Bucs sign three from their draft class

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers today signed three members of the team’s 2021 draft class: linebacker K.J. Britt (fifth round, No. 176 overall), cornerback Chris Wilcox (seventh round, 251st overall) and linebacker Grant Stuard (seventh round, No. 259 overall).

Britt (6-0, 243) played in 42 games, making 14 starts, over four seasons at Auburn (2017-20), and was selected as a captain in his final season. He recorded 119 tackles (13 for loss), 2.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble over his collegiate career. In his junior season in 2019, Britt was named first-team All-SEC by the coaches and second-team All-SEC by the Associated Press after setting career highs across the board with 69 tackles (13 for loss), 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

A native of Oxford, Alabama, Britt will wear No. 52 for Tampa Bay.

Wilcox (6-2, 195) was the first of the Buccaneers’ two seventh-round selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, being selected No. 251 overall. In five seasons at BYU (2016-20), Wilcox appeared in 41 games, with 26 starts, tallying 88 tackles (three for loss) and eight passes defensed. He was a first team Phil Steele All-Independent honoree and was part of a BYU defense in 2020 that ranked fourth in scoring defense and 10th in total defense, while limiting opponents to just 197.5 passing yards per game.

A native of Fontana, California, Wilcox, will wear No. 29 for Tampa Bay.

Stuard (6-1, 225) was the 259th and final pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, earning this year’s ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ title. He is now teammates with Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop, the final pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, who last year became the first ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ to win a Super Bowl. Stuard, a team captain in his senior season at Houston, led the American Athletic Conference in 2020 with 8.7 tackles per game, finishing with 61 tackles (two for loss) and one fumble recovery on his way to 2020 Phil Steele first team AAC honors. Over his four seasons with the Cougars (2017-20), Stuard recorded 190 tackles (14 for loss), four passes defensed, 1.0 sack and one fumble recovery.

The Conroe, Texas, native will wear No. 48 for Tampa Bay.

(Courtesy of the Buccaneers Communications Department.)