It took until the second round, but the Bucs finally made their first selection by taking Logan Hall with the 33rd pick. Head coach Todd Bowles should enjoy having another versatile defensive lineman to move around up front.

The former Houston defensive tackle adds to an already talented defensive line that was looking for another player to plug in. Tampa Bay traded their 27th pick and moved back six spots, but still felt like they had their guy.

Following the pick, Bowles discussed what made Hall so enticing.

“Very excited to get him at 33,” Bowles said. “He’s one of the guys we targeted at 27. Explosive off the football, very good 3-technique, long frame, long arms, very strong. Probably going to grow even more. He’s 285 now. Next year he’ll probably be at least 295, 300. Love the way he plays the game, gets after it. He makes a bunch of plays, but when the ball is away from him he chases the football. [He’s] everything we want in a Buc.”

One of the main things that stands out is Hall’s size and athleticism. One of the most important NFL Scouting Combine testing results for defensive linemen are the agility drills. Those exercises denote bend and change-of-direction that are critical for pass rushers to have. Per PFF, Hall tested in the 87th percentile for the 20-yard shuttle and the 90th percentile for the 3-cone. Absurd results, especially given his frame. That combination of size and movement is tough to match, even for NFL offensive linemen.

Houston DL Logan Hall – Photo by: USA Today

“He’s 6-6, so that helps him a lot,” Bowles said. “He’s got a strong lower body. The biggest thing is he’s a good athlete. He ran hurdles in high school, he grew into his body and he uses it to his advantage. He’s very elusive in there, he’s very strong in there and he’s very deceptive in there. Everything that we like about him.”

Bowles compared Hall to current Buc Will Gholston. But in terms of mobility, Hall is already ahead of Gholston.

“Just in height, height-wise, he’s like Will,” Bowles said. “I think he’s a tad better athlete, taking nothing away from Will. He’s a little quicker that way. We don’t have [Hall’s] body type on our roster at this point.”

The Bucs had an opportunity to take Georgia defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, among others, before trading the 27th pick. When they knew they had Hall at 33, there was no way they were trading back again.

“We had four or five guys that we liked at 27, and they were pretty even,” Bowles said. “When you have guys like that that are pretty even, and somebody wants to come up, you have to be sure that you’re going to come away with one of them. You don’t want to trade back to the 40th pick or the 45th pick and not be able to get anybody.

“You felt good about all four or five guys, it wasn’t just Devonte [Wyatt]. There were quite a few guys there that we liked. We were confident that we could get one on the second day, which we did. We got some picks in the process, so it was well worth it.”

As far as where Hall will play on the defensive line – that’s still to be determined. Bowles said he’ll be moved around, but should have a position solidified.

“He’s going to do quite a few things, but his primary position will be the 3-technique,” Bowles said. “But once you get into game-planning and everything, you’ll see him in different places.”