DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 1-3: Washington DT Vita Vea

Washington DT Vita Vea – Photo courtesy of Univ. of Washington

The Bucs have loved Vea’s game for quite some time and brought him to One Buc Place as one of the team’s Top 30 visitors after interviewing him at the NFL Scouting Combine. Vea only recorded 9.5 career sacks at Washington, including just 3.5 during his junior year, but was such a disruptive force upfront that he creates sacks for others with his penetration and ability to smash through double teams. Despite the lack of stats, Vea was named the PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year last season and was a major force on Washington’s defense, which ranked eighth overall and fourth in run defense in 2017. Vea, who is regarded as a top 10 pick, would be a great understudy for Gerald McCoy, playing both three-technique defensive tackle and nose tackle as a rookie.

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 4-7: Sam Houston State DT P.J. Hall

Sam Houston State DT P.J. Hall – Photo courtesy of Sam Houston State Univ.

Hall was an incredibly productive small school defensive tackle where he notched 284 tackles, 86.5 tackles for loss, 42 sacks, 29 pass breakups, nine forced fumbles, four interceptions and one fumble recovery at Sam Houston State. Why was Hall so dominant? He’s an incredible athlete with a 40-inch vertical and a 400-pound bench press. The Bucs interviewed Hall at the East-West Shrine Game and used a Top 30 visit to have him to One Buccaneer Place. If the Bucs aren’t able to get Vea or Fort Hays State’s Nathan Shepherd in the first two rounds, Hall would be an ideal pick up in the fourth round. Heck, watch Bucs general manager Jason Licht trade up into the third round to snag Hall, who could be one of the steals in the 2018 NFL Draft.

DEFENSIVE END
Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 1-3: Ohio State DE Tyquan Lewis

Ohio State DE Tyquan Lewis – Photo courtesy of Ohio State

Tampa Bay’s defensive end position was in dire straits last year, but has undergone a complete overhaul this offseason. The Bucs traded for defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and signed Vinny Curry and Mitch Unrein. Getting Noah Spence back healthy this year, and Will Gholston to have a rebound year would be an added bonus. With all of this activity, do the Bucs even need to address the defensive end spot in the draft? No, and it’s not a great crop of edge rushers to begin with. But there are a few players the Bucs like and Lewis, a team captain at Ohio State, is one of them. Lewis totaled 112 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in his time with the Buckeyes, including three straight years with at least seven sacks. Lewis is a good athlete with plus size at 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, and has great character on and off the field. Lewis is a better pass rusher than Gholston and could eventually supplant him as the starter at strongside defensive end if drafted by Tampa Bay in the middle rounds.

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 4-7: SMU DE Justin Lawler

SMU DE Justin Lawler – Photo courtesy of SMU

The Bucs spent a Top 30 visit on Lawler, which means there is likely some significant interest in acquiring the big, 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end. While Lawler isn’t one of the most athletic defensive linemen in this year’s draft class, he did have very good production at SMU, recording 226 tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks with four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Lawler’s production improved in each of the three years he was a starter on the Mustangs defense, culminating in a senior campaign that saw him record 74 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two passes defensed. Lawler gets by on physical play and a high motor and had a good week of practice at the East-West Shrine Game. He’s a late-round pick or a potential undrafted free agent, and Lawler has the size the Bucs like, in addition to the toughness that the team seeks in the trenches.

LINEBACKER
Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 1-3: UCF OLB Shaquem Griffin

UCF Shaquem Griffin – Photo courtesy of UCF

Griffin was one of the best stories in college football, overcoming the odds of only having one hand to become one of the top playmaking linebackers last year in helping the UCF Knights go undefeated and beat Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. Griffin burst onto the scene as a junior with 92 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, one interception, seven passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Last year, he racked up 74 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one interception, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles two fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown. Griffin was clocked at 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, making the 6-foot-1, 223-pound defender one of the fastest players in the draft. Whether it’s as a blitzer, a tackler or a playmaker, Griffin and his brand of leadership would be an asset to Tampa Bay as a third-round pick. The Bucs don’t necessarily need to draft a linebacker, but he may be too good of a player to pass up in the middle rounds.

