The Bucs will be traveling to Indianapolis next week for the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. The Pewter Report staff will also be there to interview the top prospects and Bucs targets. Several of those targets are sleepers with some question that need answers heading into the Combine.

So let’s take a look at 10 potential Bucs draft sleepers and what those question marks are.

Is Donovan Ezeiruaku A First-Round Option For The Bucs?

If the Bucs want to spend a first-round pick on an edge rusher at No. 19 they likely will miss out on the top four prospects. Penn State’s Abdul Carter, Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr., Georgia’s Mykel Williams and Marshall’s Mike Green will probably be off the board by the time the Bucs are on the clock. Would Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku be an option in the first round?

If Ezeiruaku tests well athletically at the NFL Scouting Combine he could rise from an early second-round selection to a potential late first-round pick. At 6-foot-2, 248 pounds, Ezeiruaku is similarly built to Green, but is he as fast and explosive as the Marshall star? That’s what we’ll find out in Indianapolis. While Green led the nation with 17 sacks, Ezeiruaku was second with 16.5 and three forced fumbles.

Pro Football Focus gave Ezeiruaku a 90 overall defensive grade with a 90.5 pass rush grade. His 18.1% pass rush win rate has to be appealing to Tampa Bay, which needs another impact pass rusher opposite Yaya Diaby.

Is Antwaun Powell-Ryland A Poor Man’s Donovan Ezeiruaku?

Virginia Tech edge rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland – Photo by: USA Today

If the Bucs don’t draft an edge rusher early, Virginia Tech’s Antwaun Powell-Ryland could be an option in the middle rounds. Tampa Bay could use another pass rusher that can get to the quarterback with greater regularity as the outside linebacker position, which totaled just 12 sacks in 2024.

Powell-Ryland has drawn come comparisons to Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, as both are 6-foot-2 and around 250 pounds. Ezeiruaku had 80 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks and three forced fumbles last year for Boston College, while Powell-Ryland also lived in the backfield with 16 sacks, 19 tackles for loss and 43 stops, in addition to three forced fumbles.

It will be interesting to see how different the athletic testing is between the two similar-sized edge rushers in Indy. If Powell-Ryland, who started his college career at Florida, can impress with better-than-expected numbers he could shoot up draft boards, as he’s currently the No. 130 ranked overall prospect, according to PFF.

Is Oluwafemi Oladejo A Day 2 Edge Rusher?

One of the players who really stood out at the Senior Bowl was UCLA edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo, who is a great athlete and plays with speed and passion. He was moved from inside linebacker to edge rusher last year to make room for Carson Schwesinger to start.

Oladejo has good size at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds and has a chiseled physique. He’s fast and physical, but still needs to learn the nuances of becoming a pass rusher with some limited experience. Oladejo had 4.5 sacks last year along with 14 tackles for loss. He is ranked No. 136 overall prospect according to PFF, but if he lights it up athletically, he could sneak into late Day 2.

The Bucs need help at both inside linebacker and outside linebacker and Oladejo has experience at both. It will be interesting to see how much interest Tampa Bay has in Oladejo at the Combine, and which position the team thinks he’s the best fit at.

How Is Shavon Revel’s ACL Recovery Going?

East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Jr. – Photo courtesy of ECU

East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel saw his promising 2024 campaign cut short after three games due to a torn ACL. He likely won’t run or do much athletic testing in Indianapolis as a result, which is disappointing as it would fun to see how fast he is. Revel looks fast enough on tape, and has outstanding size at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. Yet will he meet those measurables at the Combine or will he be closer to 6-foot-1?

The biggest thing that Revel needs in Indy is clear medical exams. If his ACL is healing as expected he should go in the second round. PFF has Revel rated as the fifth-rated cornerback in the 2025 NFL Draft and the No. 35-rated prospect overall. He had an 84 grade in his shortened senior season and an 81.5 grade last year when he broke up 13 passes, had an interception and a sack.

Revel is a physical cornerback and had a pair of interceptions, including a pick-six, and two pass breakups before his knee injury. The Bucs like long cornerbacks and Revel should be on their radar.

Is Nohl Williams Fast Enough To Play Outside Cornerback?

Cornerback Nohl Williams had five interceptions and 10 pass breakups in three seasons at UNLV before transferring to California in 2023. There he had nine more INTs and 15 more pass breakups for the Golden Bears, including an FBS-high seven picks last year, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Williams was previously featured in Pewter Report’s initial 2025 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft back in January.

Williams is an absolute playmaker in the secondary and is always around the ball. He had three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries, including a pair he returned for touchdowns in 2023. But is he fast enough to play cornerback in the NFL? Or will a slow 40-time, such as 4.6 or higher, force him to move to safety at the next level.

