Bama’s Fitzpatrick good for secondary
TAMPA — With eight days to go before the NFL draft in Dallas, the Buccaneers’ biggest need shouldn’t be a surprise: They’re thin at defensive back, particularly at corner.
As of now, they’re rolling with Brent Grimes, Vernon Hargreaves, Javien Elliott and Ryan Smith.
“The team desperately needs an infusion of talent at this position, both to allow Hargreaves back into the slot, where he might be more effective, and to supplant Grimes when Father Time eventually drags him to hang it up,” an ESPN article said.
Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (6-1, 201 pounds) makes sense for the Bucs as the seventh overall pick because he is a playmaker and arguably the most complete defensive back in the draft.
Nick Saban's players are typically NFL-ready. Fitzpatrick is great playing close to the line of scrimmage either as a nickel cornerback or box safety and can cover running backs, tight ends and receivers.
The Bucs have a chance to team him with secondyear pro Justin Evans to form one of the best pair of young safeties in the NFL.
The concern rests with the factor that safety is rarely a high-value position in the draft. If the Bucs believe Fitzpatrick can play outside at cornerback, it makes more sense.
“I came in as a corner, so I was accustomed to covering people one-on-one. Halfway through camp, coach Saban came to me, asking if I wanted to play slot corner and learn how to play it,” Fitzpatrick said. “I feel comfortable with it because I practice it a lot. I worked on it all the time. It's a different type of position. It's a position that's kind of a combination of corner and safety. You can make calls like a safety. You can rush or fill the holes, working the gaps like a safety. Then you get to cover man-to-man or on pass downs like you need to like a corner. I like playing both.”
The Bucs’ “quiet need,” according to Football Outsiders, is running back. Peyton Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers are atop the depth chart, and while they’re solid options, “Neither is an especially dynamic player as either a rusher or receiver,” that article said.
And don’t forget another potential need: defensive tackle. It seems as if the Bucs are set there with Gerald McCoy, who remains one of the game’s best interior defenders, and freeagent signees Beau Allen and Mitch Unrein.
McCoy, though, turned 30 in February and is set to make $12.3 million this season and $13 million in 2019. The Bucs might want to start looking for his eventual replacement.
One potential target is Vita Vea out of Washington. At 6-foot-4 and nearly 350 pounds, Vea possesses a rare combination of size and speed. He’s tough. He’s powerful. He’s disruptive. And his motor? He has one, and it’s relentless. To scouts and other observers, he’s swoon-worthy.
“What he did to the Bruins’ offensive line was beyond destructive,” the
Ryan Clark said. “UCLA lost Josh Rosen for the second half and it didn’t matter. Vea was too big, too powerful and too quick for the UCLA offensive line. The Bruins tried everything. They even double-teamed him and he still broke through.”