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With the draft coming in just a few weeks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been busy gathering information on all the players they're interested in. That includes a whole lot of private visits, private workouts, pro day visits and pre-draft event talks with a variety of players. So we decided to collect a bunch of those below.
A few things worth noting here: the Bucs have shown interest in an overwhelming number of defensive backs and defensive linemen, and a reasonable number of linebackers and offensive linemen. That's a pretty good indicator that they feel they need work at those positions, and that there's talent at those positions in this draft. None of that is surprising, but it's noteworthy nonetheless.
More surprising is the fact that they have barely talked to any skill position players -- very few tight ends and wide receivers are listed, with only one running backs coming along. That doesn't mean they'll definitely stay away from those positions, but it's an indication that they feel pretty good about what they have and don't have a lot of questions about the players available at those positions.
Keep in mind that teams will visit with, work out and talk to a lot of players and these lists are not comprehensive. Moreover, a visit doesn't necessarily mean much -- not even that there's interest, as sometimes these are smokescreens to throw off other teams. Oftentimes, teams will talk to a player because they have questions about the player -- and they won't feel the need to talk to those players they feel very comfortable with.
Here's the list of workouts, visits and other noteworthy signs of interest.
Private visit or workout
Teams can host 30 prospects for a visit, plus any number of local prospects. They're also allowed to work out any number of prospects at those prospects' local facilities. Oftentimes reports won't distinguish clearly between private workouts and visits, so I've lumped them together.
CB Eli Apple, Ohio State (via Rand Getlin)
CB Anthony Brown, Purdue (via GoldandBlack.com)
CB Frankie Williams, Purdue (via GoldandBlack.com)
CB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida (via Rand Getlin)
CB Xavien Howard, Baylor (via Craig Smoak)
S Vonn Bell, Ohio State (via Rand Getlin - "meeting, workout and/or visit")
DE Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma State (via Josh Norris)
DE Noah Spence, Eastern Kentucky (via Ian Rapoport)
QB Brandon Allen, Arkansas (via Greg Auman)
DT Andrew Billings, Baylor (via Walter Football)
FB/LB William Ratelle, North Dakota (via Tony Pauline)
DT Sheldon Rankins, Louisville (via Tony Pauline)
LB Nick Kwiatkoski, WVU (via Tony Pauline)
OL Rees Odhiambo, Boise State (via Tony Pauline, "meeting/working out")
WR Cody Core, Ole Miss (via Tony Pauline)
DT Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss (via Tony Pauline)
LB Aaron Wallace, UCLA (via Tony Pauline)
OL Stephane Nembot, Colorado (via Tony Pauline)
LB De'Vondre Campbell, Minnesota (via Tony Pauline)
OL Dominick Jackson, Alabama (via Tony Pauline)
DL Joel Heath, Michigan State ("spoken with", via Detroit Free Press)
LB Myles Jack, UCLA (via Walter Football)
CB Cyrus Jones, Alabama (via Aaron Wilson)
S Miles Killebrew, Southern Utah (via Luke Easterling)
T Justin Murray, Cincinnati (via Greg Auman)
T Zach Sterup, Nebraska (via Walter Football)
LB Antwione Williams, Georgia Southern (via Greg Auman)
G Joe Thuney, NC State (via Walter Football)
RB Jonathan Williams, Arkansas (via Jon Ledyard)
T Shon Coleman, Clemson (via Greg Auman)
CB LeShaun Sims, Southern Utah (via Greg Auman)
QB Kevin Hogan, Stanford (via Sirius XM)
Talked at pre-draft event
Teams will talk to many, many players at pre-draft events, so these are not necessarily all that indicative. But they're still worth noting, if only for curiosity's sake.
DE Shaw Lawson, Clemson (NFL scouting combine, via NFL.com)
CB Mackensie Alexander, Clemson (NFL scouting combine, via Walter Football)
WR Geronimo Allison, Illinois (Shrine Game, via Jeff Risdon)
CB James Bradberry, Samford (Senior Bowl, via Watler Football)
S Jalen Ramsey (NFL Scouting combine, via Walter Football)
WR Demarcus Robinson, Florida (NFL Scouting Combine, via Watler Football)
Visited pro day
Generally speaking, the Bucs will visit most pro days across the country. It's most noteworthy when a high-ranking decision maker or position coach shows up. Keep in mind that there are multiple prospects working out at any pro day, so we don't quite know who they're focusing on in each case.
University of Miami - Jason Licht (via NFL.com). Top prospects: WR Rashawn Scott, LB Raphael Kirby, CB Artie Burns, DE ufomba Kamalu, S Deon Bush, DT Calvin Heurtelou
Virginia Tech - pro scout Steve West (via Greg Auman). Top prospect :CB Kendall Fuller.
Grand Valley State - defensive line coach Jay Hayes (via Gil Brandt). Top prospect: DE Matt Judon.
Oklahoma State - defensive line coach Jay Hayes (via Gil Brandt). Top prospects: DE Emmanuel Ogbah, DE Jimmy Bean.
Louisville - director of college scouting Mike Biehl (via Gil Brandt). Top prospects: DT Sheldon Rankins, LB James Burgess.
Harvard - offensive line coach George Warhop (via Gil Brandt). Top prospects: T Cole Toner, TE Ben Braunecker, OL Anthony Fabiano.
Quick shout out to NFL.com and Walter Football for collecting a lot of these reports.