Day 3 Prospect To Watch

Patrick Taylor, Jr., RB, Memphis

We’re going with a late-round projection here, but the Bucs could definitely double-dip at running back in this year’s class, and Taylor should be available in the sixth- or seventh-round range if the team wants to add to their backfield depth.

Memphis RB Patrick Taylor, Jr. – Photo by: Getty Images

Taylor is interesting because he only started three games during his entire career at Memphis, but he ran for over 850 yards twice, including a 1,102-yard performance in 2018 as a junior. Taylor like would have passed the 1,000-yard mark twice if an ankle injury hadn’t restricted his senior season to six games.

If the Bucs have already drafted a running back and are targeting another late on Day 3, that player is going to come in as the third fiddle, no question about it. That means he needs to be able to do a lot of different things: block, play special teams, catch the ball, operate in short yardage, etc.

That’s why Taylor could be a great choice. He’s not exceptional at anything, but he’s capable in a wide variety of assignments, including pass protection and blocking out of the backfield. Memphis often asked him to serve in these roles, and although Taylor will need technical work, his size (6-1, 217 of pure muscle) and his strength helped him succeed more often than not in college. That size combined with 4.57 speed could also help Taylor on special teams, as he attempts to make the leap that almost all stud offensive players in college do when they reach the NFL.

Free Agent To Target

Did anyone sign Jadevon Clowney yet? No? The Bucs can still make it happen. Overthecap.com has them at $21 million in cap space. Tampa Bay will need to allocate $7-8 million to sign the draft class, and that leaves plenty left over to get another difference-maker.

I know I wrote about this last week and I know I’m beating a dead horse, but I promise you, I am not the “load up on big names in free agency” media guy. The Bucs have an abnormal two-year window to make this thing work, there should be no limits to their aggression to get every piece needed in place for a Super Bowl run. Clowney is one of those pieces. He can make a really good defensive line the best in the NFL.

This isn’t the time to be stingy with money. This is the time to shoot your shot and go for broke. The Bucs are a good football team right now, but I want to know they exhausted every avenue to be the best.

NFC South Round 1 Surprises

Since nothing new has really happened in the NFC South since last week’s column, I decided to detail a few shockers that could happen in Round 1 for each of the Bucs’ three biggest rivals. Remember, these are not likely moves, rather they are moves with a hint of a possibility that I believe could still realistically happen.

New Orleans Saints

Utah State QB Jordan Love – Photo by: Getty Images

Surprise: Drafting a quarterback. Teddy Bridgewater is gone, and there is no way the team is expecting Taysom Hill to be their future quarterback at around 31 or 32 years old. If Utah State’s Jordan Love slides in the first round, could the Saints be the team to stop his descent into Day 2 of the draft? With a fairly complete roster, would New Orleans even be inclined to trade up for Love or Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa if either starts to fall? Something to keep an eye on.

Atlanta Falcons

Surprise: Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU. This is assuming the consensus top three receivers – Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III – are off the board, of course. Jefferson is such a perfect fit to assume much of what Mohammed Sanu once did there, only with much more downfield versatility to his game. The Falcons really value having three quality receivers, and right now their top options outside of Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones are Russell Gage and Laquon Treadwell.

Carolina Panthers

Surprise: Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina. I’d even throw Auburn’s Derrick Brown’s name out there, as I think most expect the Panthers to draft Isaiah Simmons or Jeffrey Okudah if he somehow falls that far. But if both of those players are gone, the Panthers seems settled at quarterback and offensive tackle (for now), so defensive tackle seems like a safe bet. Most expect Brown to be the first off the board, but Kinlaw is the better pass rusher, and Carolina could certainly use more of that after watching most of their defensive line depart over the past two offseasons.