Would Bucs Take A Chance On Alex McCalister

Former Florida Gator Alex McCalister has been blessed with many athletic gifts but didn't live up to the hype during his time in Gainesville. McCalister has always been an underweight defensive end throughout his career at Florida, going in weighing only 212 lbs. He still is slightly underweight up to 245 lbs but thats still skinny on a 6 foot 6 frame. Given his cons would the Bucs take a chance on him late in the draft?

McCalister lit up the combine, running a 4.80 40, 4 second shuttle, 7.01 3 cone drill and with a mighty arm length of 36 inches. All those numbers mean that he is one lanky quick twitch athlete that happens to play the defensive end position. His body type resembles a lighter version of former failed project Michael Johnson who seemed to only blossom with defensive line coach Jay Hayes, who just happens to be with the buccaneers now. McCalister looks like just the athletic project that a coach like Hayes could fix up to be a real player in the NFL.

He also has a maturity issue that will have him fall farther in the draft as he was dismissed from the Gator team late in the season for violating team rules. If McCalister could be had in day 3 where teams take chances on players I see no reason why the bucs shouldn't take that chance with him. He isn't just an athlete as he does show good functional bend at the hips and stays low for such a tall defender. He has all the tools an edge rusher needs and just needs a great d-line coach to unlock him.

Seahawks Wanted Sweezy Back

One of the Bucs big acquisitions this off-season was guard J.R Sweezy, who is expected to be the starter at the left guard position. Sweezy had a lot of suitors after his services as much as ten teams and for him to pick the Bucs says he really wants to be here. According to Anthony Becht, Sweezy's former team in the Seattle Seahawks had very high regard for him and tried very hard to re-sign Sweezy to bring him back. (click here to see video)

Becht went on to say that Sweezy is everything the Bucs want in their offensive lineman, which is strong at point of attack, athletic feet, and able to finish. Sweezy who is only 26 is going into the prime years of his career, and should bring some power to the Bucs running game which should be stronger in 2016. Sweezy and Ali Marpet should form one of the top guard duo's in the league which is only good news for the Buccaneers.

Hidden Edge Rusher On The Bucs Already?

Last year, Gm Jason Licht made an under the radar pickup by getting DE Howard Jones right after preseason had ended. Jones started the season on the practice squad before being called up in week 5 in which he had 2 sacks in his first game. Jones became a regular contributor and ended the season with 5 sacks as a rookie. Jones is another small school guy playing division 2 football at Shepard University, where he set the school record for sacks with 34.5. Jones is really athletic as he was a receiver coming out of high school and was converted to linebacker at Shepard. He put on over 50lbs during his time there and is still raw as defensive player now in the NFL. However, having 4.54 40 and 40.5 inch vertical really helps Jones overcome technique issues and allows him to win on just pure athleticism.

Jones is still figuring things out on defense as he is still very raw with his hand technique and overall pass rush game, if he can find a consistency there the Bucs could have something special. Jones has good size at 6'2 238lbs along with long arms at 34 inches making him similar to Von Miller or Khalil Mack type. Jones still could probably add another 10 to 12 pounds to fill out his frame, which would make him stronger and could be more of every down type DE. The good news for Jones is he has a great defensive line coach in Jay Hayes who should make everyone better on the defensive line. Another good thing is Jones is a perfect fit for this new defense that Mike Smith is going to bring in which we will see more multiple looks meaning some 3-4 fronts at various times. Jones could easily become standup guy in a 3-4 playing a hybrid role as a outside linebacker/defensive end type player.

Howard Jones has all the tools to become something in this league, lets hope with Jay Hayes now on the staff, he can become a consistent player and provide some edge rush which this team could use heading into the 2016 season.

Panthers Team Model

The Bucs are no doubt on the rise and have high ambitions moving forward but every team has someone they model themselves after and head coach Dirk Koetter wants to look like the Panthers. Courtesy of Rick Stroud of Tampbaytimes.com

"Time will tell how much we narrowed it,'' Koetter said. "Shoot, I think Carolina is a great team for us to model. I’ve said that multiple times. If you look, they drafted their quarterback, they drafted their middle linebacker. We’ve done the same thing. They’ve kept their coaching staff. I hope we keep our coaching staff. They’ve developed in the system, they’ve drafted well, they’ve hit on their free agents. They’ve kept their guys.''

Koetter is saying all the right things and has a nice young foundation with Winston leading the offense and Kwon the defense. He is right with the continuity of keep the staff together so that the team can grow as a unit. That was the biggest reason I wanted Koetter above any other coaching candidate, not only for Winston but for the team as a whole. The team has gone through so many changes in the last 5 years and are begging for consistency.

The biggest difference between the Bucs and the Panthers is a dominant defense. If the Panthers are the model, then the Bucs have a lot of work still in order to fix this defense. There is talent on that side of the ball with McCoy, David and Kwon but after that there hasn't been much contribution. Hopefully with the additions of Grimes, Ayers, Smith and help from the draft this defense can begin to shape up. They have the right man in charge with Mike Smith who will bring an aggressive style of play that Tampa hasn't seen in years.

