Tampa Bay Buccaneers' First Round Draft Pick Predicted to Be Team's Biggest Bust This Season
On Monday, Bleacher Report published an article, 'Predicting Every NFL Team's Biggest Bust of the 2023 NFL Season'.
The purpose of the piece is very much self-explanatory, as the author, Alex Ballentine, identified one player for each team who he expects to fail at meeting expectations in 2023.
READ MORE: Former Buccaneer Leonard Fournette Was Speeding, Racing Prior To Car Catching Fire
It's important to note, that not all players identified as bust candidates for this season are rookies. In fact, several veterans, including former Buccaneer, Donovan Smith, who was predicted to be the biggest bust for the Kansas City Chiefs this season. Other veterans, like Khalil Mack for the Chargers, and Russell Wilson of the Broncos, were also predicted to be the biggest busts for their respective teams this fall.
For the Buccaneers, it was Calijah Kancey, the defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh who the team selected with the 19th overall selection back on April 27th, who was predicted to be the team's biggest bust in 2023.
Here's what the article said about Kancey...
"Kancey is diminutive by NFL defensive tackle standards. At 6'1", 281 pounds, he's even slightly thinner than Aaron Donald was (6'0", 285 pounds) when he came into the league.
"Kancey's build and tape point to a player who is going to struggle to defend the run, as noted by Matt Holder in his scouting report."The team that selects him will be looking for an interior pass-rusher who might develop into a three-down player with more time in the weight room. But again, that team will be betting on a big outlier," Holder noted. That could spell a slow start to Kancey's career as the Bucs might not be willing to put him out on the field if he will be a liability against the run."
The size criticism is nothing new for Kancey. He was labeled as too small throughout his collegiate career, including last season when he proved to be the most disruptive interior defensive lineman in all of College football.
I recently sat down with Fantasy Pro's NFL Draft and College Football Analyst, Thor Nystrom, to get his thoughts on the Kancey selection, in addition to the rest of the Buccaneers' draft picks. It only made sense considering he studies NFL draft prospects 365 days/year to make a living.
You can watch the full interview here.
During our discussion, Thor spent almost 10 minutes talking exclusively about Kancey. And unlike Ballentine in his recent article for Bleacher Report, Nystrom sees Kancey as a tantalizing prospect with a special type of upside.
"You can't really place him with other guys... As far as the transition to the next level, in this totally unique package that we basically haven't seen. Right? For a First round prospect. If everything works out and he is able to overcome the lack of length, it's John Randle. That is who he will be. If he hits that ceiling, if he's able to overcome that length in the same way he did in college. [Kancey] dominated without it. And that says something to you, right? But now, of course, you're jumping up against the better athletes that have the longer length... but that level of dominance? It has to count for something. The athletic profile obviously does as well. I believe in Calijah Kancey."
When I asked him to elaborate on the unique profile that Kancey presents, Thor offered even more detail.
"Yes, he's an outlier with the size stuff, for sure. And yes, that may or may not be a problem in the NFL. That's fair to talk about. But, who have you seen that plays on the defensive interior line, certainly over the last decade, that has that same level of quickness? That same level of footwork? As far as the length stuff goes, what if you can't touch him? Kancey, even in those closed quarters, it is really tough to touch him... Even if he's right in front of you, you've got to be very precise. The timing has to be right. If you screw anything up, he's by you. If you get off balance at all, if you over extend at all, if you try and do anything to compensate, you're now dead to rights and your quarterback is in danger."
On the size criticisms specifically, Thor had this to say,
"You can talk about it. That elevates the risk profile. But you can't say that stuff without mentioning as well how high [Kancey's] ceiling could theoretically be because of his unprecedented movement skills."
So although it should be acknowledged that Calijah Kancey's lack of size and length does have the potential to limit his impact at the NFL level, it doesn't mean he's going to be a bust. If you're going to bring up his size, you'd better bring up his track record of elite production, and extremely rare athleticism, too.
Because he'll be bringing both of those things to the NFL as well.
READ MORE: Carlton Davis Says The NFL Is In For a Rude Awakening In 2023
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the offseason.
