Buccaneers take athletic South Carolina safety in new mock draft

Could the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take an athletic powerhouse in the NFL Draft?

South Carolina defensive back Nick Emmanwori runs in the 40-yard dash during the 2025 NFL Combine. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have quite a few needs on the defense as they approach the NFL Draft. Their two commonly-mocked positions are inside linebacker and cornerback, and they do need both of those positions — but they also need a safety, and it's rarer to see pundits and experts link the Buccaneers with one in this draft.

That's what a new mock draft from The Athletic did, however, and it wasn't Buccaneers DB Tykee Smith's former teammate Malaki Starks, either. Writer Ben Standig had the Buccaneers taking South Carolina standout Nick Emmanwori at No. 19, pairing him with Antoine Winfield Jr. in the backfield.

Here's what Standig had to say about Emmanwori's fit with Tampa Bay:

"The secondary lacks needed quality, especially at cornerback, but safety offers the best options with Barron and Will Johnson off the board. Emmanwori is an athletic freak — the 6-3 safety popped at the combine with a 4.38 40-yard time and 43-inch vertical jump — who returned two of his four interceptions last season for touchdowns."

In this mock draft, Tampa Bay's most mocked player, Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell, is already selected at No. 16 by the Arizona Cardinals. Other cornerback targets, such as Texas' Jahdae Barron and Michigan's Will Johnson, are off the table, too, so with that in mind, Emmanwori wouldn't be a bad pick. He gained significant publicity at the NFL Combine for his numbers, posting a perfect 10 Relative Athletic Score — something he has in common with Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum.

The Buccaneers would benefit from using Emmanwori as a strong safety, but only time will tell if he becomes their pick at No. 19 on draft night.

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