Buccaneers close out draft with two of the final nine picks

Tampa Bay had two of the last nine picks in the 2021 NFL draft. With those, they selected BYU cornerback Chris Wilcox at pick 251 and made University of Houston linebacker Grant Stuard “Mr. Irrelevant” at pick 259. Mind you, they currently roster the only Mr. Irrelevant to ever win a Super Bowl in kicker Ryan Succop.

The Bucs had a strong focus on special teams on day two with their fourth round selection of wide receiver Jaelon Darden and fifth round selection of linebacker K.J. Wright. Now, they look for depth in the secondary and continued help on special teams with the selection of Cox while

Cox, 6’2” and 198-lbs, ran a 4.31 40-yard dash at his pro day. His size and speed are certainly assets but he is a project in terms of his ability to read and react as well as dealing with quite a few injuries during his time at BYU.

Another glaring issue is having played four years in college and not getting a single sack, interception, forced fumble, or fumble recovery. Wilcox can make a big splash as a gunner on special teams but seems like a longshot at this stage to make the roster.

Mr. Irrelevant himself, Grant Stuard, is a 6’0” and 230-lb linebacker that projects to land on the practice squad. High energy guy who always seems to find himself near the ball. He reads and reacts well which has helped him through his NCAA career. His size, however, has been an issue - causing him to be easily swallowed up by opposing blockers. He needs a ton of work in coverage and he could sneak in as a special team guy but even that is a long shot. Stuard finished his college career with 191 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, four passes defensed, one fumble recovery, and one touchdown