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FAB 3. IS SPENCE SWITCHING POSITIONS?
In addition to having my antenna go up during Bucs general manager Jason Licht’s press conference, I was also surprised by what Tampa Bay defensive tackle Gerald McCoy had to say about second-year defensive end Noah Spence – among other things. I asked McCoy what he expected from Spence this year and the five-time Pro Bowler believes he’s in for a “breakout year.”
“He’s been texting me and calling me a lot this offseason,” McCoy said. “He knows it’s time to take it to the next level going into Year Two. He knows he missed out on a lot of opportunities due to a lot of things that we discussed. I think he’s going to be ready to go. I guess what [the media] calls a breakout year by Noah Spence. He’s going to play a couple of different roles for us and it’s going to be fun to watch. I truly believe it’s going to be a big year for him.”
The key words in there were “a couple of different roles for us.” Spence played left defensive end and right defensive end in pass rush situations last year during a rookie season in which he recorded 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. I don’t think McCoy would have responded in that manner if Spence were simply doing more of the same. At 251 pounds Spence is too light to move inside like 275-pound Robert Ayers does.
But Spence does have the size to play strongside (Sam) linebacker in addition to defensive end. Could he be moonlighting as a blitzing Sam linebacker periodically on first and second downs to get an extra pass-rushing defensive end, such as Jacquies Smith or a rookie defensive end, on the field and then lining up at defensive end on third downs or obvious pass rushing downs?
That’s how Atlanta used 2015 first-round pick Vic Beasley last year when he notched 39 tackles, 15.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one touchdown after recording just 26 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception as a rookie. Now Beasley, who has 4.53 speed, was the eighth overall pick in 2015 and is faster and more athletic than Spence, who ran a 4.8 in the 40-yard dash. They are not exactly in the same class athletically.
The 6-foot-3, 246-pound Beasley was moved to the linebacking corps last year because he was struggling to hold up in the running game on first and second downs and getting injured and worn down as a rookie. Having Beasley operate in space resembled how Falcons coach Dan Quinn used Bruce Irvin when he was the defensive line coach at Seattle.
Spence, last year’s second-round pick by Tampa Bay, had a better rookie season than Beasley did, recording 22 tackles, 5.5 sacks and forcing three fumbles. Could he become a double-digit sacker for the Bucs this year as McCoy predicted he would? And will he play a role similar to what Beasley now plays in Atlanta?
We’ll have to see, but it is interesting to note that the Bucs are looking for another pass rushing defensive end in this draft despite drafting Spence last year and re-signing defensive end Will Gholston, the team’s top run-stuffer. And with Daryl Smith’s retirement, the Bucs have been looking at Sam linebacker candidates that can also play defensive end and rush the passer off the edge.
When asked about the possibility of spending a premium draft on a strongside linebacker in this year’s draft when the Sam linebacker only plays about 30-40 percent of the downs, Licht tipped his hand a little bit.
“Well, it depends,” Licht said. “It depends on if that strong-side linebacker that you’re looking at has value as a pass rusher or some kind of value as a fifth rusher or in coverage, your different combinations that you can use. We try to put the best 11 players out there and if we think that that guy has a role somehow, some way, then his value would increase a little bit. It’s once again, on a case-by-case basis of the player. If he’s just strictly a two-down player, he’s probably not going to be as high on this board.”
Tampa Bay has shown interest in 6-foot-2, 253-pound Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson, who ran a 4.78 in the 40-yard dash and recorded 19 sacks, 39.5 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and a pick-six for the Crimson Tide. Anderson had 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles as a senior playing Sam linebacker on early downs and defensive end on obvious pass rushing downs.
Another player that has excited the Bucs is Eastern Washington defensive end Samson Ebukam, who will have to be a blitzing linebacker at the next level due to his 6-foot-2, 240-pound frame. Ebukam ran a 4.5 at his pro day and notched 13.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles as a Buck defensive end, outside linebacker, inside linebacker and occasional defensive tackle.
The Bucs also met with Florida Atlantic’s Trey Hendrickson and Jackson State’s Javancy Jones at the East-West Shrine Game. Both have the size, speed and pass-rush ability to help set the edge as a defensive end or a Sam linebacker in a 4-3 Under scheme. Henrdrickson recorded 29.5 sacks at FAU, including 13.5 as a junior and 9.5 as a senior, in addition to seven forced fumbles.
The 6-foot-1, 252-pound Jones notched 339 tackles in his career along with 74.5 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks and six forced fumbles. Jones played for Bucs assistant defensive line coach Paul Spicer for one year at Jackson State.
I may be off base and am reading too much into possibility, or I may be on to something here. I tried to get some kind of confirmation or denial about this theory this week, but everyone at One Buccaneer Place must be in the draft bunker because I wasn’t getting any returned texts. And truth be told, if Spence is going to be splitting time between Sam linebacker and defensive end the team would probably like to keep that under wraps for as long as possible for strategic reasons.
It will be interesting to see what transpires with Spence this year and the Sam linebacker position – where Devante Bond is off injured reserve and ready to challenge for that job – or if Spence is destined to stay at the line of scrimmage full-time.