camp body.