To this point, the Buccaneers have had a very solid draft. They were able to land one of the top tackles on the board in Tristan Wirfs in the first round. After that, the Bucs added to their defensive back group with ball-hawking safety, Antoine Winfield Jr, and, finally, they drafted Ke’Shawn Vaughn to pair with Ronald Jones in the backfield.
Now, the Bucs enter day three with four selections. One in the fifth (161st), one in the sixth (194th), and a pair in the seventh round (241st and 245th). Tackle, running back, and safety were arguably the Bucs’ biggest needs, and after addressing them in the first two days, here are some players to keep an eye.
James Morgan QB, Florida International
The Buccaneers don’t necessarily need to draft a quarterback this season, however, since they already addressed their biggest needs, taking a chance in the fifth on a guy like quarterback James Morgan may be worth it. Morgan started 37 games in college with stints at both Bowling Green and Florida International. He comes with many of the tangibles and a lot of arm talent, he just needs some time to develop. Learning under Tom Brady and Bruce Arians seems like a perfect situation. In his junior and senior season at Florida International, Morgan threw for 5,312 yards, 40 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions in 24 games.
James Lynch IDL, Baylor
James Lynch holds the Baylor record for sacks with 22 over his three seasons. 13.5 of which came in 2019. Needing time to develop, Lynch could offer situational depth behind the likes of Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea.
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Quintez Cephus WR, Wisconsin
In a pair of mock drafts we published before the start of the draft, Quintez Cephus was taken with one of the Bucs late-round picks. Even with the addition of Rob Gronkowski, the Bucs could use another receiver and Cephus offers intriguing potential. After missing all of 2018, Cephus returned to Wisconsin in 2019 with 59 receptions for 901 yards and seven touchdowns. His strong hands and high I.Q. could make him a perfect third or fourth option for Brady at receiver.
Alex Taylor OT, South Carolina State
Having already grabbed their presumptive starting right tackle in Tristan Wirfs, the Bucs offensive line has already seen a drastic improvement from a year ago. Add in the blocking ability of Rob Gronkowski and the protection of Brady and the running backs has improved across the board. That doesn’t mean they won’t double-dip at the position and Alex Taylor is a perfect option to do so. At 6-foot-9 and 309 pounds, Taylor offers a lot of length is fairly athletic for his size. He will need to refine his skills but he has the potential to be a starter in the NFL. For now, he will provide great depth for the Bucs offensive line.
Benito Jones IDL, Ole Miss
Much like James Lynch, Benito Jones could offer the Buccaneers some late-round defensive line depth behind Suh and Vea. Although he has some potential to be a starter at some point, he is likely best served as a situational run defender.
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DeMarkus Acy CB, Missouri
DeMarkus Acy is strong in both man and zone coverage and can play many areas of the field. Partly due to his experience at safety coming into college. Acy had 99 tackles and three interceptions in 38 games for Missouri. Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 195 pounds, he could use a bit more size. If he does, combined with his versatility, he has the potential to be a starter down the road. For now, he would provide more depth to an improving defensive back group that just added Antoine Winfield Jr.
– Ian Glendon is the Editor-In-Chief of Full Press Coverage and the Managing Editor of FPC Buccaneers. Like and follow on Twitter @iglen31 FPC_Buccaneers and FullPressNFL
