My Job Is to Eliminate You!

It wasn't too long ago when many draft experts had former Clemson CB Mackensie Alexander going in the top ten of their mock drafts. Some had him going 9th overall to Tampa, which at the time seemed like the logical choice, now most have the Bucs taking Noah Spence. For some reason Alexander has fallen out of the first round in a lot of mocks now which makes no sense as Alexander is still a top corner in this draft class. The knock on Alexander is he didn't have any interceptions in his career at Clemson, but the case can be made that the ball wasn't thrown his way very often. That's what good cover corners do, they take half of the field away. He is his opinion on the matter per NFL.com.

"I had some opportunities to come up with some picks in my career. I didn't come up with them at the end of the day. I'm taking it like a man. In a lot of my situations, I wasn't challenged very much," Alexander said. "A lot of quarterbacks on teams stayed away from me, and that was their game plan, really. That's it, really. That's how I answer that."

Alexander at 5'11 195lbs is a fiery competitor who excels in man coverage and is considered a lock down cover corner. He has good reaction quickness, plays physical, and has knack for taking his guy completely out of the game. Alexander doesn't lack confidence as he said today he is the best corner in this draft class per NFL.com.

"I'm 22, but I'm ready to compete with anybody. There's nobody more dedicated than me, who's put more time in or is more of a competitor than me. ... I'm here prepared. I'm telling you I'm the best corner in this draft class," Alexander said.

I love Alexander's swagger and confidence, he loves to compete and is the type of guy you want to have on your team. Alexander only allowed 33% completion percentage and 0 Tds allowed against him. If this guy were to fall to the second round, and the Bucs have already taken someone like Noah Spence, I would not hesitate to take Alexander if I was Jason Licht. The guy is a winner, and this team needs more guys like this kid. Here is Alexander's best quote from today per Matt Miller.

"My job is to eliminate you." - Mackensie Alexander

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) February 28, 2016

What about Shaq?

All the attention right now is all toward Noah Spence and about how high he's rising up draft boards due to his tremendous showing during the senior bowl. Bucs fans are being frantic already thinking he will not be available at pick 9 when just weeks before he was barely considered a first round pick. Time will tell with Spence but a more complete player that doesn't have all the athletic gifts that Spence has is Shaq Lawson and he would look just fine in red and pewter.

Shaq Lawson, out of Clemson stands 6'3 270 and compiled 12.5 sacks, 60 tackles and 25.5 tackles for loss last year as a true junior. Most buc fans get scared at the thought of a Clemson DE to the late Gaines Adams who was a flop in Tampa, but Lawson is a different player. Unlike Adams, Lawson can play both the pass and the rush. He already has an NFL body and is strong enough to anchor against left tackles. In pass rush situations Lawson shows his technique on many occasions by using his violent and active hands to prevent tackles from locking down on him and pushing him out of plays. The guy played in every game since his freshman year at Clemson and even played in the National Championship game with a sprained MCL, where he ended up with 2 sacks.

His biggest knock is not having the elite speed and get off that Spence has and not many have that but Lawson can bring so much more to the table from day one. As stated before pass rush should be the bucs biggest priority this offseason and Shaq can bring that. He will be on display next week at the scouting combine and so will every other prospect hoping to get drafted. More news and rumors will surely start to fire up.