This is my second try at this, because right before I sent my first draft, the power went off in the entire block. I had nothing to do in my hotel room in Albuquerque and I kept thinking about the Bucs Draft and who I want them to take and I realized that one of the things I hope that they will address is kick returner. I believe these are a few of the top options, based on round:
1st Round
John Ross - 4.22 speed. Any questions?
Christian McCaffrey - I think his size will not be an issue. He is a weapon, plain and simple. I believe he is one of the safest picks who could be possible be available at our pick
Note: I'm sure Dalvin Cook can return kicks too and probably any running back we will take, but I don't believe we would use him in that role if we were to take him in the 1st round.
2nd Round
Carlos Henderson - a WR with excellent YAC ability. fast, quick, and without the injury history of John Ross
Jabrill Peppers - I would only consider him here, primarily for his kick return ability, but if I were looking for a safety, I would probably look somewhere else
Adoree Jackson - electrifying with the ball in his hands; can continue to develop as a CB
Curtis Samuel - another multi-dimensional prayer with 4.31 speed
Justin Evans - a hard hitting safety with return ability
Alvin Kamara - a dynamic RB with excellent receiving and return skills; probably doesn't make it to our 2nd round pick
3rd Round
Desmond King - a very instinctive CB with excellent ball skills but might need to move to S because of slower timed 40
4th Round
Damontae Kazee - another instinctive CB who is always at the top of the list when it comes to interceptions, but timed slow. He has return ability/experience
Corn Elder - a CB who used to be a RB; he also has return ability/experience
5th Round
TJ Logan - I believe he was the fastest RB at the Combine; he would make an excellent change of pace back as well
Lorenzo Jerome - a very instinctive safety who may fall due to his slow 40; returns kicks. I would think of him as a more athletic version of Cody Grimm
6th Round
Tarik Cohen - the "human joystick"; very undersized, but excellent production
Kermit Whitfield - WR who was expected to break the Combine record; still fast, nonetheless
Isaiah McKenzie - WR who had 4 punt returns for TDs and 2 Kick returns for TDs in his career
7th Round/UDFA
Ryan Switzer - seems to be a faster, more athletic Adam Humphries
Tim White - WR for ASU
Willie Quinn - WR Southern
Speedy Noil - 5 star recruit from high school with the highest SPARQ scores coming out, but has failed to reach his potential; seems to have attitude problems
Did I miss any? Just from this list, you can see that we have plenty of options to address the worst kick return game in the league. I hope we pick up at least two of these guys so that we can have an exciting competition in training camp and the preseason.
