Buccaneers Draft Grades 2017: Day Three Selections
Day three of the NFL Draft may not be the most exciting, but for teams like the Buccaneers, it’s an opportunity to find the players which have the ability to truly elevate your franchise.
We all know about Tom Brady, and whether or not the Buccaneers or any other team found the next Brady in this year’s draft class is yet to be seen.
What we don’t have to wait for is immediate reactions and, of course, grades!
Without further delay, let’s get to it.
Fifth Round – RB, Jeremy McNichols, Boise State
Many thought the Buccaneers would take a running back earlier in the draft.
I’ll admit when I saw the team had traded up into the back-end of the third round on day two I was sure it was to draft South Florida’s Marlon Mack.
Alas, it was not, but this isn’t to say Jeremy McNichols from Boise State isn’t going to be just as effective for the Bucs moving forward.
McNichols ran for over 1,700 yards in his 2016 campaign and added another 400+ yards as a receiver.
Looking at the Bucs’ current stable of running backs, it’s clear the team was looking to get the best of both worlds while the remainder of their depth chart specializes in one or the other.
Something which always helps late round prospects make the active roster is special teams ability, and McNichols has 29 kickoff returns under his belt with a career 19.1 yards per return average with the Broncos.
Just how much his impact will be felt in Tampa is to be determined, but the pick addresses a need, and his skill set brings a new wrinkle into the running back room.
Oh, and Doug Martin likes the pick.
Getting a player who seems to fit what you need so nicely, and has strong collegiate production on top of it, should work nicely for the roster.