Grading each selection of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2021 NFL Draft

Chris Wilcox, Defensive Back, BYU

Grade: C+

I was pretty shocked to see the Bucs take a player who has a long history of injuries in college. I watched a lot of BYU football over the last three years due to my proximity and I have a lot of family members that are alumni. It seemed like in most games Wilcox was either praised for his pass defense or he was talked about at the beginning of the game for being out with an injury. I know that BYU was really high on him because of his length and size, 6’2 and 195lbs and coaches would talk about his skill if he was healthy.

Wilcox probably would have been undrafted if he didn’t have a great pro day in March where he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash. He only played in eight games the past two years and had zero interceptions in his college career. If he can stay healthy and make plays on special teams, I think Wilcox will be a great pick-up in the seventh round.

The injury history is the reason why I give it the grade I gave it. He is a project and not someone to count on to play a big role in defense. He could be a steal of a pick if he can make the team this year and work into the rotation as the year progresses.

Grant Stuard, Linebacker, Houston

Grade: B-

With the final pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Bucs made Stuard Mr. Irrelevant, a title given to the final player each year, kind of a quirky thing to be in my opinion.

I like this pick because when I watched Houston vs. BYU last Fall, I liked how active he was and the leadership he showed on defense against a high-octane offense. In that game, he had five tackles and a tackle for a loss. He led the team in tackles in 2020 with 61 during a shortened season. Against a decent UCF team last year, he has a team-high and career-high 12 tackles with one sack. He does have ideal size for an inside linebacker at 6’1 225lbs and was a team captain in 2020.

Stuard is likely a candidate to be on the practice squad early in his career because of how there isn’t a huge need for a linebacker for Tampa. You always will want to have a solid linebacker on the practice squad because of the versatility he can add to the special teams and defensive depth chart. He did miss most of his pro day with an injury but based on his career at Houston, he isn’t a guy with a big injury history. He probably would’ve gone higher if he had a big pro day showing.