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 4-7: Wisconsin OLB Leon Jacobs

Wisconsin OLB Leon Jacobs – Photo courtesy of Univ. of Wisconsin

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Jacobs is a jacked up brickhouse of a linebacker – and he hits like ton of bricks, too. Jacobs is a versatile, all-around linebacker with good coverage skills, evidenced by three career interceptions, and the ability to be an effective blitzer with 6.5 career sacks. Jacobs battled through injuries at Wisconsin to put together a fine senior year in which he recorded 60 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown and one forced fumble. The Bucs like speedy linebackers and Jacobs blazed a time of 4.48 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, which opened some eyes. Because he was unable to string together successful seasons with the Badgers, his instincts might be a little behind the curve. But get him in Tampa as a fourth- or fifth-round pick and get him coached up by Mark Duffner and he could be an eventual replacement for Lavonte David one day while starring on special teams as a reserve.

CORNERBACK
Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 1-3: UCF CB Mike Hughes

UCF CB Mike Hughes – Photo courtesy of UCF

The Bucs have a pressing need at cornerback and have brought in several late first-round and early second-day prospects on pre-draft visits, including Iowa’s Josh Jackson, Louisville’s Jaire Alexander, LSU’s Donte Jackson and Hughes from nearly UCF in Orlando. Although Hughes really only played two years at the FBS level – with his main production coming last year as a junior at UCF – he has top-notch athleticism and competitiveness that make him worthy of a second-round pick. Hughes transferred to UCF from Garden City Community College where he was the conference’s defensive player of the year. He made an immediate impact for the Knights on defense with four interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown, and on special teams where he returned two kicks and one punt for scores. Hughes has the talent to come in and start as a rookie opposite veteran Brent Grimes and finding an outside cornerback with that capability is a pressing need for Tampa Bay in this draft.

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 4-7: Dubuque CB Michael Joseph

Dubuque CB Micheal Joseph – Photo courtesy of Dubuque

Tampa Bay will likely draft a cornerback in the first three rounds but don’t be surprised if the team comes back on Day 3 and grabs another cornerback. Why? Grimes is 35 years old and likely won’t play past this year. If the two cornerbacks taken in the 2016 draft – Hargreaves and Ryan Smith – don’t pan out the Bucs will need to restock the position sooner rather than later. Joseph had some eye-opening statistics at Dubuque where he recorded 15 career interceptions, including eight last year. At 6-foot-1, 181 pounds, Joseph has great length and 4.49 speed. While he showed he could hang with FBS talent at the Senior Bowl, Joseph will likely need some time to transition from playing at the FCS level, but could immediately help out on special teams as a rookie. Taking a late-round gamble on a ballhawk like Joseph would be a worthy investment for the Bucs.

SAFETY
Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 1-3: Florida State SS Derwin James

FSU safety Derwin James – Getty Images

The Bucs will have the chance to take one of the most athletic and energetic defensive backs in this year’s NFL Draft in James with the seventh overall pick. Tampa Bay believes the physical, hard-hitting James has Pro Bowl-caliber ability as an in-the-box strong safety with tremendous run-stopping ability, in addition to the range and playmaking skills necessary to play free safety when defensive coordinator Mike Smith wants to rotate free safety Justin Evans down into the box to give opposing offenses different looks. Perhaps just as important, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound James also brings tremendous leadership ability to the table. The Bucs have great leaders in the front seven with middle linebacker Kwon Alexander, outside linebacker Lavonte David and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, but don’t really have a vocal leader in the secondary. James, whose fiery personality is akin to Alexander’s, could fill that role in Tampa Bay for years to come.

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 4-7: Penn State SS Troy Apke

Penn State SS Troy Apke – Photo courtesy of Penn State

The Bucs need to find a strong safety to pair with Evans, the free safety who was the team’s second-round pick a year ago, and may have to wait until Day 3 to do so if Tampa Bay doesn’t draft James in the first round. A great Day 3 option would be Apke, who stunned scouts by running a 4.35 time in the 40-yard dash, which was the fastest time of any safety at the NFL Scouting Combine. Apke is a bit of a late bloomer, only starting during his senior year and having just two career interceptions. He has good size at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds and is a willing hitter, but needs more experience and development before being a finished product capable of starting in Tampa Bay’s secondary. Yet Apke could learn under Chris Conte and Keith Tandy for a year while starring on special teams and could perhaps assume the starting mantle in 2019 opposite Evans.