Licht is doing his part in bringing in the talent its up to the coaches to get them to their full potential. Tampa is begging for something to root for again, as the endless losing seasons has run the fan base away. The ship is sailing in the right direction and Tampa will soon have the team they have been waiting to root for again.

Prospect Watch: Matt Judon

The Buccaneers are looking to improve their pass rush in 2016 and it seems like they have been looking at every pass rusher that is entering the NFL draft this year. Here at realbucstalk, we have mention the big name guys like Lawson, Spence, Rankins, Ogbah, but have also talked a lot about the small school guys like Hargrave, Blair, and Onyemata. One small school guy that is becoming popular around the NFL scouts is Grand Valley State DE Matt Judon.

Judon is 6'3 275lbs with 34 inch arms, had a strong combine showing with a 4.73 40, 30 bench reps, and a 35 inch vertical. Judon played in division 2, but dominated his opponents putting up 20 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in 2015. Judon has a good pass rush plan as he uses a good rip move to the outside as well has a solid inside counter to go with it. Judon is still very raw in his technique as he has tendency to go right by the Qb missing out on sacks, showing stiffness in his lower body. Judon still has enough talent to be an solid day three pick, and has a quick step off the snap which is shown here by NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah.

Good look at Grand Valley St DE Matt Judon. D2 guys need to jump off the screen. He does. https://t.co/GUIT7WR7ef

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) February 15, 2016

Knowing Bucs Gm Jason Licht, who likes small school prospects, the team will definitely have an eye on pass rusher Matt Judon, who could definitely be a late round steal.

Jaylon Smith Would Be A Steal In The 2nd

Heading into this year's NFL draft, Notre Dame's linebacker Jaylon Smith was regarded by most as a top five player, some even thought he was the best player in the draft. NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah is a big believer in Smith, and shared a video displaying Smith's great tackling technique.

Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith...this should be a teaching tape. https://t.co/xraShjozVH

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) June 13, 2015

Now this was all before Smith suffered an major knee injury, tearing his ACL and LCL ligaments during the Fiesta Bowl vs Ohio State.  Then to make matters worse during the NFL combine medical exam, teams found out that he could have possible nerve damage in the peroneal nerve which helps aid movement and supply sensation to the lower leg, foot, and toes. If true that could derail Smith's rookie season and could possibly be career ending. After hearing that news, some NFL teams took Smith completely off their draft boards, raising the question of how far could Smith fall in the upcoming draft.

Well good news came from Notre Dame's pro day, as Jaylon Smith told reporters that he is getting stronger, and has been leg pressing over 600lbs and squatting 400lbs during his rehab per Eric Edholm of yahoosports.com.

“Rehab is going great. I am leg-pressing over 600 pounds right now. I am squatting over 400 pounds. I am getting that strength back. It’s just a matter of time.”

It sure looks like Smith is on his way to full recovery, and he also did 24 bench press reps of 225 which matched top ten prospect LT Ronnie Stanley. Smith has a medical re-check on April 14-15th which will tell us more, but this is a great start for Smith.

I will say this if the Bucs doctors feel comfortable with Smith and he passes their tests, Gm Jason Licht needs to find a way to get him on this team. If the Bucs decide to trade down out of the top ten, Smith should be one of the options to take, or for some reason he falls to the second round there should be no hesitation to take him with that selection. Smith is a great player on the field, and even better person off it, he loves the game and would be a instant impact player for this team. If for some reason, he cant play during the 2016 season, he could still have an impact according to former teammate Jarret Grace.

“He can pick up on defenses and teach his position, coach everyone around him,” Grace said. “If you’re not going to have his presence on the field, you’re going to have someone who is very detail-oriented in the locker room. If he wasn’t in class, he was trying to soak up as much football as he could. He didn’t want to have to rely on his athletic ability.

“You see plenty of tremendous athletes out there, popping off crazy numbers at the combine and stuff. But he has that and the other side, the [intangible] side. An 80 percent Jaylon Smith is going to be better than everyone else in the draft.”

Jaylon Smith would make the Bucs linebacking core one of the best in the league, and Smith could provide edge rush as well, playing similar to the way Von Miller plays for the Broncos. Smith is a tremendous athlete and player, if good news comes from his medical re-check, he deserves a look from the Bucs maybe as high as 9th overall.

VH3 Getting No Love

Home town boy Vernon Hargreaves is widely considered the 2nd best corner in this years draft according to many draft experts but he didn't get much love from a fellow SEC wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, per seccountry.com

He admitted there was a trio of players who made things difficult: Alabama’s Cyrus Jones, Mississippi State’s Taveze Calhoun and “the guy from Florida.”
Treadwell made it clear: “Not Vernon Hargreaves.”

Treadwell made it a point to mention that it wasn't Hargreaves and I wonder why? Yes, Hargreaves is smaller around 5'10, but he is fundamentally sound and a proven playmaker. Maybe it was more of a compliment for the other "guy from Florida" who is Jalen Tabor, a sophomore who had quite a season himself but thats a hit to Hargreaves either way. Going back and looking at game tape, Treadwell and Hargreaves were mainly on different sides of the field and maybe if they had more one on ones he would change his tune on VH3. Hargreaves continues to be an option for the Bucs at number 9 and most likely would be a safe pick if taken.