Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht knew that his organization was under a lot of pressure to get things right in the 2026 NFL Draft after a free agency period in which he spent more time filling out the depth of the squad than adding actual stars, passing up on players like Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson.
The patience paid off for Licht, who managed to steal away a potentially elite edge rusher in Rueben Bain Jr. On top of that, it is hard to poke holes in the other players the Buccaneers draft, as the organization clearly emphasized defensive upgrades and also filled out important areas of need on offense, too, including a new guard, wide receiver, and tight end to fill out the lineup
But if there's one pick that the Buccaneers may end up disliking more than the others, then it is the fifth-round flier on DeMonte Capehart. The Clemson product is another one of Licht's favorites because of a high athleticism score with NFL Combine testing, as he ran an impressive 4.85 forty time as a defensive tackle.
Buccaneers only had one draft pick that wasn't a home run
The problem is that the actual production does not match up on film. Capehart can plug up holes in the running game and has a lot of strength, but he doesn't play as fast as the forty time suggests. And that's because long speed and forty times don't matter at all at the defensive tackle position. It is more about explosiveness and quickness off the line.
Capehart lacks that, and while the snaps he will get to spell Vita Vea at nose tackle are valuable, the Bucs should have picked up someone with more pass rushing ability and quality on those passing downs to disrupt the inside. Vea is a big man and a top nose tackle, but part of what makes him so special is that ability to explode and finish plays for sacks in the passing game.
DeMonte Capehart doesn't have that. And then on top of it all, he has real character concerns, and they are more pronounced than what is technically speculation with regards to first round pick Rubene Bain Jr. Because Capehart was actually charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, which is a heavy charge to bear. And it is something that is concerning for the Bucs, since anything like that at the NFL level could doom his roster standing in Tampa Bay. Compared to the other great picks of the Bucs draft, Capehart just doesn't measure up.
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