Buccaneers: Jabrill Peppers Selected in Chad Reuter’s Latest Mock Draft

Is Jabril Peppers a good choice for the Buccaneers at number 19, as Chad Reuter believes?

It is less than one month from the beginning of the NFL draft and speculation season is well underway. The Buccaneers are in the midst of final preparations, making their best guesses as to who will be the stars of tomorrow. Jason Licht is watching tape, interviewing prospects, and doing everything he can to finalize his draft board.

While the Bucs are preparing, we are speculating, and that means looking at mock drafts. They come from all over the map, all across the landscape. Today we are going to take a look at the latest version from Chad Reuter, NFL.com draft analyst.

In his latest, he selected Jabrill Peppers to join the Bucs. Here is what he had to say:

"Peppers becomes a starter immediately for the Bucs."

Take a look at the entire mock by clicking here.

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We know that the resounding opinion is that the Bucs need to address the running back position. In Reuter’s mock, he does so in the third round with the selection of Kareem Hunt. Many are high on Hunt, so it’s not as if the Bucs would be going out on a limb going that route, but today’s question is about Jabrill Peppers.

Both Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook are still on the board in this scenario. Is it worth it to pass on both of these guys to select Peppers?

Here are his stats (per Sports Reference):

As James Yarcho so accurately pointed out, Peppers doesn’t make a lot of plays on the football. 11 passes defended and one interception show Peppers to clearly be something less than a coverage safety. He is an in the box safety, but didn’t put up a lot of tackles until his junior year. Could he have benefited from returning for his senior year? Possibly.

James’ reference that the Bucs play the nickel as the base defense is also dead on. According to Pro Football Focus, both Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David played more than 1,000 snaps. No other linebacker was even close. Neither of those two players will be benched in favor of an unproven Jabrill Peppers.

Next: Draft Watch: Marcus Maye

In short, Peppers is a great player, but not right for the Bucs scheme. Agree?