Three picks into the Bucs’ 2020 class, and you can’t help but feel great about where the team is right now. They addressed their two biggest holes with two of the best 25 players in the class in OT Tristan Wirfs and S Antoine Winfield. RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn may have been a reach, but running back is the least important position to be loaded at in the NFL. They’ll be fine.
The Bucs head into day three with four selections, but none until the 5th round at pick No. 161. Here’s my dream scenario for how day 3 of the draft could lay out for the Bucs tonight:
5th Round (161): Minnesota WR Tyler Johnson (6-1, 206)
Johnson met with the Bucs before the COVID-19 crisis hit, so there’s some level of interest here. He may buck the trend of speed that the Bucs like to prioritize at the wide receiver position, but really there are just rumors that he’s slow. His tape looks fine in that regard, and he never tested pre-draft, so we don’t know.
What we do know is that Johnson consistently made high degree of difficulty catches look easy during his time at Minnesota, and there were few better in the country at gaining separation in their routes. Johnson isn’t a No. 1 receiver in the NFL, but he can play inside and outside and he consistently won vertically in the Big Ten without being a true burner. He’s the type of receiver Tom Brady has had a lot of success with over the years, and it will be no different in Tampa if he can last to pick 161.
5th Round WR Backup Plan: Isaiah Hodgins, WR, Oregon State or Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR, Liberty. I wrote about all these guys in depth right here.
6th Round (194): Michigan OG Michael Onwenu (6-3, 344)
A hulking right guard with powerful mitts and ideal length for the position, Onwenu is one of the few prospects in my top 100 that I believe will still be available in the sixth round. Why there is no buzz about his game, I have no clue.
No, he’s not the best athlete in the world, but he dominates in a phone booth with a strong punch and good strike timing that keeps defenders from crossing his face in pass protection. Try to go through him with a bull rush, and you’ll find yourself quickly stuck in mud. He has an anchor on the level of any pass protector in this class.
Onwenu won’t be great in space and may always struggle against elite athletes on the interior defensive line, but he can move people by playing with technique, leverage and power in the run game. He’ll be a better fit in Tampa, away from some of Michigan’s zone tendencies in the run game.
6th Round IOL Backup Plan: Kevin Dotson, OG, Louisiana-Lafayette
7th Round (241): Nebraska DT Khalil Davis (6-1, 308, 4.75 40)
7th Round (245): Arizona RB J.J. Taylor (5-5, 185, 4.61 40)
This RB class falls off a cliff after the top 6, but the dude you want on day 3 is Arizona’s JJ Taylor pic.twitter.com/Wg3rkyhxDl
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 13, 2020