Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 takeaways from 2019 NFL Draft class

With a draft pool filled with talent in positions of need, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went all in by using five of their seven selections on defenders.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into the 2019 NFL Draft with holes on one side of the ball, and leave the three day NFL gathering in Nashville with plenty of prospects addressing that unit. Five of the Bucs seven draft picks were defenders, including a trio of secondary prospects picked with their second, third and fourth picks.

The crown jewel of their draft class was Devin White, a linebacker from LSU that is a massive improvement from Kwon Alexander who departed for the San Francisco 49ers. White to Tampa was one of the most predictable marriages in mock drafts for good reason given his extreme talent and leadership qualities, not to mention his fit in Todd Bowles aggressive defensive scheme.

After White, the Bucs selected the previously mentioned triumvirate of defensive backs starting with Sean Bunting of Central Michigan, then Jamel Dean of Auburn and finally Mike Edwards from the University of Kentucky. All three are long and athletic, fitting the mold of the other defensive backs on the Bucs roster aside from Vernon Hargreaves III.

Tampa transitioned to the defensive line with their fifth pick, opting for the high motor Anthony Nelson from Iowa. Their next pick will surely bring up queasy memories, but hopefully, will fill their long-running kicking woes with the 2017 Lou Groza winner Matt Gay out of Utah. The Bucs closed out their draft with wide receiver Scott Miller out of Bowling Green and defensive lineman Terry Beckner from Missouri.

I’m not a big believer in grading drafts in large part because we don’t have a clue how they will adapt to the NFL game. I do, however, appreciate when teams recognize their weaknesses and address them in the draft. These are three takeaways on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2019 draft class.