The trade deadline has come and gone, and the Bucs didn’t make any moves to improve their beat-up secondary. Whether you agree with this decision or not, at the very least the Bucs didn’t have to give anything away, and the team’s done a great job of hanging onto most of its picks throughout the Brady era.
With this week being a bye, let’s play GM, think about a draft and take a look at the five best fits for the Bucs coming out of college?
Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida
The Bucs’ secondary struggles have been well-documented this season, so going with a cornerback in the first round wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Tampa Bay clearly lacks depth at that position, and even its starters aren’t exactly top-notch. Elam looks to be a physical presence on the outside at 6-foot-2-inches, and he moves extremely well for someone of that size. The biggest thing the Bucs secondary seems to struggle with is keeping up with the speed guys, so Elam could bring some of that while maintaining the physicality that the Bucs’ secondary seems to thrive on.
Jarrett Patterson, C, Notre Dame
The Bucs’ current starting center Ryan Jensen has been great in his time here, and with his impending free agency he’ll certainly be difficult to replace, especially considering how important it is to keep Brady upright and protected. Enter Patterson, the 6-foot 5-inch interior lineman out of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish has been producing quality interior offensive linemen for years now, including All-Pros Zach Martin and Quinton Nelson. Hopefully Patterson can join that list and continue the Bucs’ stellar offensive line play for years to come.
Jermayne Lole, DL, Arizona State
Nose tackle Vita Vea certainly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but defensive end Ndamokung Suh might be. Suh has been just what the Bucs’ interior line had needed over the past three years, helping Vea with his development and establishing a tremendously dominant culture when it comes to stopping the run. But, Suh’s on a one-year deal and going on 35 years old. With the birth of twins this past year—he and his wife’s first children—he might be done after 2021. Lole would certainly be an excellent replacement. He was ranked as one of the best defensive tackles against the run in 2019 and 2020, and is even developing as a pass rusher. Lole may not be a household name, but the Bucs seem to have a knack for picking up pretty solid under-the-radar guys to fill out their roster.
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Michigan State
Walker (pictured above) broke out last week against Michigan with a 197-yard, 5-touchdown performance that could have him on a lot of people’s Heisman radars. This is obviously a much more sexy pick than the three above, as Walker is now a known commodity and might not even be available when the Bucs get their first pick. But assuming he is there, and assuming current Bucs running back Leonard Fournette gets a better payday elsewhere, the Bucs wouldn’t be completely stupid to take the Spartan. He’s an excellent runner, but his skills as a pass catcher haven’t quite been put on display in his college career. With Brady’s love for pass-catching backs, this could be a bit of a problem for Walker’s fit in Tampa. Regardless, his skills as a runner might be enough to entice the Bucs, especially if they can find a third-down guy in free agency, or if they think Walker can develop that part of his game.
Adam Anderson, Edge, Georgia
With how well Georgia has been playing (specifically its defense), it wouldn’t be a surprise to see multiple guys from that side of the ball go in the first round. Anderson is no exception, and with the Bucs potentially losing Jason Pierre-Paul to either free agency or retirement, Tampa Bay might need to find a third pass rusher to fill out its rotation. Anderson’s ridiculous athletic ability fills a similar profile to the Bucs’ first round pick last year (Joe Tryon-Shoyinka), and while it would be a little odd for Tampa to go the same position in consecutive drafts in the first round, you can never have enough pass rushers. Anderson, Shaq Barrett and the aforementioned Tryon-Shoyinka would make up a pretty good pass rush rotation.
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This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2021.
