The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in desperate need of a defensive rebuild following the 2018 season, when they finished 27th in overall defense and 31st in scoring, allowing an average of 29.0 points per game.
Enter Todd Bowles, the former New York Jets head coach and defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, who reunited with his good friend Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay this season.
Bowles’ influence helped turn the Bucs into a top-15 defense and he even had them ranked as the best rush defense in the NFL. If Tampa Bay’s D can continue their growth this offseason, they could be one of the best defensive units in the league in 2020.
Which might be why many experts expect the Bucs to stick with defense when the the 2020 NFL Draft rolls around. The Bucs currently hold the 14th pick, and some mock drafts have them going with safety or cornerback.
But, in his latest mock draft, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has the Bucs selecting Penn State star defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos.
Here’s Wilson’s explanation for the pick:
“The Bucs’ 2019 draft class was defense-heavy and the results were immediate; the unit was the No. 5 defense in the league but the D-line could look completely different next season; Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul and Rakeem Nunez-Roches are all soon-to-be free agents. Gross-Matos has the size, strength and quickness to play the edge but he’s still raw. The good news is he’ll only get better with experience.”
Gross-Matos would be a tremendous get for the Bucs, both from a talent standpoint and character standpoint. Here’s a great segment College GameDay did on the Penn State prospect earlier this season, talking about the tragedies he’s overcome in life. It’s certainly worth a watch.
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