When the Buccaneers traded back into the third round on Friday night, most thought they would take a running back. Instead, they drafted LSU linebacker Kendell Beckwith with the final pick of day two. Here are three things to note about the former Tiger.
The Buccaneers went with somewhat of a surprise pick after trading back into the third round of the draft on Friday night. Rather than take a running back, Tampa Bay went back to the defensive side of the ball. The selection made Kwon Alexander a very happy man, as it turned out to be his former teammate at LSU: linebacker Kendell Beckwith.
While no one seemed to peg linebacker as a big need for the Bucs, the pick isn’t necessarily a bad one at all. With Daryl Smith‘s contract up, the team does have a role that will likely go to Beckwith. The 6-foot-2-inch defender joins Alexander and Lavonte David in the linebacking corps, which now looks like one that has the potential to be pretty dangerous. The Tampa Bay defense as a whole should benefit from this pick, as it gained another solid tackler with good vision that can help stop new NFC South additions like Christian McCaffrey and Adrian Peterson.
Here, we have three things you need to know about the newest Buccaneer linebacker.