Amani Oruwaiye Scouting Report

There is no secret that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive backfield has been terrible for a long time and the only exception last year is that it was unquestionably the worst. The secondary unit led by Brent Grimes landed in the bottom of the league for passing defense, and that was due to former Bucs’ DC Mike Smith’s soft coverage scheme. It was a total disaster.

Todd Bowles has become the team’s new DC, and as the ships newly appoint helmsman, the Buccaneers could see a change in scheme. Bowles likes to work out of a 3-4 and 4-3 as his scheme and loves to go after the quarterback. We can expect a blitz-happy Tampa defense next season. In order for Bowels to have an effective blitzing scheme, the Bucs will need to have corner guys who can play man-to-man and press the receivers. Believe it or not, we have one already in Vernon Hargreaves III. But we will need more.

Enter draft prospect, cornerback Amani Oruaiye. Oruwaiye has first-round talent but has fallen to the second round in most mock drafts. If this rings true, it could be a good thing for the Bucs.

If the Bucs can pick up Oruwaiye in the second round, they would be getting a big, athletic CB that excellent in man coverage. While at Penn State Oruwaiye was a total ball hawk. During his junior year, he played in 11 games, recording 28 Tackles, and snatching 4 INTs. He outperformed that in his senior year while playing in 13 games, racking up 50 Tackles with one for a loss, and 3 INTs.

At 6’1 204 lbs, Oruwaiye is a big CB and strong enough to play press coverage and has the ability to knock WRs off their routes. He’s a bit of a soft tackler, especially at his size, but he makes up for that with his athleticism, his ability to be aggressive, and ability to mirror receivers in coverage.

Oruwaiye’s speed is expected to be around the 4.4 range, which is good for a DB his size. If he’s still there in the second round, Jason Licht better pay attention because he would look great in a Bucs uniform.