Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Grading every pick in 2020 NFL Draft

Round 7, Pick 241: Chapelle Russell, Outside Linebacker, Temple

The Bucs continued to upgrade their depth in the draft’s final round, targeting Russell to backup linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White. He’s a tough and resilient player who came back from not one, but two ACL injuries. Despite these injuries, he’s still very quick and agile and is a capable coverage linebacker.

The injury history is a big question mark though, and he’s a smaller linebacker. Furthermore, he struggles to diagnose plays as they develop, and is a much weaker run defender than in pass defense. There were better linebackers available, such as LSU’s Michael Divinity Jr. but Russell is yet another attempt to develop a capable backup at linebacker.

Grade: C

Round 7, Pick 245: Raymond Calais, Running Back, Louisiana

With their last selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Licht decided to double down at running back with the selection of Calais here. The former Ragin’ Cajun back will likely be a change of pace back for the Bucs offense, as he is a fast, physical runner who likes contact but also runs very well through traffic.

However, he’s a small back with basically no experience in pass protection or catching the ball out of the backfield. In an offense run by Brady in which the G.O.A.T loves to target backs on short passes and the screen game, why would Licht and Arians take a player who hasn’t shown that he can do that at the collegiate level?

Not a great pick to end this draft. I would have liked to have seen a flyer on a quarterback like Washington State’s Anthony Gordon here.

Grade: D

Overall Draft Grade

As a whole, I’d give this draft a B grade. Wirfs and Winfield Jr. should start right away, as both of them fill major positions of need at right tackle and free safety. Meanwhile, Vaughn and Johnson should contribute quite a bit on offense from the get-go as well. Davis is also a solid pick to fulfill a depth role on the defensive line, as he has flashed pass-rush potential.

However, the closing selections of Russell and Calais were head-scratchers, to say the least, especially with better prospects on the board. Nevertheless, the 2020 NFL Draft is in the books for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s see how this latest batch of rookies performs in red and pewter.