I like Trotter, had all my fingers & toes crossed for Rodriquez, but I would have settled for CJ Allen over Trotter. Saw a game where Allen was putting guys in position pre-snap at UGA, which indicated he was dialed-in and trusted to make those calls by his coaches. I thought that would have meant something.Allen is the superior prospect. It's that simple.
Rodriguez was gone. Allen was there. We reached... He might not have been there with our third round pick but it's still a reach.
Maybe Trotter will surprise, OBP clearly had him graded evenly/slightly above Allen on their board.
We’ll get to see if their improvement in drafting ILB’s is as lucky improved as their newfound ability to draft Edge’s.
It's not that I think Trotter sucks. I think he can be impactful on early downs. Hell he might develop coverage skills (unlike White or Dennis).
But David came out of college from Nebraska having NFL ready coverage skills AND he could play downhill.
That's what a second round LB should be able to do with somewhat limited athleticism.
Trotter isn't as athletic as White but it doesn't take a genius to know he'll adapt better than White because literally a gold fish could adapt better than White. Maybe that's all White, maybe some of that is Bowles IDK.
What I do know is the draft is about maximizing your capital.
I don't have issue with us saying Trotter is our guy. I simply have issue with where we drafted him vs what was available.
I'll root for him to succeed.
And the direct comparison to the Devin White role in the Super Boel defense
"In 2020, when White earned a second-team All Pro honors during the franchise’s most recent Super Bowl run, the Bucs led the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (80.6) and yards allowed per rush (3.6). They finished tied for second in tackles for loss (91), tied for fourth in sacks (48), and tied for fifth in takeaways (25). White personally put up 140 tackles, nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss. He was far from a good, or even consistent coverage player. It was a known limitation throughout his Tampa Bay tenure. But that type of linebacker play unlocked the rest of the front."
The Bucs (Biehl) confirming the White parallel
" [blitzing is] a big part of his game, too,” Biehl said of Trotter. “He understands how to rush the passer and he can go through running backs’ faces if he chooses to or he can make them miss.
“That’s going to be a plus for Todd [Bowles] on third downs. You guys have seen the way that he uses our inside linebackers when Devin [White] was here and I would anticipate Josiah having a lot of production in that phase