In a segment with Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer discussed the possible landing spot for University of Houston’s DT Ed Oliver.
“As for [Ed] Oliver, I feel comfortable saying that he’ll go somewhere between the third and ninth picks. He’s not for everyone—his fit in the base of some defense is a tough one. But he’s a damn good player for what he is, so I can pretty easily see him landing on the Jets, Bucs or Bills in that pick range.”
The weeks leading up to the draft have been clouded with uncertainty about what the Buccaneers might do with the 5th overall pick. Breer’s intuition seems to think that Tampa Bay might want Oliver at 5. If the team chooses not to retain DT Gerald McCoy and his $13M salary, it may fill a need, and at a discount as well.
Oliver collected 13.5 sacks and 192 total tackles in three years at Houston. In recent weeks his draft stock has risen. But as stated by Breer, he might be a tough sell to teams early in the first round. That said, Oliver may be a good fit in Bowles’ defense in Tampa.
Stay tuned to BucsReport.com as the story develops.
