With most of their secondary due to hit free agency, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will no doubt look to the draft to replenish their defensive backs. Fortunately, this draft is chock full of talent to restock Tampa’s defensive backfield.
The Bucs could very well lose starters Jamel Dean and Mike Edwards as well as Sean Murphy-Bunting, Keanu Neal and Logan Ryan. They accounted for 3156 cumulative snaps in the secondary. Dean in particular played more than any other defensive back for Tampa.
Already $56 million over the cap, the Bucs likely will not be able to re-sign many of their free agent defensive backs or otherwise acquire free agent talent to replace them. The draft is their only alternative.
This year’s draft class does not have the top-end talent of last year’s class, but there should still be many potential starters littered in the first and second rounds, both at cornerback and safety. The Bucs will have some flexibility in addressing needs while getting good value on the players they pick.
Here are seven defensive backs the Bucs could target in this year’s NFL draft: