All-Twenty Tuesday: Private Visit Prospects

As we talked about on the previous page, private visits between teams and prospects aren’t just for those who are going to go in the Top 10 or even just the first round. Prospect visits can give you a preview into what a team might be targeting in any round of the draft.

These are how I see the current private visits being categorized.

Options at No. 7

Bradley Chubb | DE | N.C. State

Even though the Bucs have spent plenty of money and resources already into upgrading their defensive line, I still believe the prize to be had in this draft is North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb (No. 9).

Chubb was one of the best pass rushers in all of college football last year and he will be selected accordingly. He plays with so much ferociousness and power, something that makes him a true three-down lineman. Tampa Bay G.M. Jason Licht personally attended his pro day.

If Chubb makes it to No.7, he’ll be a Buccaneer.

Quenton Nelson | OG | Notre Dame

Signing center Ryan Jensen was a piece to the puzzle on the Bucs offensive line, but I don’t believe that puzzle is complete. There is still some potential moving to be had and one of those movements could involve selecting Notre Dame’s Nelson (No. 56) with the No. 7 overall pick.

If the Bucs grab Nelson in the first round, theoretically that would give them the freedom to cut J.R. Sweezy, who is owed over $5 million in cap space and did not play well last season – his first year back from his back surgery that happened in 2016.

The Bucs wanted to assemble a “nasty” offensive line for 2018, and this quote from Nelson tells us that’d he’d fit right in to that plan.

“As a blocker, my mindset is being dominant,” he told reporters at the NFL Combine this week. “I want to dominate all my opponents and take their will away to play the game by each play and finishing them past the whistle.”

While it’s not common for a guard to be taken very high – just 12 guards taken in the Top 5 since 1936, three at No. 2 overall and only 73 total in the first round – Nelson is considered, by some, to be the best overall player in the entire draft.

Derwin James | SS | Florida State

The connection with James (3) and the Buccaneers is obvious. Seminoles have been good to the franchise in the past with the likes of Derrick Brooks and Warrick Dunn, and of course there’s also Jameis Winston (we’ll pretend the selection of FSU kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round in 2016 never happened). James would likely be another big name from Tallahassee to leave a legacy in Tampa Bay.

If the Bucs want James, there’s no trading down, they’ll have to take him where they are. James is a difference-maker of a strong safety who can complement free safety Justin Evans well. Both have very good range, but in different ways. James is much more of a box-type player who can play with the linebackers and rush on the edge, where Evans is best in space and in coverage. Both can hit and both can make eye-popping, bone-jarring plays on any snap. Licht attended his pro day.

Mike McGlinchey | OT | Notre Dame

McGlinchey is the latest name to be added to the Bucs’ pre-draft visit list.

We don’t expect the team to give up on tackles Donovan Smith or Demar Dotson as soon as Week 1 in 2018, but Smith has had his struggles and Dotson will be 33 years old during the season.

NFL Network’s Gil Brandt recently said that he believes McGlinchey will be a Top 10 pick. McGlinchey was pegged as a Top 10 pick before the 2017 college football season began, but then we rarely heard much about him until really just recently. His stock never “declined” but there certainly wasn’t the media hype for him throughout the process. Perhaps now it’s the media catching up to what teams believed about McGlinchey all along.

Mid-First Round

Vita Vea | DT | Washington

It’s a poorly kept secret that the Buccaneers are interested in Washington’s Vea – well, maybe it’s not a purposefully kept secret at all now that they’ve had a private visit.

The allure of Vea has always been how athletic he is for his size. He’s a guy who moves very well for his weight (347) and some believe he’s just scratching the surface as a pass rusher from the nose tackle and defensive tackle positions.

I don’t think the Bucs will have to take him at No. 7 overall to get him, but I don’t think they could trade too far down, either. He’ll be coveted by teams in the 10-20 range, including Washington and Dallas.

Minkah Fitzpatrick | CB/S | Alabama

There are some who could make an argument that Fitzpatrick should be the pick for the Buccaneers at No. 7 overall, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. If the Bucs are going to end up with Fitzpatrick, I think it’s going to be within the 10-15 range, somewhat like a prediction for Vea.

Minkah’s best asset is his versatility, specifically his ability to play both safety and slot cornerback, but it seems the Bucs don’t view him as an outside cornerback, from what we’ve gathered. That’s fine, but would they really take him over a player like James at No. 7 overall? I don’t think so.

Fitzpatrick is good, but I’m not sure the team sees him as a No. 7 overall player. He’d have a sweet spot for this team right outside the Top 10.

Late First Round

Jaire Alexander | CB | Lousiville

Alexander could really be the forgotten stud in this draft class, depending on where he is selected.

Alexander’s 2016 tape is very good, almost CB1 worthy. But, an injury-riddled 2017 left him to be overlooked by many until recently. His Combine number suggest he can play in any scheme on the outside in the NFL and his healthy tape echos that. The Bucs liked him enough to bring him in for a visit, and he could be an option for them in a trade back, likely in the 15-25 range.

In terms of style of play and tenacity, Alexander might be a Brent Grimes clone.

Taven Bryan | DT | Florida

The appeal of Bryan is a bit different to that of Vea. Bryan comes in around the same height as Vea, but about 55 pounds lighter, and he makes up for it by showing great burst and speed from the interior defensive line spot for a man his size.

Bryan does his best work when he can play from a position that allows him to shoot a single gap and penetrate immediately. That’s like the 3-tech defensive tackle position that Gerald McCoy plays. I’m not saying that Bryan will be brought in to replace McCoy in 2018 or even take majority reps from him, but McCoy is 30 and isn’t getting any younger, and it takes a full pass rush rotation to win against good teams. Bryan would be a weapon in the arsenal rather than a replacement pick.

He’s got the McCoy jump. Bryan’s range seems to be between 20-32 in the first round. A big trade back for a lot of picks could still land them Bryan.

Early Day 2

Nick Chubb | RB | Georgia

I think people forget just how good Nick Chubb was and more importantly how high his stock was before his knee injury in 2015.

Before his injury, Chubb was college football’s freak. At his size, running backs weren’t suppose to have that kind of speed, agility and balance. I think it took him a full year of football to get back to being comfortable with who he was as a runner, but then after not declaring for the draft last year and having even another injury-free year under his belt in 2017, his stock is higher than some people think.

Chubb will be an early Day 2 pick and whatever team picks him will pick him to be a potential workhorse.

The Bucs need one bad and interviewed him extensively at the NFL Scouting Combine. He aced the interview.

Will Hernandez | OG | UTEP

When a team puts you through a private workout and a private visit after that, you know there’s interest. That’s what happened with Chris Godwin last year, and so far Hernandez is following suit.

Hernandez is a bulldozer of an offensive lineman, and if the Bucs can’t get their hands on a player like Nelson at the top of the draft, I think they’d be perfectly find grabbing Hernandez somewhere in the early part of Day 2 – if he’s still there. Hernandez was an ironman of college football, as he played in and started all 49 games of his career from his redshirt freshman year to his senior season. That kind of stuff is almost unprecedented for anyone in the trenches.

Mike Hughes | CB-KR-PR | UCF

Hughes was a player who really benefited from the a spotlight that his team was under as they went on their undefeated campaign in 2017.

He’s become a media darling from the draft community and has even been mocked in the first round some. I don’t think the Bucs will be selecting Hughes, who only played one full year at the FBS level, in the first round, but if he’s still around in the early part of Day 2, he could be an option.

Josh Jackson | CB | Iowa

The Buccaneers need a cornerback at some point in this draft. Whether they trade down from No. 7, take one in the early part of Day 2 or even trade back up into the second or third round, the cornerback position has to be addressed.

There might not be a better match from this cornerback class for the type of secondary scheme the Bucs run than Jackson. The Jim Thorpe Award winner, who led the nation in interceptions in 2017, does his best work in off, zone coverage where he can keep his eyes on the quarterback, read and react. That’s exactly the style of play that defensive coordinator Mike Smith deployed last season. If he believes the philosophy was fine, he just didn’t have the horses to finish the race, Jackson is a perfect fit – and a good player.

Late Day 2

Donte Jackson | CB | LSU

Jackson is a smaller cornerback, but that’s why he’s not going to get picked too high and might actually be a steal for a certain team.

Jackson’s 4.32 40-yard dash at the Combine put him in the 97th percentile in terms of cornerbacks. Jackson can keep up with anyone, but it’s the height at 5-foot-10 and more importantly the small frame of 178 pounds that would prohibit him from being a full-time outside cornerback.

Jackson has the potential to be a really nice nickel cornerback, but unless Vernon Hargreaves III really improves, that might be where he ends up as a Buccaneers. If Jackson is just going to be a nickel player, he wouldn’t really be helping the Bucs needs and wouldn’t be much value as a late-second/early-third round pick. But, if he does end up a Buccaneer, Jackson has a lot of fight in him, and can be great on the blitz as well.

Rashaad Penny | RB | San Diego State

Penny really put the college football world on notice in 2017 that it was his time to shine by piecing together a year that achieved 2,248 yards on the ground, which led the FBS, and scored 23 touchdowns.

At 220 pounds, Penny is one of the bigger full-time backs in the draft class (another one would be Chubb). We see that is sort of a trend with Bucs backs, as Peyton Barber is of similar build as well. Penny can run the ball, that’s for sure, but it’s the little things that get you on the field, and as of right now, Penny as a pass blocker is suspect. That will limit how high he goes, and perhaps how much the Bucs really value him. If they have to take him off the field for passing downs anyways, he’s not a true workhorse. Penny also brings value as a return specialist with seven kicks and one punt returned for touchdowns for the Aztecs.

Day 3

Armani Watts | S | Texas A&M

If Watts is going to be a future Buccaneer, he’ll have some previously rooted chemistry with fellow safety Justin Evans, as the two did start next to each other for one season at Texas A&M.

Watts is almost like Derwin James-lite. Watts is a good athlete, can really hit and makes his presence felt in coverage and in the box — he just doesn’t do it to the level James does and is more undisciplined with how he does it.

If the Bucs have not addressed safety by the third day of the draft, Watts could be an option.

Justin Lawler | DE | SMU

Justin Lawler would be your prototypical Day 3 player who has football I.Q., a high motor and will always be solid in what he does. Lawler isn’t going to lead the league in sacks or anything, and I’d be surprised if he was ever a starter in the NFL. But, depth matters when you go through a long season, and you want guys that you can count on in special teams and in times of short-term relief.

Lawler isn’t a player who wins big with strength, speed or flexibility, but he’s an all-around edge player and is plenty tough.

P.J. Hall | DT | Sam Houston State

Hall’s stats are insane.

As a four-year starter, Hall recorded 284 tackles, 86.5 tackles for loss for minus-406 yards, 42 sacks for minus-235 yards, an astonishing 29 pass breakups, nine forced fumbles, four interceptions, one fumble recovery and one safety.

Just like it’s beneficial for receivers and running backs to have a familiarity and almost an expectation to score touchdowns, it’s the same with defensive lineman, and Hall is plenty familiar with making plays.

Hall, who didn’t get an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine, weighed in at 6-foot-1, 308 pounds at SHSU’s Pro Day and ran a 4.83 into the with and a 4.71 with the wind in the 40-yard dash. That would have been the fifth fastest time in the 40-yard dash for a defensive tackle in Indy. Hall posted a 38-inch vertical leap, which would have been the second-best measurement, and his 36 reps of 225 pounds would have been the third-best bench press totals.

If they want this guy, they better pick him early on Day 3.

UDFA

Ryan Green | RB | Florida State

When you’re behind players like Dalvin Cook and Cam Akers, it’s no wonder why Green is a potential diamond in the rough and not a more known name.

Green was a former four-star prosect who finished his FSU career with 30 carries for 326 yards and three touchdowns. He’ll be a local visit for the Bucs and we were told the team loved him when they were there at Florida State’s Pro Day. He could be a target when the draft is done.

Eddy Pineiro | K | Florida

Pineiro, a former soccer player, was a transfer to the University of Florida in 2016. He was 56-for-58 on extra points in his two seasons as Florida’s kicker and also had 38 field goals. Pineiro was 5-for-5 on field goals from beyond 50 yards in his Florida career — two from 54 yards — and had the highest field goal percentage in the nation in 2017.

Pineiro will also be just a local visit for the Buccaneers. He could get drafted, but likely not by Tampa Bay. But if he somehow slips past the seventh round the Bucs will be interested in signing him.