The 2024 NFL Combine is right around the corner, and Pewter Report spent Thursday’s Pewter Report Podcast talking about some potential Bucs targets. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah also took some time on Thursday to hold a conference call to discuss plenty of the top prospects and how they would fit in various situations around the league.

Keeping it Bucs-centric, Jeremiah had some insightful remarks on a handful of players that Tampa Bay may consider in the NFL Draft.

Daniel Jeremiah Discusses Two ILBs Bucs Could Have Interest In

Daniel Jeremiah took the time to talk about two inside linebackers the Bucs could pursue on Day 2 of the NFL Draft – Payton Wilson and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Wilson was one Senior Bowl stud who could be worth taking a chance on, while Trotter profiles as a middle-of-the-field menace. Here is what Jeremiah had to say, starting with Wilson.

“I love him as a player,” Jeremiah said. “That’s going to be everything with him with the evaluation. It’s just going to come down to what that looks like from a health standpoint because the tape is really, really good. I love the background stuff. I mentioned a little bit earlier, that he reminded me of Kiko Alonso coming out of college. Look, he’s had the knees and the shoulders. He has to get that cleared up by the doctors and get the okay from teams, but at the Senior Bowl, he was – what I saw on tape, just a ton of speed and range. He can cover. He’s got some physicality to him.

North Carolina State ILB Payton Wilson – Photo by: USA Today

“You kind of see him take control out there. He’s a 6-foot-4, 234-pound off-the-ball linebacker who can really, really run and hit cover. He’s kind of what you are looking for in the position. That’s the Combine for him. I know he is fast. I don’t need to see him run. I know he can cover and move in space. Really to me, it’s going to be what do you get out of the medicals there and do you get the okay from those people? If you get the okay from those people, I think he is a second-round pick. I think he is that type of player.”

Wilson’s tape is backed up by some serious production. In five years with the Wolfpack, he recorded 402 tackles, 48 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, 13 pass breakups, seven interceptions, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and a defensive touchdown.

Someone with a similar pedigree for production is also the son of a four-time Pro Bowler. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is not viewed as highly as Wilson by the NFL Network analyst, but he could help himself with a big week in Indianapolis.

“To me, look, he is a good player,” Jeremiah said about Trotter. “I don’t think he is a first-round pick. I’m curious to see how fast he is going to run. His game is more about instincts, which obviously are very crucial and very important at the linebacker spot. When I watched him, he was a little bit undersized. He has really good eyes. He sifts and sorts, and he will fill and be physical. He can thud off blocks, which you don’t see a lot of guys take on.

“I thought the speed and the range were just kind of so-so. If he runs well, yeah, then I think he can really help himself. I have him more in the third round personally. But, shoot, he goes out there and moves around really well and kind of aces the rest of the tests, I think he can find his way into potentially the second round. In the linebacker draft it’s not a great off-the-ball linebacker draft.”

Inside linebacker is not the Bucs’ biggest need, but with Devin White all but gone in free agency, and Lavonte David 34 years old and needing to be re-signed, it is a position the team will have to address sooner rather than later.

Could These Oregon Ducks Be Future Tampa Bay Bucs?

At this moment, the Bucs have big needs along the interior offensive line and could potentially have a big hole to fill at wide receiver if Mike Evans does not return to Tampa Bay. It is not expected that he will depart, but nothing is official until his name is on the dotted line of the contract Jason Licht, Mike Greenberg, and the Glazers negotiate and sign off on.

Oregon WR Troy Franklin – Photo by: USA Today

With that in mind, Daniel Jeremiah discussed two first-round-caliber offensive prospects that both come from Oregon. Center Jackson Powers-Johnson and wide receiver Troy Franklin both have a lot to offer. Starting with Powers-Johnson, it is hard not to like what he would bring up front, and he could seamlessly replace Ryan Jensen up the middle for a long time.

“It’s hard to find guys that big that can move like that,” Jeremiah said. “He’s 334 pounds. You can’t get through him. He just kind of catches guys and absorbs them. In pass pro, he is quick to the second level and good on combo blocks. He has some nasty to him. He is a bulldog. Got some real snap and pop in his hands.

“He was having a great week until he got nicked up at the Senior Bowl too. I think he’s going to find his way into the bottom portion of the first round. He’s too clean of a player, and he’s just somebody who can anchor your offensive line for the next decade.”

In a deep wide receiver class, there will be some talent that slips down the draft board. Franklin has familiarity with new wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon, as McClendon was his position coach with the Ducks in 2021. He has the size (6-3) and deep threat potential (81 receptions for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns last season) to grow into a big-time weapon.

“With Franklin, look, I gave him a good grade,” Jeremiah said. “He is my 39th player. I liked him a lot. I think I’m going to end up coming up on him because I just finished going through all these guys for the Combine, and I saw a lot of corners with a lot of blood on their hands courtesy of Franklin. He just runs by everybody.

“So big-time juice, tall, lean, and explosive. He can beat press with his quickness. He is clean in and out of breaks for a taller guy. It’s fun to watch him really track the ball and go get it. A big-time home run hitter. I think he’ll go 20s to 30s. He’s going to go somewhere in there, and I expect he will probably run really fast in Indy.”

Bucs Will Be Keeping An Eye On These Versatile O-Linemen

If Jackson Powers-Johnson is off the board at No. 26, the Bucs could look at drafting another versatile center prospect. Two that Daniel Jeremiah discussed in addition to Powers-Johnson are Duke’s Graham Barton and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier.

Duke OL Graham Barton – Photo by: USA Today

“I think the top three centers are guys that fit that [versatile] mold as well with Jackson Powers-Johnson, Graham Barton from Duke, Zach Frazier from West Virginia. All of those guys can move you at the point of attack and are all over 310 pounds and they’re athletic.”

Barton was Pewter Report’s first-round pick in our latest Bucs mock draft, and there is a lot of appeal in taking him.

“He started a ton of games,” Jeremiah said about Barton. “He’s played center. I think his ultimate best position is going to be at center. He can play anywhere. Obviously recently having played left tackle. I’ll end up having Jackson Powers-Johnson over Graham Barton, but I really like Graham Barton too and I like Zach Frazier. I think all three of those guys would be plug-and-play guys.”

The NFL Scouting Combine is one of the most impactful weeks of the offseason and how players measure and test will determine a lot about their draft status. These are just a few players that the Bucs may have their eye on. For more of Daniel Jeremiah’s draft analysis, check out his second mock draft that came out earlier this week.