Round 3
Tampa Bay needs some depth up front on the interior defensive line, and Turner could provide that as a potential sleeper. He’s not the biggest defensive tackle in the draft, in fact, one of the criticisms of him is that his frame is on the thinner side compared to other tackles.
According to PFF, Turner earned a 93.1 run-defense grade and an 88.8 pass-rushing grade last year with the Demon Deacons, which means despite any easily fixable physical constraints on his profile there’s a ton of upside.
Working in Turner’s favor is the utter lack of anything behind Vita Vea on the defensive interior. Greg Gaines was signed to play next to Vea, but beyond those two starters, there’s not much else on the roster. Deadrin Senat, Willington Previlon, and Mike Greene are the only other tackles, which means a good camp from Turner could put him in a great position to have an impact as a rookie.
Round 3
Bucs trade pick No. 87 (from earlier trade with Minnesota) and No. 196 to the Raiders for picks No. 100, No. 109, and No. 214.
Pick acquired from Las Vegas Raiders
Our second trade takes one of the picks acquired from Minnesota and ships it out west to Las Vegas. Part of this was to set up a deal later to acquire more fourth-round picks, but another reason was to be in a position to draft USC’s Andrew Vorhees.
He made a name for himself at the NFL Combine for tearing his ACL and still doing the bench press drill. It was highlighted at the time, but that right there shows a grit that this Bucs team could benefit from having in such a young player.
Vorhees was also one of the top tackles in the country, and he can play all over the offensive line. Given how badly beaten down the Bucs were with offensive line depth last year, having a utility player like Vorhees is a huge asset. Over the course of his career with the Trojans, Vorhees played at left tackle (402 snaps), left guard (1,634 snaps), right guard (1,392 snaps), and right tackle (61 snaps). That’s a ton of experience to be able to plug him in at either guard position or have him swing out to left tackle if the Bucs decide he’s good enough to play there and keep Tristan Wirfs at right tackle.
Not for nothing, but he protected Caleb Williams at USC which could made for a nice reunion in 2024.