Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Three things to know about Vita Vea
By Bailey Adams
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Vita Vea with the twelfth pick in this year’s draft. Here, we have three things you need to know about the newest Buc.
Even after beefing up their defensive line in free agency, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued to build up the trenches in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. After trading the seventh pick to Buffalo, general manager Jason Licht spent the twelfth overall pick on Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea.
By the time the Bucs were on the clock, all signs seemed to point to Florida State safety Derwin James being the pick. However, the team went in another direction and selected Vea to slot in next to Gerald McCoy. That presumably frees up the star veteran from double teams while also adding another massive body in the middle of the Tampa Bay defensive line. The defensive front will have a whole new look in 2018. With the additions of Beau Allen, Mitch Unrein, Vinny Curry, Jason Pierre-Paul and Vea, the front four should no longer be an issue.
Considering he played his college football on the other side of the country, Vea may feel like somewhat of an unknown to Buccaneer fans. The folks at PewterReport.com reported on the team’s interest in him, but many seemed to dismiss it. Here, we look at three things to know about Tampa Bay’s newest addition.