With their second selection in the 2019 NFL Draft the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Sean Bunting, a cornerback from Central Michigan.
The early selection of Bunting caused many Bucs fans and experts to scratch their heads. No one expected him to be picked that high. Draft analyst Mel Kiper was “shocked” by the selection. He had eight cornerbacks who were still available ranked higher than Bunting.
Bunting played safety in high school. After signing with Central Michigan, his coaches made him switch to cornerback. He started in all the games in his sophomore and junior campaigns with the Chippewas. He won the team’s award as the defensive player of the year in 2018, recording 37 tackles, 2 interceptions and 7 defensed passes.
The 6’0” cornerback weighs 195 pounds and has outstanding speed. That seems to be what Licht is looking for in order to make Todd Bowles’ new defense work.
Because multiple cornerbacks were still on the board when the Buccaneers reached for Bunting, Arians and Bowles obviously see something in the 21-year-old that we do not. Hopefully he can live up to a now very lofty expectation as the 39th overall pick. If not, the Bucs might have shot themselves in the foot by leaving plenty of talent on the board.
