2020 NFL Draft: CeeDee Lamb is WR1 in this first-round mock draft
Grant Delpit is becoming one of the more polarizing figures in the 2020 NFL Draft for me. His potential is through the roof and he has the talent to fill a similar role to Derwin James, but the consistency has not been there and the production has lacked a bit this season, causing him to fall down my board a bit.
Although he was recently awarded the 2019 Jim Thorpe Award given to the best defensive back in the nation, I don’t know that Delpit was entirely deserving of that honor this season. All of his primary defensive stats (tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions, passes defended) were quite a bit lower than they were a season ago.
While he has suffered from a few blown coverages and missed tackles this year, Delpit is a versatile and dynamic playmaker on defense. He can play around the line of scrimmage and blitz or he can drop into a deep zone and ballhawk. Given his 6-foot-3 and 203 lb frame, I think he projects best as a free safety in the NFL but he can contribute anywhere in the secondary.
The Buccaneers secondary has been very bad this season. While their run defense has been one of the top in the league, they simply cannot stop the pass to save their lives. But they don’t have a player like Grant Delpit on their roster. Delpit would be able to fly all over the field making plays and breaking up passes that would typically be completed this year.
After passing on Derwin James for Vita Vea a couple of years ago, the Bucs can’t afford to make a similar mistake in the 2020 NFL Draft. I’m certainly not saying that Delpit will come in right away and perform at James’ level, but his potential could lead him to fill a similar role for a defense that need it desperately. This shouldn’t be their only move to address the secondary, but bringing in a versatile player like Delpit would be a great start.