Draft Temptation At Corner
April 10th, 2021
On this fine Saturday, Joe is remembering the multiple times Bucco Bruce Arians has called Carlton Davis a top-10 (or better) cornerback in the league.
And there’s Aqib Talib earlier this year calling Davis an emerging top-5 NFL corner.
Davis is entering the final year of his contract and will earn about $2.4 million for the 2021 season.
A quick look at the top-6 cornerback salaries in the NFL reveals a range from $15 million to $20 million per year. Salaries of the next six corners in line run about $13.5 million per season. So it’s a safe bet that 24-year-old Davis will expect a massive raise if he stays healthy and continues as the Bucs’ No. 1 corner.
Might uncertainty surrounding Davis, and a desire to bring competition to Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting, lead the Bucs to draft a cornerback in Round 1?
It certainly helps that there’s a flood of top cornerback talent in this draft.
Joe wonders how much Todd Bowles and his staff would love to get their hands of 20-year-old Kelvin Joseph out of Kentucky. He’s raw and talented (four picks last season) and doesn’t turn 21 until mid-November. And then there’s the fun skillset and polish of Asante Samuel, Jr. He’s the son of the four-time Pro Bowler, and he appears very NFL-ready after starring at Florida State. Both are projected as late first-round picks.
In a passing league, it’s impossible to have too much cornerback talent, and Joe truly believes competition is a beautiful thing. And the Bucs don’t have that at corner.
And what if the Bucs do bring home back-to-back Super Bowls? Davis might be content and very ready to take the biggest paycheck available.
April 10th, 2021 at 10:51 am
No doubt joes
And cockrell is just ehhhh
And teams go 4 wide
And if an injury , bucs could be lacking there
I would be ok with that actually. Would play special teams as well so would get on field as ryan smith gonzo
April 10th, 2021 at 11:11 am
I would love to draft another corner. I feel this is still one of our weaker areas. Go Bucs!
April 10th, 2021 at 11:19 am
Have to draft a corner, the secondary showed up in the playoffs but we’re shaky all regular season.
April 10th, 2021 at 11:24 am
Definitely not going to complain if we add a top flight cornerback or safety early in the draft. Our current secondary could be hard to keep together by the time their second contracts come up, plus some depth for insurance this season would be nice. Still hoping to see Etienne or Harris at pick 32, but as long as we get a gamer I don’t care what position they play.
April 10th, 2021 at 11:26 am
Agree! You can’t have too many skilled CBs, but O-line and D-line depth is equally important. Wonder what small school prospects Licht has in store for this year’s draft?
April 10th, 2021 at 11:30 am
Trade up for Farley or take Walker Little at 32.
April 10th, 2021 at 11:37 am
Besides Davis, Whitehead also expires this year and SMB, Edwards, and Dean (among others) in ’22 as well. Plenty of needs across the board if you look at ’22 and beyond.
April 10th, 2021 at 11:43 am
Unfortunately, we are unable to extend contracts for our 4th year draft picks….we would save a great deal over the life of the contract by giving them nice raises in year 4…..Godwin is a good example.
So, I think it would be a very good use of # 32 to pick a CB….or trade back a bit and pick one then.
April 10th, 2021 at 11:52 am
If Newsome or Samuel Jr is there at 32 I’d be highly tempted to take them.
April 10th, 2021 at 11:52 am
Samuel and Winfield together? Epic.
April 10th, 2021 at 12:11 pm
Has anybody seen the cornerback from LSU *Devin white* friend kary Vincent
@joebucsfan this guy is a straight play making baller and super fast. He ran a 4.33 at his pro day. In my opinion he can at best come in as a really good nickel corner *hes better than DEAN*with his instincts and nack for the ball. I would like to hear how IRA and the gang feel about this player at pick number 32. He’s flying under the radar for some reason but whoever get this guy is getting a straight steal
April 10th, 2021 at 12:12 pm
If we don’t go DL or LB. I think it’s a good ideal to bring in another to push dean SMB. Not sold on them but hey they got it done when it counted because of of the front 7
April 10th, 2021 at 12:27 pm
w/ the cap about to skyrocket & the franchise tag available, bucs can keep him no matter what. Every decision i make while Brady is here…is WIN NOW.
