Potential Buccaneers Targets And Best Fits In The Draft: Safety

JC Allen breaks down each position in the draft with potential fits, including the best fits for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Draft.

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JC Allen
Apr 25, 2024

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did exactly what they said they would do this offseason and returned all of their high-quality free agents on the team. Back in the fold are Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Lavonte David, Chase McLaughlin, and Antoine Winfield Jr. They added depth and potential starters to the team with the likes of Jordan Whitehead, Sua Opeta, Ben Bredeson, Tavierre Thomas, Bryce Hall, and Randy Gregory while also bringing back core depth pieces in Greg Gaines, Chase Edmonds, and John Wolford.

The moves they made have given them great flexibility in the draft and while holes remain on the roster they’ve positioned themselves to where they aren’t pigeonholed into any one position in the draft. In this series, we’ll take a look at each position in the draft and potential prospects they could select in each round. In some rounds, there won’t be any fits due to not having an overwhelming need at the position or no first-round grades on players who could potentially be there at their selection.

At the end of each preview, we’ll break down the Bucs best roster fits at each position from rounds 1-2, 3-4, and 5-7.

Antoine Winfield Jr. is back on the tag, but the two sides will continue to try and hammer out a long-term deal to keep him in Tampa Bay for the long haul. A reunion in the secondary saw the team bring back Jordan Whitehead who helped them win a Super Bowl in 2020 and then left for a payday from the Jets. He brings attitude to the secondary and has improved in coverage as well. The team is high on Kaevon Merriweather as well, who was forced to start two games as an undrafted rookie and impressed. I expect the Bucs to bring in competition to round out the room through the draft or the undrafted frenzy following, but this room is likely to grow in size by the end of the month.

Round 1

None

There are no safeties in this years draft class that have a consensus first round grade.

Round 2

Tyler Nubin, Minnesota [6'1, 215, 4.50-40, 3SO]

Nubin is a high IQ, instinctive player, allowing him to make ball plays. He is skilled at reading the quarterback's eyes knowing what side of the field to shade over to, has rangy to play all over the field, and is tough in run support. However, he lacks elite speed, will struggle in man coverage, and needs to take better angles as he can get over-aggressive. Nubin Finished his sophomore season with 79 tackles, 2.5 sacks, six pass breakups, and two interceptions. He hasn't had any reported meetings with the Bucs.

Jaden Hicks, Washington State [6'1, 215, 4.50-40, 3SO]

Hicks is a three-level defender who can make plays in the box, the middle of the field, and the back end. He does his best work at the line of scrimmage, but he's equally adept in playing coverages. He's a tone-setting tackler, is good at disguising what he's doing on any given play and can bring the heat as a blitzer. However, he'll need to work on his read anticipation, needs to improve his open-field tackling, and can get taken out by climbing blockers. He finished his junior year with 81 tackles, two interceptions, four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and three sacks. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Javon Bullard, Georgia [5'10, 198, 4.47-40, Jr]

Bullard shows excellent route recognition, read and react skills, and instincts for the position. He is physical in run support, patient with his eyes, and excels in man coverage. However, a move to the slot may be beneficial for his career trajectory. He can struggle playing in space as a deep safety, doesn't have elite recovery speed, lacks ideal size, and length, and can his over-aggressiveness will take him out of plays. Bullard finished his junior season with 56 tackles, seven pass breakups, and two interceptions. He had a formal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Cole Bishop, Utah [6'2, 206, 4.45-40, JR]

Bishop is a strong tackler, displays great range, and shows good route anticipation with the ability to stick with tight ends. He is exceptional in the box where he's an impactful threat off the edge but can play all at three levels and plays with excellent vision, instincts, and a high football IQ. However, he can be over-aggressive in trying to make a play causing him to vacate coverage zones, can get stuck on blocks in the run game or when blitzing, and needs to improve eye balance between quarterbacks and receiver running routes. Bishop finished his junior season with 60 tackles, 6.5 for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, five pass breakups, and two interceptions. He had a formal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Rounds 3 - 4

Kamren Kinchens, Miami [5'11, 202, 4.60-40, JR]

Kinchens has tremendous centerfield capabilities and elite ball skills. When he squares up properly he's a big hitter, is physical over the middle of the field, and displays great read and react skills with enough burst to quickly close. However, lack of speed will give teams pause, miscommunication in coverage assignments leads to big plays and needs to improve as a tackler in angles and consistency. Kinchens finished his junior season with 59 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and five interceptions. He hasn't had any reported meetings with the Bucs.

