FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• I’m excited to announce that PewterReport.com will be hosting another Draft Streaming Videocast live from One Buccaneer Place next week. PewterReport.com’s Trevor Sikkema and I will be hosting this live streaming video broadcast on all three days of the 2018 NFL Draft starting on Thursday, April 26. We’ll have special guests during the Draft Streaming Videocast, including PewterReport.com’s Mark Cook, and future Pewter Reporter Riley Auman, the son of Tampa Bay Times Bucs beat writer Greg Auman (we’ll try to get him on, too), to discuss not only what the Bucs and their NFC South counterparts are doing during the draft, but also all of the other NFL teams, too.

We had tremendous feedback on our initial Draft Streaming Videocast last year and are bringing it back in the same YouTube broadcast format. Simply visit PewterReport.com and click on the Draft Streaming Videocast story and you can watch it from your web browser. No additional downloads or apps are necessary to view our three-day online draft program. Here is a link to one of the streaming videos we did during last year’s draft from One Buc Place.

And when the Bucs have a press conference to discuss the draft picks, or dial up conference call between the draft picks and local Tampa Bay reporters, a member of our PR staff will be on hand to cover those events and report fresh information as soon as they occur to the Draft Streaming Videocast audience on PewterReport.com. Get over 15 hours of live Bucs and NFL Draft analysis straight from the PewterReport.com staff. There’s no other place to be for the best Bucs draft coverage.

Here are the times for PewterReport.com’s Draft Streaming Videocast:

Round 1: Thursday, April 26 – 7:30 p.m. ET until conclusion
Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 27 – 7:00 p.m. ET until conclusion
Rounds 4-7: Saturday, April 28 – Noon ET until conclusion

Please note that this will be the last SR’s Fab 5 column until after the 2018 NFL Draft concludes, as I won’t have time to finish one by Friday morning with the draft beginning on Thursday night and my hosting responsibilities on PewterReport.com’s Draft Streaming Videocast. Rest assured that PewterReport.com will have plenty of draft stories and analysis columns Thursday through Sunday on the website for you to read and enjoy.

• PewterReport.com’s fifth and FINAL 2018 Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft will be published on Sunday, April 22, so visit the website and don’t miss it. This mock draft has a big surprise and features something we’ve never done before. Stay tuned to PewterReport.com as our 2018 Draft Position Previews continue this weekend and check out the last Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft we’ll do this year.

• The 2018 NFL Draft is almost here and we’ve got another draft-oriented Pewter Nation Podcast for your listening pleasure, as Trevor Sikkema, Mark Cook and special guest and former Buccaneers guard Ian Beckles mulled over options for Tampa Bay at No. 7 and other various topics. This edition of the Pewter Nation Podcast has already been one of the most popular ones we’ve done thanks to Beckles’ appearance, so be sure to give it a listen.

You can click here to listen to Episode 70: Back With Beckles

If you didn’t get a chance to listen to our previous Pewter Nation Podcast, which had some hilarious moments along with plenty of Bucs draft analysis, you can click here to listen to  Episode 69: Bear Necessities Of The Bucs Draft

If you haven’t listened to this week’s podcast yet, it’s the perfect way to enjoy your lunch on a Friday afternoon or battle rush hour traffic on your way home from work. In addition to listening to the Pewter Nation Podcasts on PewterReport.com you can also subscribe to the free podcasts at PodBean by clicking here and on SoundCloud by clicking here.

• Based on the information the PewterReport.com staff has acquired, I suspect the Bucs’ draft pool for the No. 7 pick includes – in no particular order – Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Florida State strong safety Derwin James, Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea, Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward and Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey.

If Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht receives the right offer and elects to trade down to the middle part of the first round, I think the Bucs’ draft pool of players they would consider includes – in no particular order – Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson, Louisville cornerback Jaire Alexander, UCF cornerback Mike Hughes, and UTEP guard Will Hernandez.

• Count Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin and left tackle Donovan Smith as big fans of Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley. Both of Tampa Bay’s offensive players would love to see another Penn State product in the huddle, especially given the team’s need at running back.

“He’s a special player,” said Godwin, who played with Barkley in college. “He can do it all as a running back, but what I think sets him apart is off the field. He’s a very humble dude. He’s always looking to do something for his teammates. I think he has a bright future ahead of him. I would be surprised if he’s there when we pick. He’s a really hard worker. He’s one of the hardest workers on the team and brings the juice. He’s the same guy, day in and day out.

Penn State RB Saquon Barkley – Photo by: Getty Images

“I think in the middle of training camp his freshman year he had a really long touchdown run and we said, ‘Wow. This kid is good. He can really be something.’ I think in the Buffalo game when he first jumped over somebody we thought he was the real deal. Coming into his sophomore year the one thing he needed to work on was his pass protection, and the next two years he really worked on his craft and perfected that. Being on the field for all three downs is becoming more and more valuable for running backs.”

Smith, who is entering his fourth season in Tampa Bay, didn’t play with Barkley at Penn State, but has watched him intently as a proud Nittany Lions alum.

“You’ve seen it, everybody’s seen it, the world has seen it,” Smith said. “He’s a special guy. Just between his size, speed and cutting ability – all of that. All the things he can do – it’s crazy.”

I asked Smith if he thought there were similarities between Barkley and New Orleans’ versatile Alvin Kamara, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie last year.

“Versatility-wise, yes, but I’m going to rock with my Penn State guys,” Smith said. “Saquon is better. He can touch the ball in any phase of the game, which is huge. There are some similarities there, but I don’t think he’s as big as Saquon – or as talented.”