April 10th, 2021 at 12:27 pm
At 32 the last pick with a 5th year option, I think it’s almost imperative to take the best player available regardless of need. 2nd round and on its need/best player.
April 10th, 2021 at 12:40 pm
Drebucsfan – Joe brought up Kary last weekend. Here’s the article:
April 10th, 2021 at 12:58 pm
I hope that Caleb Farley CB Virginia Tech falls to the Bucs at 32, he is a “Generational talent” coming off a surgery and an “Opt out” season at Virginia Tech. We can only hope.
If Farley gets scooped up early, they should call Urban Meyer (Jax) and trade the 32nd pick and 64th for the 33rd and 45th. Then they should select Tyson Campbell CB Georgia and Andre Cisco S Syracuse. Both are future All Pros and are curiously off the radar screens of most mock drafts.
I believe Walker Little OT Stanford will be available in the 3rd. He was the 1st team PAC 12 LT in 2018 before Penei Sewell. Little was injured in the 1st game (ACL) of 2019 and opted out in 2020 so he is way off most radar screens.
If Jax won’t trade they should call Miami who holds the 36th and 50th.
April 10th, 2021 at 1:31 pm
Aquib Talib is sort of a “Hero” to me, for smacking that rude Cab Driver up side the head!
I recently flew back to Tampa from Seattle, and parked my car is a free spot, a few miles from Tampa Airport. I hailed a Cab, who got really UGLY with me, once he found out I was only going a few miles. He started screaming at me about how he waited over an hour in line at the airport, only to get a “Loser” like me, who was not going very far. I was prepared to pay a 10.00 Tip to the cab Driver, but guess what ? Because he was rude to me, he did not get a dime!
April 10th, 2021 at 2:28 pm
DreBucsFan says, “Has anybody seen the cornerback from LSU *Devin white* friend kary Vincent.”
It appears that the Bucs like taller CB and Shorter Safeties. Vincent is a tad short at 5’9″, 185.
April 10th, 2021 at 2:33 pm
At pick 32 and draft grades are equal at all positions, I’d select a CB. I don’t see Dean as a starter. You need 3 starters at CB in today’s game.
April 10th, 2021 at 2:37 pm
Pick one in the third round and the fifth round don’t waste no. 32 on one if hes not going to start right away.
April 10th, 2021 at 2:45 pm
I understand your frustration Chis@. I had a similar encounter with a cab driver in Chicago! I gave him a 10 $ tip for a short run and I apologies, and I regret it since then! The guy was odious. I should have done like you! Next time I will not be that stupid! The guy surely continue since then. A lesson was needed. Ha, ha, ha,…
Anyway,…
I agree with you Joe!
If our BUCS can find a gem at CB we will be unstoppable. We have tow very good CBs, but we need to find a way to hit the QB fast all the time, because we are sometimes vulnerable if we dont arrived to the QB quickly. A real fast CB able to cover in the open, a shutdown corner, to complement our secondary, can give more time for Shaq and JPP to go to the money. And then ,… ho boy,… Shaq and JPP will a a fun time if the ball sin the hands of the QB longer!
At 32, some will be there. A great CB cost a lot. 5 years on a rook contract, for an excellent CB is always a great investment!
GO BUCS
April 10th, 2021 at 3:09 pm
Salary cap will always lead to good home grown talent leaving. They’d be smart to draft at the positions that earn the highest average salaries. What a difference a year makes. This team went from experts saying they lacked talent to the same ones saying they’re the most talented in the league. You’d think they’d know better by now. Every team has very similar talent. Who’s got the coaching staff and qb is the question and answer.
April 10th, 2021 at 3:20 pm
Asante Samuel Jr. would give us more depth and rotation. He could develop into a bonafide starter who plays consistently for us. The one thing our current CBs lack is consistent play through the season. It’s a team effort with this group, but we don’t have that one guy that’s dominant.
April 10th, 2021 at 3:21 pm
But, I see us getting Edge at #32 more than any other position.
April 10th, 2021 at 3:34 pm
I’m with Drebucsfan, use a later round pick on Kary Vincent Jr. or someone like that. I’d rather have an edge rusher at 32, if there’s a good one still on the board.
April 10th, 2021 at 3:42 pm
I was watching Voch Lombardi’s video on his top 10 cornerbacks. He was saying that Caleb Farley might fall in the draft because of a bad back. It could be something that’s irrelevant, but if he falls to 32, that probably means it’s a concern to teams.
