In our final column before the draft, we tackle arguably our biggest need, do we look within our home state to fill that void? We reference the past before we address the future to answer that question in our final installment before next week’s draft.
I said the heck with it, folks. I love pacing these features out, but we’re so close to the draft, I figured, what the heck, lt’s get after it so you good folks can pull on all the tape you need on these top athletes and potential picks for our hometown team.
Seven is considered to be the perfect number, and we’re sitting there, salivating at drafting a potential future pro-bowl talent and day one starter. Make no mistake, there will be an early run on Quarterbacks.
Teams will be blowing smoke, saying that they don’t have interest in a Quarterback. Fine, they’ll trade out of their spot, rack up picks and move talent down the board. Saquon Barkley? Maybe. Quenton Nelson? Nothing wrong with that at all. Minkah Fitzpatrick or Denzel Ward? That’ll be a jersey to have. There’s one name, one name that in my humble opinion towers above the rest.
Fans of the sport have watched many a Jacksonville Jaguars game and have seen one man on the outside terrorizing offensive players as the Jags marched their way into the playoffs. Jalen Ramsey was a Florida State corner and he was the fifth overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft that followed Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa.
We at the Scrum Sports sat inside Gators Dockside enjoying wings and the company of local fans, and we remember that pick. We took Vernon Hargreaves III in that draft with the eleventh overall pick.
This year, one of his schoolmates and future Florida State Alumni will be there when the Bucs pick at seven barring some crazy turner that isn’t all too uncommon on draft night.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the safety class.
Safety:
Derwin James (S, Florida State, 6’3, 211 lbs.)
With a brilliant combination of size, speed and natural athleticism, Derwin James is predicted to play the safety spot, the way that former Florida State Alumni Jalen Ramsey does at corner.
It is absolutely rare that one leaps out of their seat when watching a player, because when they do, it’s about something special.
It’s not uncommon to stand up watching Seminole football, because when James hits you, he lays you out. Something that is so often missing from the modern safety is not only their ability to wrap tackle, being the last line of defense before the running back fins daylight or the receiver takes the top off for a touchdown, but the ability to completely kill the play dead.
James is that guy. We could rattle off any number of games where he lays the wood, leaving receivers on the ground, towering over them with finesse and swagger.
Shuffling through game after game, I recall only one situation where I watched James get beat and it was a sensational pass for a 70 yard score.
Watching the Legion Of Boom for years, you recall Richard Sherman and Byron Maxwell on the outside, but Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas back deep? Frightening. James has the ability to be that long-term leader for the defensive backs.
Gerald McCoy is a veteran presence up front, Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David have the linebacker core locked down, with James back deep? Now we’re talking. The thought of that alone is enough to send coaches into the film room days before they were scheduled to do so to game plan for a layered Tampa Bay defense that is ripe with talent, hungry for the sack or the interception.
In 2017, James had 84 tackles with two interceptions and eleven batted passes. We’ll come back to that briefly. In 2015, as a freshman, he had 91 tackles. In 2016, he started off strong before suffering a season ending injury. The chatter was already there about being a top ten pick before he even stepped back onto the college field to dazzle fans in 2017.
84 tackles is a number that many linebackers and defensive tackles don’t even see. Two interceptions for a strong-side safety is satisfactory and eleven batted balls in quite impressive.
Even as we talk about our beloved Bucs, you can pull up any number of videos from fans of teams talking about the opportunity to draft this dynamic talent and there’s discussion about trading up and leaving their second and third round picks in opposing hands to do so.
Barring some outlandish things, and as referenced earlier, it’s not uncommon to see something wild on draft night, he’ll be there. Turn the card in, be done with it and get to offseason workouts and training camp to prepare for the task of climbing back to the top of the division.
Ronnie Harrison (S, Alabama, 6’2, 207 lbs.)
Getting back to reality, let’s not get lost in the potential fact that if we pass on James because we took a Barkley, a Chubb, a Nelson or a Fitzpatrick, we have another opportunity to draft a play-maker in the second round.
You see a great deal of chatter about Fitzpatrick, you hear a great deal about Linebacker Rashaan Evans, and you watch crisp routes being ran by Calvin Ridley, but strangely enough, the forgotten man is Ronnie Harrison.
That’s pretty ridiculous in and of itself, because as with Derwin James, he has great size and speed. Projected to play in the box as a strong-side safety, Harrison was a disruptive force for Nick Sabin’s defense at the University of Alabama.
In 2017, Harrison had 74 tackles, four batted balls, three interceptions and two and a half sacks. We marveled at the 84 tackles that James had, but 74 for Harrison? That’s a fine number as well, and when you couple that with two and a half sacks coming from the safety position, that’s pretty impressive.
Harrison is slotted anywhere from a late first round to an early second round pick. If we opt to address another position of need, we can add Harrison to the roster on day two if we’re lucky enough to see him fall. Nick Sabin is known for developing stars on defense and many teams look to his veteran leadership and knack for talent on draft night.
Can Harrison find his way onto the Tampa Bay roster if we wait until Friday Night? It’s quite possible.
Jessie Bates (S, Wake Forest, 6’1, 200 lbs.)
Here’s where things get interesting. Let’s just say for the sake of argument that we wait to draft a safety. The question is always asked about finding a potential diamond in the later rounds?
Well, that diamond either needs to be drafted in the third round or he’s going to get missed. We spoke at length about two strong-side options, and we can talk about potentially adding a free safety in this case.
Bates is coming out of school as a junior, and in 2017, he had 79 tackles, one interception and five batted balls.
As a freshman in 2016, he amassed five interceptions, had four batted balls, and 100 tackles. No, that is not a typo, even this late in the night.
This is one of those strange moments where you find yourself yelling at the screen asking why nobody is talking about this young man!
Bates is an incredibly intelligent player and whereas he can immediately room room as a day one starter, if he learns from a veteran presence, rotating in on occasion, in year two he’s going to be something very special.
As we spoke about the cornerback class being very deep, with respect, the safety class doesn’t seem to be the same after the fourth round. If you want to add talent to your roster, it’s very wise to do it early.
As we finish up tonight, I’d like to thank each and everyone of you for joining me with each week as we drafted the Bucs for the forthcoming season. We’ll have a little fun with a mock draft next week and we’ll do our level best to keep it realistic.
At this point, all that remains is the waiting. We’ll look to next Thursday, Friday and Saturday Nights as our coaches and scouts do their very best to add crucial pieces to our storied franchise. Will they score on every pick? That remains to be seen. Can we be gracious fans, supporting our program as they do their best to keep fans cheering as we head into training camp? Let’s hope so.
Thank you all for joining me through each of these installments and hopefully we’ll be into our local athletic stores before the season starts, supporting the next wave of young talent that finds its way onto our roster with jersey purchases. Until next week, folks!
