Nelson and Beckner: Everything the Bucs thought they were? and some?

After taking a Linebacker first, the Bucs went straight to Defensive Back for three selections that should shore up the Defensive Backfield for many years. The next selection was a pick to try and help do the same for the Defensive Front. The Bucs had to be tickled pewter to find Anthony Nelson still sitting there in the 4th round.

Anthony Nelson:

He’s big (6’7″, and 271 lbs.) and he’s smart, and he’s got that good looking genie in the bottle, oops sorry wrong Tony Nelson. He was a member of numerous All-Academic Teams.

“Nelson, who seems to be fitting right into the outside linebacker role from his college days as a 4-3 defensive end. The thing about Nelson is he’s smart. Like, really smart. He has been able to pick up the scheme extraordinarily quickly and is often working extra with fellow outside linebacker Carl Nassib”– Carmen Vitali, staff writer Buccaneers.com

In addition, he’s not just a bookworm. He is very athletic and agile. He’s impressed Arians and the rest of the staff during mini-camp. At the very least he is going to be a depth player and should see some action in rotations on the D-Line. Training Camp and Pre-season should shed considerably more light on his abilities. For right now, though, Arians, and Bowles like what they see, and are high on the young man from the University of Iowa.

Terry Beckner:

Taken in the 7th round, out of Missouri, Beckner was a big-time recruit out of High School. Injuries though to both knees in College set him back and surely contributed to where he was drafted at. It’s a low-cost gamble for the Bucs for sure. It’s been reported that Beckner will show flashes of greatness, but also disappears for stretches. So it remains to be seen just which player will show in the long run. As of now, though in mini-camp he has looked good.

“Now that the playbook is starting to sink in, he got back to his inherent ball awareness and was even able to get his hand on a pass to break it up yesterday. He could be a very solid depth option on the defensive line”– Carmen Vitali, staff writer Buccaneers.com

Grasping the Defensive playbook:

It sounds like he’s coming around on learning the defensive schemes, that he is playing with more speed, and it’s becoming more second nature to him. A seventh-round Defensive Tackle is far from safe when cuts roll around in a few months, but with the need, the Bucs have on the line, so far in mini-camp, he is doing what needs to be done. to pave his way to a possible roster spot. At 6’4″ and 297 lbs, he is an imposing physical player. We need skilled imposing players on this team. Here’s to hoping he can find a spot on the roster come cut time.