Noah Spence was an underrated edge rusher coming out in the 2016 NFL Draft!
He has Von Miller-like burst off the edge, can bend and has the counter-moves to go with it. Scouts couldn’t find anyone that could block him during Senior Bowl Week. But the trouble he got into at Ohio State and the bad 40 time Spence ran with a bad hamstring hurt him.
So he dropped all the way to No. 39 overall where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers happily took him. And Spence did not disappoint since his arrival in Tampa Bay, looking like the next great edge rusher in training camp. He gave anyone assigned to block him migraines.
Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter told ESPN of his burst off the edge, “You ask any of our O-lineman—that guy’s lightning off the edge.”
Koetter also told ESPN. “[He’s been] solid every day. Every day the kid flashes. For a rookie, he hasn’t hit any slump days, so to speak, where he’s had an off day. Every day he flashes—he’s got a nice motor, he pushes himself hard.”
JoeBucsFan.com quoted Buccaneers veteran defensive tackle Clinton McDonald saying in a Friday interview with WDAE’s Tom Krasniqivia that Spence has “the capability to be a 10-sack player this season.”
Spence brought that burst with him Thursday night, abusing the Philadelphia Eagles’ left tackles in the first half. Of course, Koetter was happy about how much better the Buccaneers pass rush is than last year. He was even more happy that his second-round pick was a part of it.
He told Buccaneers.com “Noah Spence went in there on the second play, the second play of the game in our starting nickel package. Noah, like our entire D-line, affected the quarterback all night.”