Malik Mustapha, Wake Forest [5'10, 206, 4.54-40, 4JR]

Mustapha is a traditional, hard-hitting, tone-setting strong safety. He'll punish ball carries and receivers coming across the middle, has a smooth backpedal with loose hips to turn and take receivers up the field, and display great short-area quickness to react and close. However, he isn't a playmaking ball hawk, can be late with recognition, can get sucked in by play-action, and be over-aggressive causing him to miss tackles and lose coverage leverage. Mustapha finished his junior year with 80, tackles, five for loss, a forced fumble, three pass breakups, and an interception. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Texas Tech [5'10, 197, 4.41-40, 5SR]

Taylor-Demerson has excellent instincts, vision, and anticipation with tremendous speed for the position. He can play deep safety or nickel, has elite ball production, fast-acting recovery skills, and can be a factor in run support. However, he'll need to improve his play strength, will need to improve his ability to read and react to deep throws, and can get paused by play-action and misdirection. Taylor-Demerson finished his senior year with 73 tackles, a sack, 12 pass breakups, and four interceptions. He hasn't had any reported meetings with the Bucs.

Calen Bullock, USC [6'2, 188, 4.48, JR]

Bullock displays elite range, with fluid hips and transition quickness to stick with receivers in man coverage. He has tremendous ball skills, closing burst, and will bait the quarterback into making ill-advised throws. However, he is inconsistent in reading the quarterback's eyes leading to him being drawn out of place, will need to improve his anticipation of route combinations further, needs to get stronger to hold up against blockers and physical receivers, and is a below-average run defender with poor recognition skills taking bad angles allowing chunk plays. Bullock finished his junior year with 61 tackles, nine pass breakups, and two interceptions. He hasn't had any reported meetings with the Bucs.

Dominique Hampton, Washington [6'2, 213, 4.45-40, 6SR]

Hampton blew up at the Combine with terrific testing numbers. He has the size, speed, and length teams covet, displays position versatility sliding into the slot, and is a strong tackler. However, he doesn't have a natural feel for coverage, will need to improve his read and reactionary skills, and will need to tighten up his pursuit angles. Hampton finished his senior season with 109 tackles, nine pass breakups, and two interceptions. He hasn't had any reported meetings with the Bucs.

Jaylin Simpson, Alabama [5'11, 179, 4.45-40, 5SR]

Simpson is a bit of a tweener with most of his experience coming at corner. That experience lends itself to him with good anticipation in coverage, reactionary athleticism, and excellent ball skills. He has great speed and the ability to cover from the slot in both zone and press-man coverages. However, he's undersized for the position, struggles in run defense, can stutter when flipping his hips, and can play too tall giving up leverage. Simpson finished his senior season with 36 tackles, seven pass breakups, and four interceptions. He hasn't had any reported meetings with the Bucs.

Tykee Smith, Georgia [5'10, 202, 4.46-40, 5SR]

Smith played the Star role at Georgia acting as a big nickel/ linebacker doing his best work near the line of scrimmage. He is a tremendous tackler, with great football, IQ, and the ability to stick with tight ends and big slot receivers. He displays great instincts, with the patience to read routes and the quarterback's eyes to make plays on the ball. However, because of his height and frame, he has coverage limitations and can struggle taking routes deep, while he ran well during testing, his long speed and recovery speed are lacking, and he can be over-aggressive in pursuit angles. Smith finished his senior season with 70 tackles, eight for loss, two sacks, six pass breakups, and four interceptions. He had a formal meeting with the Bucs at the Combine and was brought in for an official 30 visit.

Round 5-7

Beau Brade, Maryland [6'0, 203, 4.65-40, SR]

Brade is a tone-setter in the secondary with his physical play style and aggressive play in run support. He displays great communication skills getting everyone lined up, has good anticipation, is not easily fooled by the quarterback's eyes, and has versatility to play down in the slot as well as a strong safety role. However, he doesn't have great range, average recovery speed when beaten, plays conservatively in coverage allowing easy receptions that should be challenged and will miss tackles going for the "Hit Stick" instead of the sure tackle at times. Brade finished his senior year with 75 tackles, seven pass breakups, and an interception. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Kitan Oladapo, Oregon State [6'2, 216, 4.58-40, 6SR]

Oladapo is a classic strong safety. He's good down in the box in run support, tough enough to take on tight ends in coverage, and can get after it as a blitzer. He is also a capable zone defender, makes plays on the ball, and is an efficient communicator. However, he doesn't have the deep speed to play deep, can miss coverage assignments focusing on the quarterback and doesn't have great range. Oladapo finished his senior season with 74 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, 10 pass breakups, and two interceptions. He hasn't had any reported meetings with the Bucs.