• PewterReport.com is on a mission to get 30,000 Twitter followers due to our continuous updates in free agency and breaking news about which draft prospects are visiting Tampa Bay. Stay up to date with the latest Bucs free agency news and Bucs draft news by following us on Twitter. Help us grow to 30,000 by draft weekend. To follow @PewterReport on Twitter please click here, and to follow us on Facebook please click here.

• Bucs middle linebacker Kwon Alexander was asked to comment on the rehab of defensive end Noah Spence, who is back from shoulder surgery last fall and has noticeably bigger arms.

Bucs DE Noah Spence – Photo from Spence’s Instagram account

“That man got swole he got swole,” Alexander said, referring to Spence’s “swollen” physique. “He’s going to be ready. He looks very powerful. That’s what he wants to be, powerful. He hasn’t lost a step. He’s eating healthy and doing everything he’s supposed to do. He just can’t wait to get back on the field. He hasn’t been on the field so he can’t wait. He’s going to go out there and dominate, I know he is.”

Spence had a sack-fumble in the 2017 season-opening win against Chicago, but re-injured his surgically-repaired shoulder in a Week 2 loss at Minnesota and went on injured reserve a few weeks later. Spence had a more involved shoulder surgery than the one he had last offseason, and this surgery was designed to prevent his shoulder from constantly dislocating. Spence, a second-round pick in 2016, had 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles as a rookie while playing most of the season in a shoulder harness.

• Congratulations to the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars for going back to more traditional looks with their jerseys. The Dolphins made a mistake years ago by inserting navy as another accent color to go along with white, aquamarine and orange. The Jaguars made a mistake of having ugly two-tone helmets with black fading into gold. Both mistakes have been rectified for the sake of all of us watching, as we will be in the preseason as Tampa travels to Miami in Week 1 and hosts Jacksonville in Week 4.

• Here are some Bucs roster house-cleaning notes. Linebacker Adarius Glanton legally changed his name to Adarius Taylor in honor of his late father. Buccaneers.com’s Scott Smith first reported his name change.

“Glanton was my mother’s name and my father’s last name was Taylor,” he explained. “He passed away when I was nine. I decided a couple years ago that I would take his name before I got married.”

Bucs OLB Adarius Taylor – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

According to Buccaneers.com, Taylor married his fiancée, Kristen, on February 24, and she took his new last name.

Also worth noting, are some new jersey numbers for the team’s new players. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul will wear No. 90, defensive end Vinny Curry will wear No. 97, defensive lineman Mitch Unrein will wear No. 98, defensive tackle Beau Allen will wear No. 91, center Ryan Jensen will wear No. 66 and kicker Chandler Catanzaro will wear No. 7.

• Just in case you didn’t get the memo from Fab 1 that this is Kwon Alexander’s defense now, there’s this from Alexander during his press conference on Thursday when asked about adding players to the Bucs from the upcoming draft.

“That is what we need and we need some more dogs on the team, so whoever comes on the team has to be a dog because I am going to turn them into one if they are not,” Alexander said. “That is how it is now.”

• You have to love this quote from Bucs general manager Jason Licht from Thursday’s press conference.

“Personally, I like guys that hate to lose more than they love to win,” Licht said. “So, I think that’s the mentality I kind of can sense throughout this building.”

What’s the old saying? Ah, yes – “Never met a winner that wasn’t a sore loser.”

The Bucs got rid of some players that weren’t sore losers last year and will be better because of it in 2018.

• I am excited to welcome Mike Cassens as a new advertising partner to PewterReport.com. He owns Mike Cassens Realty, which is part of the Sure Way Realty Group in Tampa, so please turn to him for all of your residential real estate needs in the Tampa Bay area (Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties).

As a graduate of USF, Cassens has been in Tampa for decades and knows every square inch of town. He’ll work hard to sell your house and help you find the new home of your dreams. Visit his dynamic website at TampaHomeDeals.com to look at available inventory or give him a call at  (813) 235-3495.

Cassens is a big Bucs and Bulls fan, so you’re in good company when you choose him as your realtor. Be sure you tell him that PewterReport.com sent you.

• And finally, Cassens is also advertising a charity golf tournament that his non-profit organization We Are Tampa Bay is putting on called the Tampa Bay Red Zone Charity Golf Classic. The theme is “Turn Back The Clock” and participants are encouraged to dress up in ‘60s, ‘70s or ‘80s vintage attire and have fun at this golf tournament, which will feature current and former NFL players, great prizes and the chance to win a car.

The Tampa Bay Red Zone Charity Golf Classic will be held at Cheval Golf & Athletic Club in Lutz, Fla. on May 6, 2018 from noon until 7:00 p.m. with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. This scramble golf tournament features greens fees, an event t-shirt, dinner, a raffle ticket into player exclusive drawing, free domestic beer and house win on the course and at the awards ceremony following the event.

The admission price is $125 per player / $500 per team and you will be paired with a former college or pro football player or other celebrity. At the Tampa Bay Red Zone Charity Golf Classic 100 percent of the proceeds go to the charity, which is All Sports Community Service Foundation & UnsignedPreps Organization.

The UnsignedPreps Organization takes local high school athletes from lower income areas in Tampa Bay on bus tours throughout Florida to area colleges for football camps to increase their exposure to those schools and increase their chances of going to school on scholarship. There is still time to sign up yourself or a foursome for the Tampa Bay Red Zone Charity Golf Classic. Visit WeAreTampaBay.com or click here for the direct link to the golf tournament website.