The Bucs & Caleb Farley
April 4th, 2021
Remember when Super Bowl Bucs general manager Jason Licht said he was setting his draft board based on which prospects would be the best performers in 2022?
Joe does.
That’s why Joe is taking a longer look at Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley, a first-round talent who sat out last season because of The Sickness. In 2019, he was a first-team ACC cornerback with four interceptions and a lot of explosiveness in his 6-2 frame.
Following a weightlifting injury, Farley had minor back surgery on Tuesday and, per Farley, he may not be ready to go until August.
The injury situation — combined with not playing last season — likely will scare a bunch of teams that might have been considering Farley late in Round 1. But the Bucs don’t have to worry about drafting a cornerback to start on Day 1, like they did in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
The starting secondary is returning and Licht can comfortably draft a guy like Farley if he believes he’s the total package and will return to full health.
Joe remembers when Jaguars stud linebacker Myles Jack fell to Round 2 in the 2016 NFL Draft. Concerns about his ailing knee and his Day 1 readiness turned out to be misguided.
Jack didn’t miss a game until his fourth season and is now earning quite a bit more per year than Lavonte David.
Farley could be that kind of freakish value for the Bucs.
Yeah, the Bucs have three young corners, but you can never have too much talent at the position.
April 4th, 2021 at 8:03 pm
Other needs notwithstanding, this could be intriguing if maybe they think he would be a replacement for Jamel Dean. BUT, we have more pressing depth concerns IMO, chiefly DL, EDGE and OL. If those were less of an issue I’d be more on board with this. Then again with the position the Bucs find themselves, it’ll often come down to value. Every year there are players that slide. Look for the Bucs to chase that value this year, and especially if value meets depth needs, so much the better.
April 4th, 2021 at 8:05 pm
Nah, he’s broken his back multiple times
April 4th, 2021 at 8:17 pm
The Bucs are pretty strong in the DL, EDGE and OL.
DL – Suh, Vea, Gholston, Nunez-Roches, Ledbetter, Davis, O’Conner, Potoa’e, Smith, Renner
Edge/DE/OLB – Barrett, Pierre-Paul, Nelson, Bell, Gill
OL – Smith, Marpet, Jensen, Cappa, Wirfs, Stinnie, Wells, Seaton, Stanley, Leverett, Molchon
Each of those positions, you have the starters and 2-3 solid backups. All the players you need. Sure you can probably get an upgrade, but the roster is pretty full there.
At CB, You have Davis, Dean, Murphy-Bunting, and Herb Miller. Normally, a team wants 4 starting level corners, and another 1-2 that can be activated if need be. I would think another CB would be high on the list, especially since it appears that it takes a season for the DBs to get up to speed in this defense.
April 4th, 2021 at 8:17 pm
Sitting out due to the sickness is an indicator of weak mental toughness.
April 4th, 2021 at 8:28 pm
I think CB is a priority for this year and especially 2022. Carlton Davis is a free agent in 2022. My guess is that Bowles likes him but does not love him to pay him like a top 10 cb.
Davis will get paid if all goes well in 2021. Don’t be surprised if it’s top-10 corner money, either even if the value of his play is somewhat under that.
Per Spotrac, a top-10 corner averages slightly over $16 million per year heading into 2021. That’s obviously pretty damn expensive. But, good corners aren’t easy to find . So even if he is not a top 10 cb, his salary is likely to be over 10 million per year.
The price could go up even more if he has a great year. If CDIII plays his best ball, we may be looking at a deal that sits in the $18-$19 million per year range.
April 4th, 2021 at 8:32 pm
Heard about the Bucs and Weinfield Jr. teammate Benjamin St-Juste from Minnesota. Large lock down CB. We need to draft one more good CB for depth and rotation.
April 4th, 2021 at 9:00 pm
Can never have too many cover corners
April 4th, 2021 at 10:32 pm
Joe I must say this guy looks to be a diamond in the rough. He’s very active and imo you need your DB’s to be active unless you want another MJ Stewart
April 4th, 2021 at 10:51 pm
agree with this if doctors can vouch for him sounds like good value
April 4th, 2021 at 10:59 pm
He might be good to have, seeing that Dean and Murphy-Bunting hit free agency after 2022
April 5th, 2021 at 3:19 am
Seeing as it’s a BPA kinda draft, and this guy is slotted to go pretty high … I think he looks much better that the DL prospects we’ll likely be offered this year.
DL is slightly more important, but if none available have much hope, then a better developmental prospect is more likely to succeed over time.
April 5th, 2021 at 8:36 am
Never draft a CB on first round……..
April 5th, 2021 at 9:14 am
BPA
April 5th, 2021 at 11:18 am
“Minor back surgery,” is Agent speak for, “These are not the droids you’re looking for.” Without the finger gesture this Jedi mind trick simple doesn’t work.
April 5th, 2021 at 4:12 pm
Farley was a huge loss for the Hokies defense last year. As someone who has watched a lot of Hokie games, Farley is raw. Yes, he’s talented but he’s going to be a project. With his size, it may be worth a 2nd or 3rd.
Keep in mind, you can NEVER have enough competent DBs. Look at the last 2 years. Not one DB has started all 16 games.
In the past you wouldn’t hear me say this but, for once, I trust Licht to make the right decision.
April 5th, 2021 at 5:22 pm
Nope!
The drafting philosophy should not change because of the flush depth chart, the first round pick should not be a health gamble. Take a player with the fewest question marks as if the player was being drafted as a potential starter this year.