Evan Williams, Oregon [511, 206, 4.59-40, 5SR]

Williams is a strong safety who plays like a linebacker on the field. He is physical, quick to come downhill in run support, and awareness in zone coverage. However, he works best down in the box with limitations playing deep, he lacks long speed and range, doesn't possess great route anticipation, and lack of ball production over his final two years is a concern. Williams finished his senior year with 82 tackles, five for loss, 4.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Daijahn Anthony, Ole Miss [6'0, 194, 4.53-40, 6SR]

Anthony has good size and length with speed to run with receivers deep. He uses his length to jam receivers at the line, has good ball skills, and delivers big hits to whoever is in possession of the ball. However, he can be over-aggressive leading to missed tackles and chunk gains, will give up too much cushion in off-coverage, and can get grabby when beat. Anthony finished his senior year with 61 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and three interceptions. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Ryan Watts, Texas [6'2, 208, 4.53-40, SR]

Watts player corner in college but his skills better translate at safety at the next level. He has great size and length natural ball skills. He has good awareness and route recognition in zone coverage and is a sure tackler in run support. However, he can get turned around in coverage, doesn't have great reactive twitch or foot quickness, and needs to develop better anticipation for route combinations. Watts finished his senior year with 38 tackles and three pass breakups. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Trey Taylor, Air Force [6'0, 206, 4.59-40, 5SR]

Taylor is capable of playing deep, in the box, or in the slot but will sometimes struggle in true-man coverage. He'll do his best work in the box or coming up in run support but has a knack for understanding route concepts and finding the ball. He won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in college football in 2023 and draws rave reviews about the kind of teammate he is. However, he lacks deep speed, can get grabby at times when beat, and needs to be a more consistent finisher. He finished his collegiate career with 205 tackles, 11 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 19 pass deflections, and six interceptions. Taylor was recently brought in for an official 30 visit with the Bucs.

Tyler Owens, Texas Tech [6'2, 216, N/A, 5SR]

Owen's traits, height, length, and speed, check all the boxes teams look for in a safety. He has excellent range, is physical enough to match up against tight ends and big wideouts, and displays good burst and closing speed. However, he has limited experience with just 12 starts, hasn't displayed playmaking ball skills, his instincts, anticipation, and recognition need development, and his angles in coverage, pursuit, and tackling need technique refinement. Owens finished his senior year with 37 tackles and two pass breakups. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Jay Key, Alabama [6'0, 208, 4.60-40, 6SR]

Key has the size and frame of an NFL safety. He displays the range to play in the back end and the ability to match up against tight ends. He has good enough movement to mirror underneath and is active presnap. However, he lacks the flexibility in his hips to turn and run, awareness and recognition need work, and he's not as aggressive in the run game as you'd like. Key finished his senior year with 60 tackles, two pass breakups, and an interception. He had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine.

Best Fit Rounds 1-2

Cole Bishop

If the Bucs go safety early, Bishop makes a lot of sense as someone who can see the field in three safety sets dropping down into the nickel or playing in the box. He's a threat to the quarterback by the line of scrimmage or back deep with his playmaking skills. The team has little depth at the position if injuries were to set in and Bishop gives them someone who could step in and start without skipping a beat. With Winfield Jr. about to get paid and Whitehead only on a two-year deal, he could be the heir apparent while also giving the team a quality starting option on a team-friendly contract. Bishop models his game after former safety Rodney Harrison and coaches rave about his competitive toughness and passion for the game.

Best Fit Rounds 3-4

Tykee Smith

Smith is an aggressive in-your-face safety that also shows prowess in coverage. He can take tight ends out of the equation and is a force in the run game. Like Bishop, he could rotate in on dime packages and knows how to make plays on the ball. He does his best work in the box as a physical tackler and threat to get after the quarterback. but can create turnovers with four interceptions last season when in coverage. He's a core special teamer and is described as an unselfish player willing to do whatever is asked.

Best Fit Rounds 5-7

Trey Taylor

Taylor is more of a coverage safety compared to Bishop and Smith and has a knack for finding the ball. He has six interceptions and 19 pass breakups over the last four seasons. He was First Team All-American, First Team All-MWC, and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in college football in 2023. He draws rave reviews about his character and leadership qualities and is cousins with Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed.