Draft intrigue.
Joe often likes to say that what a team does in free agency is a window into its upcoming draft.
Fans know what holes there are in the Bucs roster before the combine when (coughcough) illegal tampering kicks off (coughcough).
So the holes remaining after free agency are likely the draft targets.
Despite Lavonte David coming back at inside linebacker, the position is still a major need, maybe more so than cornerback. The Bucs really pumped up SirVocea Dennis at the combine and Joe agrees he has untapped potential.
Bucs coach Todd Bowles even said when Dennis got hurt and was lost for the season with a bum shoulder, his absence hurt the defense. Given how terrible the pass defense was, Joe believes Bowles.
For all the talent Dennis flashes, though, he cannot stay on the field. Dennis could be the next Derrick Brooks but if he’s in the tub it doesn’t matter.
So will the Bucs really bank on an injury-prone inside linebacker when it appears this team has a real shot to make a Super Bowl?
Throw in that David is very likely entering his final season, and one can see how bad the Bucs need an inside linebacker.
Joe has been really, really high on this Jihaad Campbell out of Alabama. He could be the linebacker that the Bucs thought Devin White would/should have been.
And since off-ball linebackers like Campbell don’t normally go high in the draft, there’s a shot he could be there at No. 19.
Jordan Reid of BSPN is high on Campbell, too. But based on free agency, Reid isn’t sure Campbell will be on the board when the Bucs pick at No. 19.
The way off-ball linebackers got paid in free agency tells him teams have a higher value on that position this year.
Off-ball linebackers have surprisingly become hot commodities in free agency. Both teams that were just in the Super Bowl paid hefty prices to keep the centerpieces of their defenses in place, as Zack Baun returned to the Eagles on a three-year, $51 million deal while the Chiefs brought back Nick Bolton on a three-year, $45 million contract. The Jets also re-signed Jamien Sherwood before free agency after his big season. With the growing emphasis on the running game, teams showed they would spend on the position this offseason.
None of those three backers Reid cited were first-round picks. Bolton was picked in the second round, Baun in the third and Sherwood in the fifth.
While Reid isn’t sure that Campbell will be available at No. 19, Reid seems pretty certain Campbell will land in the NFC South. And if he’s there at No. 19, you can go ahead and print up a No. 11 jersey for him (sorry Michael Pratt).
Campbell is my No. 14 player in this class and the prototype at the position. He could be drafted as high as No. 8 (Panthers), and his floor is likely No. 19 (Buccaneers). The Falcons at No. 15 make a lot of sense as a landing spot, as they need linebackers and players capable of rushing the quarterback.
Drafting Campbell just may make this Bucs defense complete. Haason Reddick will ignite a dormant pass rush, Joe believes, and Campbell next to David seems frightening (in a good way).
The only element left is a quality backup corner because there are three sure things in life: death, taxes and Jamel Dean being unable to finish a playoff game.
Man, Joe sure hopes Dean can find a magic elixir to stay healthy.
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