With their second round pick, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took safety Justin Evans from Texas A&M. How did fans take it?
This was a tough round. It seemed as though every player we would’ve loved for the Buccaneers to take went in the first fifteen picks. To address a glaring need, the Bucs saw Texas A&M safety Justin Evans slip to them and they pounced.
Evans was deemed an “all or nothing” guy, meaning he makes big plays, but gives up big plays as well. There are concerns about his tackling that will hopefully be fixed with coaching.
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Ultimately, what did the fans think? We took to Twitter to get the pulse of Bucs fans on the somewhat surprising pick;
Not a fan of this pick, like Josh Jones & Obi better at this position. Hope he proves me wrong. pick a CB or a WR instead
— Milton Carroll (@Milt48NtheO) April 29, 2017
I dig it. Needed safety help and he was their guy.
— Sean Lovegrove (@seanlovegrove1) April 29, 2017
The #Bucs also took all of 90 seconds to submit the pick, so I'm pretty confident @jasonrlicht was happy he was there
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) April 29, 2017
Solid but RB is now a desperate need unless Martin has turned some magical corner
— Thomas from Lutz (@tcpipman) April 29, 2017
Solid https://t.co/W9PNoCU6t3
— Bucs__Daily (@bucsfootball_) April 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/bucngatorbolt/status/858119224169988096
Should've taken Vols Rb
— Jason Lindsey (@jayrox81) April 29, 2017
I have never been so underwhelmed https://t.co/mnsFV6JC1c
— SayWhatNah? (@CleonONE) April 29, 2017
👍🏾Great pick!
— BALLHEAD ™️ (@truballhead) April 29, 2017
They fell in love with this guy and better players out there. Obi Melifonwu for one! Not feeling it.
— Chris Iglesias⚡️ (@ChrisIglesias) April 29, 2017
Absolutely love it, Obi would have been nice but Evans is a stud
— Andrew Zamzow (@AndrewZamzow) April 29, 2017
Ugh
— jerome (@doobysnacks) April 29, 2017
It’s relatively split as you can see. One of my biggest complaints – as well as most fans who weren’t very excited – is the fact that Obi Melifonwu, Alvin Kamara, DeMarcus Walker, were all still on the board.
Hopefully Evans is as good as Licht, Dirk Koetter, and Mike Smith believe he is or will be. The Bucs desperately need safety help so a swing and miss here could cost the team in a big way – especially with the offensive improvements we’ve seen out of Carolina and New Orleans.
With needs still at running back, wide receiver, defensive line, cornerback and linebacker, it’ll be interesting to see what direction the Buccaneers go in round three. This draft is setting up to be the most balanced in Licht’s tenure.
There’s no reason the Bucs can’t get another starter with the 84th pick with as deep as this draft is. Personally, I would eye players like Marlon Mack, Kareem Hunt, Chris Godwin, Carlos Henderson, or D’Onta Foreman.
Next: Instant Analysis Of Justin Evans
This pick may not have blown many people away, but we all just have to take a deep breath and say to ourselves “In Licht We Trust”.