After the conclusion of Day Two of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers made one thing clear. The Secondary was not acceptable in it’s current state. Hard to disagree with that perception seeing how the Bucs pass defense held up. At 24th in Pass Yards allowed and 30th in Passing TD’s allowed, Todd Bowles basically told Licht his 2018 class was not going to work.The first step in rebuilding the Secondary was Central Michigan’s Sean Bunting.
The Buccaneers were on the clock and players like LSU’s Corner Greedy Williams and Florida’s Tackle Jawaan Taylor available. Both fit a need and had been linked to the Bucs even in the first round. Naturally, one of those guys was going to be the pick, right? Based on value alone it made sense, but Bruce started his Friday by tipping his hand a bit by eluding to combating a specific strength in the NFC South.
“In our division, we’ve got a couple big receivers we’ve got to handle. Hopefully we can fix that today” – Bruce Arians
Emphasis on the word “fix”. A word that usually implies that something was broken. Carlton Davis showed plenty of promise despite showing an equal amount of rookie mistakes, but it was after one season on a sinking ship. It would be unfair and unwise to move on so quickly, but a camp competition could provide returns in the form of elevated play.
Breaking Down Sean Bunting
Apparently, Arians had told White that he was going to be our pick at 5 days prior. Carry that over to today and the statement made by Coach Arians about addressing the big NFC South Wide Receivers. Draft a big and fast Cornerback.
Measuring in at 6’0”, 190lbs, Sean Bunting posted a 4.42 40 time, Bunting is a big corner with speed. According to PFF Bunting allowed only 0.60 yards per coverage snap. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he was one of only a few Corners to not allow a Touchdown in 2018. Not a single score or full yard allowed. Think about that.
The stats don’t fly off the page for Bunting. Though that could be attributed to one single factor. Quarterbacks probably avoided him. His 2018 season included 37 tackles, 2 INT’s, 5 pass deflection’s and 2 forced fumbles. That’s a real good way to get more familiar with our potential new shutdown Corner.