The Bucs need more takeaways on defense, especially in the secondary where the unit only produced six interceptions last year. Williams is a bona fide ballhawk and could help Tampa Bay. But is that at outside cornerback, in the slot or at safety? How he tests athletically could determine that.

How High Can Defensive Back Jordan Hancock Rise In Indy?

Ohio State defensive back Jordan Hancock is fresh off a national championship and has some work to do in Indianapolis. He’s currently ranked as the No. 246 overall prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, according to Pro Football Focus, which is a seventh-round pick. But in reality he’s regarded as a higher Day 3 defensive back.

Hancock had three interceptions, including a pick-six, over the last couple of seasons at Ohio State, in addition to 13 pass breakups. He’s a willing tackler and blitzer (2.5 sacks), and can lay the wood, evidenced by four forced fumbles over the last two years.

Hancock looks plenty fast on tape, and if the athletic testing backs that up he could even rise to Day 3 due to his versatility. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Hancock has ideal size and the ability to play in the slot or at either safety position. The Bucs could use another slot defender and a safety.

Why Is Linebacker Cody Simon Not Ranked Higher?

Ohio State ILB Cody Simon and DB Jordan Hancock – Photo by: USA Today

Ohio State inside linebacker Cody Simon is currently ranked as the No. 10 inside linebacker in the 2025 NFL Draft, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF has Simon as the current No. 166 prospect, which is a fifth-round grade. That seems awfully low for a linebacker that was No. 18 in college football last year, according to PFF with a 87.8 grade.

At 6-foot-2, 235 pounds, Simon has NFL size and he appears to be fast and athletic on tape. The testing at the NFL Scouting Combine will tell us more, but he was playmaker for the national champion Buckeyes team that had 112 tackles, seven sacks, seven pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 2024.

Simon definitely should be on the Bucs’ radar as a middle-round prospect. Can he climb to Day 2 with a great performance at the Combine?

Is Linebacker Jay Higgins A Good Enough Athlete?

The Bucs need linebackers that can cover, and Iowa’s Jay Higgins was one of the best in the country over the last two years in that area. He had four interceptions and five pass breakups last year, earning a ridiculous 91.4 PFF coverage grade and allowed a passer rating of just 57.2, which ranked 30th in the nation.

The All-American linebacker has good size at 6-foot-2, 232, and is quite a tackler, evidenced by 171 tackles in 2023, which led the nation, and 124 stops last year, in addition to 3.5 career sacks. But there are some serious questions about how fast Higgins is and if he’s a good athlete to start in the NFL.

If Higgins surprises at the Combine he could rise from being a late-round pick to perhaps a fourth-rounder at the start of Day 3 due to his production and coverage instincts.

How Are Savion Williams’ Hands In Indy?

TCU wide receiver Savion Williams is expected to be one of the most talked about athletic freaks at the Combine. Ranked as the 80th overall prospect according to PFF, Williams can shoot up draft boards into the second round if he displays great hands in Indianapolis during the receiver drills and the gauntlet. He had just as many drops – eight – as he had contested catches in 2024.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Williams has incredible size, speed and athleticism, but he needs better focus when catching the ball and to refine his route running skills. Is Williams truly a wide receiver on the rise, or is he just an athlete playing football? Williams had 60 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns last season, and leaves TCU with just 137 career catches for 1,655 yards (12.1 avg.) and 14 TDs.

Williams was also used effectively as a wildcat QB due to his athleticism and ran 51 times for 322 yards (6.3 avg.) and six more scores. The Bucs could use more size, talent and depth at wide receiver, and Williams has a unique skillset.

How Fast Is Wide Receiver Tre Harris?

Ole Miss WR Tre Harris – Photo by: USA Today

Tre Harris transferred to Ole Miss in 2023 after hauling in 65 passes for 935 yards (14.4 avg.) and 10 touchdowns at Louisiana Tech as a sophomore. He became the Rebels’ downfield threat, catching 54 passes for 985 yards (18.2 avg.) and eight TDs in 2023, and then had 60 receptions for 1,030 yards (17.2 avg.) and seven scores in just eight games last year.

At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Harris has ideal NFL size. He’s had nearly identical PFF grades of 89.7 and 88.5 over the past two seasons. But there are some questions as to how fast and agile Harris is because he’s a bit of a long strider. If he can run in the low 4.4s or better or he could move up to the second round. A time of 4.55 or later could push Harris into Day 3, though.

Tampa Bay could use another wide receiver to bolster the depth chart and Harris would be an ideal fit in Josh Grizzard’s scheme, which is based on the Rams offensive system that Liam Coen installed last year. Harris has drawn comparisons to Rams receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nakua.