2021 NFL Draft Recap: Every Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pick Round-By-Round
The 2021 NFL Draft has come and gone and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers addressed a number of team needs throughout the weekend.
According to Bucs' General Manager Jason Licht, the franchise placed an emphasis on acquiring players with speed in this year’s draft.
“Yeah, we definitely wanted to get faster," Licht said following the draft. "We wanted guys that played with a big heart. A lot of energy, [they] love football – that was kind of the common theme. But as Bruce [Arians] told you guys last night, we wanted to stress special teams, so that was one area we wanted to upgrade. We feel pretty good about what we’ve done.”
Below is a full round-by-round recap of the Bucs' 2021 NFL Draft class:
First Round: No. 32 overall: Washington edge-rusher Joe Tryon
Tryon opted out of the 2020 college football season, but in 2019 he played in every game for the Huskies recording 41 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and eight sacks in 13 games to earn second-team All-Pac-12 honors on the year.
Prior to the start of the 2020 season, Tryon was named a Preseason First Team All‐American by college football expert Phil Steele.
Tryon will be able to develop and learn from the likes of Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul and provide depth in the defensive line rotation as a rookie.
RELATED: Six Things to Know About Tampa Bay Buccaneers' First-Round Pick Joe Tryon
Second Round: No. 64 overall: Florida quarterback Kyle Trask
This seems a perfect fit, right? Trask gets to continue his football career not far from where he played on Saturdays and he'll learn from the greatest to ever play quarterback, Tom Brady.
A finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2020, Trask threw for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2020 as he led one of the most explosive offenses in the country.
With Trask set to be the future for the Bucs at quarterback, he can sit back and soak up information under Brady next season.
RELATED: Kyle Trask: 'It Was a Feeling Like No Other' to be Drafted by Buccaneers
Third Round: No. 95 overall: Notre Dame tackle Robert Hainsey
Hainsey is a versatile offensive lineman who played right tackle for Notre Dame but is expected to move inside at guard in the NFL. With nearly 1,500 reps in pass protection, Hainsey gave up just seven career sacks at Notre Dame per Pro Football Focus.
After losing depth on the offensive line with Joe Haeg signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers and A.Q Shipley medically retiring this past year, the Bucs add a solid option for the future at guard in Hainsey.
Fourth Round: No. 129 overall: North Texas wide receiver Jaelon Darden
The Bucs traded up to pick No. 129 to select Darden, exchanging their fourth-round pick (No. 137) and sixth-round compensatory pick (No. 217) with the Seattle Seahawks.
Darden most likely won't see the field at receiver anytime soon with the Bucs, considering the team franchise tagged Chris Godwin and re-signed Antonio Brown, but that's fine. Darden is a speedy receiver and could immediately provide speed on special teams. At North Texas, the 2020 Conference USA Most Valuable Player of the Year caught a total of 31 touchdowns over his final two seasons at North Texas including 19 as a senior.
Fifth Round: No. 176 overall: Auburn linebacker K.J. Britt
Britt will provide great depth at linebacker for the Bucs. Entering 2020 as a preseason first-team All-SEC player, Britt ended up having hand surgery early in the season and missed most of the year.
Despite the missed time, the Bucs are getting a solid linebacker who impressed NFL teams at Auburn's Pro Day. Britt recorded 119 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and two defended passes during his Auburn career.
Seventh Round: No. 251 overall: BYU cornerback Chris Wilcox
If there was one position on the Bucs' defense that needed depth it was at cornerback. That's why drafting an athlete like Wilcox is a great late-round pick by Tampa Bay.
Wilcox posted a 4.38-second 40-yard dash, 37 1/2 inch vertical, and 126-inch broad jump at BYU's pro day. Making 31 appearances in five years with the Cougars, Wilcox has little production to his name with 84 tackles, three for loss, and eight defended passes.
Seventh Round: No. 259 overall: Houston linebacker Grant Stuard
Stuard is the 2021 NFL Draft's Mr. Irrelevant and will fit well in Tampa Bay's scheme.
At Houston, Stuard appeared in 33 games and tallied 191 tackles, two sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss, four defended passes, a forced fumble, and a defensive touchdown.
RELATED: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Undrafted Free Agent Signing Tracker 2021
