NFL Draft Grades 2018: Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Vita Vea at No. 12

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded down from No. 7 to No. 12 in the 2018 NFL Draft and were still able to land a player they coveted in Vita Vea.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranked 22nd in total defense at the end of the 2017 NFL season. Their run defense had a lot to do with their issues as they finished the year ranked No. 23 in that department, giving up 4.3 yards per carry to opposing running backs.

Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea, who the Bucs landed at No. 12 in the 2018 NFL Draft, will come and add beef to a line that has two Super Bowl winning defensive ends in Jason Pierre-Paul and Vinny Curry, in addition to perennial Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. 

The addition of Vea — who Tampa was able to nab after trading back with the Bills from No. 7 — gives McCoy the run stopper he’s needed alongside side him since he was drafted No. 3 overall in 2010. McCoy is the traditional three-technique, the gap shooting defensive tackle who makes his plays behind the line of scrimmage.

The 6-4, 347-pound behemoth that his Vita Vea is the run-stuffing, guard-eating zero or one technique that’s ideally suited for the Buccaneers. There was a lot of talk that Vea was more than just a run stuffer, and that’s because of his athletic prowess he possesses even at his size. That’s why there was a belief that we could see him picked inside the first 11 picks.

Next: NFL Draft 2018: Instant grades, reactions

In fact, some mock drafts had him going to the Miami Dolphins at No. 11. Ultimately that didn’t happen and the Buccaneers were able to land a massive talent. What makes the pick even more special  is that the Buccaneers were able to load up on draft picks. They moved down from the. No. 7 spot to the No. 12 spot and received the. No. 53 and 56 picks in this draft.

Grade: A