It was all about adding depth for the Buccaneers on day two of the NFL draft as they continued to look for those hidden gems to be able to come in and contribute.
The Bucs added another wide receiver in the fifth round in Tyler Johnson from Minnesota.
Although not blessed with blazing speed, Johnson is a very good route runner, gets in and out of breaks quickly, and has a nose for the end zone.
Johnson tallied 3305 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns in his Gopher career.
Johnson holds numerous Gopher receiving records, and in 2019 had 86 catches for 1318 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Johnson had 32 touchdown catches in 2018 and 2019, the most by a receiver in college football. Johnson will compete with Scotty Miller and Justin Watson for the third receiver spot which was held by Breshad Perriman last season.
Johnson is excited to be part of this Bucs offense and looking forward to contributing in whatever way he can. “Honestly, it’s very amazing knowing I can bring a lot into this offense, and I’m expected to bring a lot to this offense. “Pretty much what I’m going to do is play my role, man. I’m looking forward to making plays. Whatever I’ve got to block, I’ve got to block. Whenever I’ve got to catch the ball, I got to catch the ball.”
Johnson knows that nothing is guaranteed and he will need to work to earn his keep in Tampa, “It’s a very surreal moment. Once you make it to the next level, you have to re-start your entire journey. Nothing is guaranteed, nothing is given to you, so I’m just going to continue to go out there, work my tail off, and help contribute to a great organization.”
The Bucs added to the defensive line in the sixth round drafting Khalil Davis from Nebraska.
Davis was the defensive linemen of the year at Nebraska in 2018, and 2019 and last year had eight sack and 12 tackles for loss.
Davis has good speed for a defensive lineman as he ran a 4.75/40 at the combine.
Davis said he is looking forward to playing with fellow Cornhuskers N’Damukong Suh and Lavonte David as both played their college ball at Nebraska and were the two players that Davis looked up to throughout his college career.
The Bucs had two picks in the seventh round first, taking linebacker Chapelle Russell from Temple, coach Arians alma mater.
Russell is a six foot one 230 pound linebacker who had 237 career tackles, 19.5 for loss, and three sacks in his four-year career.
Russell provides depth behind Lavonte David and Devin White.
The Bucs then returned to the offensive side of the ball for their final pick taking running back Raymond Calais from Louisiana Lafayette.
Arians referred to Calais as a “human joystick during his conference call with the media on Saturday and is looking forward to what Calais will bring to the Bucs offense.
Calais had 886 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 2019, but is very versatile and can be used in the return game and also line up at receiver.
Calais has very good speedrunning a 4.42/40 and Arians is excited to take advantage of that speed.
Calais will join fellow rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughan along with Jones, Logan, and Ogunbowale in the Bucs backfield.
Arians is obviously excited to see what these two rookies can bring to the Bucs backfield. ”I think Ke’Shawn Vaughn is a guy that can play every down. “I don’t consider him a David Johnson. And Raymond is a much smaller version of David Johnson. He’s a heck of a little running back. I wouldn’t say he’s Tarik Cohen, but he’s that joystick-type guy who can go out and play wide receiver.”
The Bucs drafted four offensive and three defensive players in this draft and took four players from Big 10 schools.
This appears to be another solid draft for the Bucs as they filled the most pressing need on the team at right tackle, and also added depth where they needed it at wide receiver and on the defensive side of the ball.
The Bucs did not take a developmental quarterback as some had expected in this round but did sign Reid Sinnett from San Diego. Sinnett passed for 3,538 yards last season with 32 touchdowns and ten interceptions, completing 67.4 percent of his passes.
