Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rookie pass rushers stand out at mini-camp

Day-three defensive players ready to shine

In terms of Nelson, Vitali stated:

"“In addition to his intelligence, Nelson’s athleticism really can’t be overlooked either. He moves more fluidly than expected and in a position that requires just a little more athleticism than he’s used to, that’s good news. His combination of smarts and agility could make him a great asset on the outside of this defensive line” (Vitali via Buccaneers)."

Nelson is huge, standing at a tall 6-7 and 271 pounds. At the combine he ran a 4.82 second 40 yard dash, a 35.5 inch vertical jump, and a sub-seven second three-cone drill.

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Due to the lack of depth along the defensive line, Beckner looks safer and safer daily to make the final 53-man roster if he can stay healthy. Beckner is turning heads early on this summer.

"“[Beckner Jr.] plays with a lot of fire and his coaches have had great things to say about how hungry he is. Now that the playbook is starting to sink in, he got back to his inherent ball awareness and was even able to get his hand on a pass to break it up” (Vitali via Buccaneers)."

Athletically, Beckner Jr. is underwhelming, but his passion may help to compensate for that. At the combine, he tested very poor across the board, but has good size to compete at the next level.

The pads have yet to go on, but to see rookies stepping up early is encouraging after a rough offseason of change. Tons of young players are going to see the field in 2019, and they are hot out of the gate this summer.