10 players Buccaneers should target on NFL Draft Day 2
By Josh Hill
When the Bucs brought back Jamel Dean in free agency it took away a sense of urgency to replace him in the NFL Draft. Tampa Bay no longer needed to use the No. 19 pick on a cornerback, but the need to find some depth still exists.
The Bucs lost Sean Murphy-Bunting this offseason which vacated the third slot behind Dean and Carlton Davis. Losing Mike Edwards at safety hurt too, which means the Bucs could look at some Day 2 secondary talent to reload and retool.
814. . Cornerback. Bulldogs . Kelee Ringo. 7. player
Georgia’s Kelee Ringo was mocked a few different times to the Bucs earlier in the draft process but soon fell out of the first round entirely. That’s not an indictment of his talent, though, as he was a key contributor to a national championship defense.
There are questions about his anticipation, which is concerning as it could lead to situations where he gets burned. But he’s an outside cornerback hybrid who could also do some work at safety and fill a hole left by Edwards.
player. 872. . Cornerback. Horned Frogs . Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson. 6
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, or THT as he’s known in Texas, feels like a guy created in a lab specifically for Todd Bowles. He’s a freight train on the blitz and will crack skulls as hard as he’ll defend a team’s best receiver.
His problem seems to be against taller receivers as his height is a bit of an issue. THT is only 5’8″, and he was torched by most wide outs who had some height on him as most of his yardage allowed last year came from losses at the catch point.
Don’t hold that against him, though, as it’s something that could get coached out of him. He wouldn’t be the first undersized cornerback to come to Tampa Bay and become one of the defense’s best players.