Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Late-round draft targets after Brady and Gronk additions
Julian Blackmon, S, Utah
Julian Blackmon is yet another versatile and productive player that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could add to their defense. Blackmon has starting experience as a corner, and the skills to play deep in a zone or around the line of scrimmage at the next level.
Blackmon put up good numbers in a variety of areas at Utah. He has great instincts and ball skills in zone, can mirror receivers in man and is effective in run support. Blackmon does it all, and could wear a variety of hats for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A versatile player like Blackmon is exactly the type of player that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need in their secondary. He may not start right away (but certainly could, probably as a nickel) but he can fill in anywhere at all in the secondary.
Stanford Samuels III, CB, Florida State
Another player that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can keep in the state of Florida, Stanford Samuels III is a well-rounded and underrated cornerback. Samuels has an optimal NFL corner frame, that he should fill out a bit more as time goes on. He has the skills and athleticism to play in multiple schemes and coverages and could be an upgrade over a lot of what the Bucs currently have on the roster.
Samuels is physical and effective in press-man coverage, staying glued to his receiver, particularly on short and intermediate routes. Even when lining up close to line of scrimmage, Samuels can sometimes bail quickly off the snap to keep the receiver in front of him.
In off-man and zone coverage, Samuels has really great instincts and ball skills. Athletic enough to cover ground quickly and willing as a tackler in run support, Samuels has the makings of a very good NFL cornerback.
dark. Next. Possible trade-up targets for TB Bucs
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Samuels will have to improve his technique and cut back on the penalties deep down the field in coverage. It would be beneficial to his effectiveness in run support if he added more play strength to his frame, especially if he ends up playing in the slot.
The current Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary leaves a lot to be desired. Adding talented and versatile players like Stanford Samuels III in the later rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft could help improve the group’s level of play going forward.