April 10th, 2021 at 3:54 pm
Would be epic to land another player secondary that is epic as Winfield…
April 10th, 2021 at 4:13 pm
Ghost of Darrell Henderson: I understand you like Walker Little. That’s what makes the draft so fun is we all have ideas and opinions, and we never know what’s going to happen until it happens. While I respect your opinion, I’d like the Bucs to draft Spencer Brown (Northern Iowa, 6’-8”, 311, 4.94 40 time). Part of it could be the success I’ve seen with the Bucs taking smaller school O-Linemen, part of it is that I think Brown is a better athlete than Little. We’ll see.
April 10th, 2021 at 4:24 pm
We can’t lose. RB, Safety, Corner, Pass Rusher, OT or a G/C.
Take the best available.
April 10th, 2021 at 6:57 pm
I’ve been screaming it since before last season started…
OUR BIGGEST WEAKNESS IS OUR SECONDARY.
Sean “Caught Sleeping” Murphy-Bed and Jimmy “Burned Sausages” Dean are not elite corners.
I also think Carlton Davis is EXTREMELY OVERRATED.
We need better corners or we get exposed anytime our pass rush isn’t getting pressure.
We had a great run during the playoffs, but it’s funny how quickly people forget how BADLY that SMB, Dean, and Davis played during the regular season.
There’s just no way that Licht, Arians, and Bowles don’t recognize that we have to upgrade our corners.
April 10th, 2021 at 8:09 pm
CB is a NEED, regardless of whatever C Davis has done, When seeing him lined up before a play, I still am not that confident he can match up and not fall on the ground while covering and give up a TD against top Wideouts, like the KC game and the NFC Championship. J Dean is a “gambling- hit and miss guy” like the GB game pick 6, but also gets burned rather easily other times. The secondary has definately improved as evidenced of their overall play last year during the Post Season, but they still are not near the level of play as the front 7, so again, drafting a CB with a high pick 1-2 rd would make sense. GO BUCS!!!!
April 10th, 2021 at 9:05 pm
BradyBucs: One question for you…The way the Bucs roster is, to this point, would you be more worried about an injury to one of Carlton Davis, Dean, or SMB, or one of JPP or Shaq getting injured?
April 10th, 2021 at 11:45 pm
The Bucs defense is set up based on the front 7 geting heat and containing short stuff. But if your CB falls to the ground or just cannot matchup with some it can be brutal. It basically is pick your poisin as far as who you would want to lose to injury. So in the draft. Take the best available player on defenseive line or Secondary. Or Take the best available Offensive player. We will see who the Bucs really feel is the best player for them, or maybe a trade down and get more picks. Whatever J Licht does it will not be a kicker, lol. according to Jason. J Licht has hit some home runs in drafting lately, and I expect more solid additions this year also. GO BUCS!!!!!
April 11th, 2021 at 8:04 am
CB, RB, DL, or edge would not surprise me. They are all positions that depth is used during the season regardless of injuries. Also, CB and RB spots will likely be NEEDS in the near future due to expiring contracts.
April 11th, 2021 at 9:40 am
Davis is better than average but certainly no top ten CB. (YET)
April 11th, 2021 at 9:41 am
their a lot of players that will need new contracts next year. I have a feeling the cap will explode and contracts are going to be very high for everybody. Thinking this draft needs to be about finding people to fill those holes now. jpp, cappa, jenson, davis, both running backs, godwin, suh, our te’s etc. Licht had a magic act this year but next year will be tough. We have to keep an eye on the future because we have such a strong core this team can be good for many years.
April 11th, 2021 at 10:53 am
I cannot believe Licht hasnt tried to extend Davis yet.For.me.its a no brainer the guy is a competitor and a top corner. Regardless if they can extend him.or not they jeed another top talent corner for depth. Licht needs to get this deal done now rather than later. Top needs on this team are oline, dline, cb, qb
April 11th, 2021 at 4:11 pm
Asante Samuel Jr will be there, especially if we trade back and stockpile a few picks from any of the crappy franchises (Jax/NYJ/HOU/CIN) drafting top of the 2nd round who are desperate to move up out of the 2nd and take a 25-32 ranked prospect they can get a 5th year option on by taking him in the first round.