The Bucs made another trade to go up and get a target in the sixth round on Saturday afternoon. This time, Bucs general manager Jason Licht had his eyes on Nebraska WR Trey Palmer, who was one of Pewter Report’s Bucs Best Bets. Here is what we at Pewter Report had to say about Palmer during our 2023 Bucs Mock Draft 4.0:

Nebraska WR Trey Palmer Photo By: USA Today

“After three years at LSU backing up the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, Palmer transferred to Nebraska for his senior year and took full advantage of his starting opportunity with the Cornhuskers. Palmer stresses defenses with his 4.33 speed and superb ball tracking skills. This makes him a big-play machine catching 12 passes of 20+ air yards in 2022. These 12 catches accounted for almost half of his yards and seven of his nine touchdowns as a senior. Palmer added to these plusses with a slipperiness that allowed him to rack up yards after catch.

While Palmer’s speed makes him ideal for fades, streaks, posts and deep digs, he still works off of a limited route tree. He also was underwhelming in his contested catch opportunities, catching just 13 of his 33 chances over his career. Palmer also has not proved to be able to work well off of press coverage, which is part of why he spent almost 65% of his snaps in the slot.

Palmer would give the Bucs the game-changing speed they just lost in Scotty Miller, who was not re-signed in free agency. He would be able to stretch the field providing more underneath opportunities for Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage. He could also be deployed as a gadget player on screens and end-arounds. Palmer could also give Deven Thompkins competition for the Bucs returner job, as he has 680 yards and two touchdowns as a returner in college.

Palmer was 125th on the consensus big board according to Pro Football Network. So, the Bucs did well to get good value by selecting him at No. 191.

In his career, Palmer accumulated 112 catches for 1,501 yards and 12 touchdowns, with 18 drops.

Trey Palmer Adds Elite Speed To Bucs’ Wide Receiving Corps

Nebraska WR Trey Palmer Photo By: USA Today

The Bucs have constantly said throughout this offseason that they want to get faster at all levels, and the addition of Trey Palmer absolutely brings a new gear to the wide receiving corps. The former LSU and Nebraska receiver dominated at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, showcasing his blazing speed by running the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds. That time topped all receivers and was the fourth-best of any player at the Combine.

The 6-foot, 192-pound Palmer joins Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Russell Gage, Deven Thompkins and Kaylon Geiger Sr. in the Tampa Bay receivers room. His quickness will be a massive help in new offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ system, as he can be both a vertical threat and someone to deploy on sweeps and end-arounds.

The Bucs could stand to add a bit of length at the receiver position before the season rolls around, as Evans is the lone pass-catcher in that room who stands taller than 6-foot-1. Nonetheless, the team has a lot of talent on offense, which will be a big advantage for whoever wins the starting quarterback job. Whether it’s Kyle Trask or Baker Mayfield, they’ll have a lot of help. Canales has talked about making the offense quarterback-friendly and turning his quarterback into a distributor. And who better to distribute the ball to than an eight-time 1,000-yard receiver (Evans), a Pro Bowl talent (Godwin) a bounce-back candidate (Gage) and a guy with 4.33 speed?