Tampa Bay Buccaneers: One linebacker to target in every round

Round 7: Ulysees Gilbert III, Akron

To round out day-three of the draft, MAC linebacker Ulysees Gilbert from the University of Akron should still be available. He would make another solid special teams contributor or look to replace an existing linebacker on the roster in the future. Like Burr-Kirven, Gilbert is also undersized, coming in at just 6’0 and 224 pounds.

However, at his pro day after not getting an invitation to the combine, Gilbert ran a blazing 4.51 40 yard dash with nearly a 40 inch vertical and over 10 foot broad jump. He lingered right around the seven second mark in the 3-cone drill, which is usually a good indicator of good agility.

Over his four-year career with the Akron Zips, Gilbert posted 357 total tackles, 28.5 of which came behind the line of scrimmage, and eight and a half sacks. In addition, Giblert intercepted three passes, knocked down another eight and forced three fumbles while scoring three defensive touchdowns.

Gilbert is around the same size as Bucannon, so he could be molded in the same way. Even if he has to sit a year on the practice squad, he could en up becoming a big contributor in the hybrid linebacker role for the Buccaneers’ defense.