Could the Temple product fit in to Todd Bowles defense?
The Buccaneers are beyond thin at the safety position with returning starters Justin Evans and Jordan Whitehead as the lone players returning from last years team at the position. The team added former Packer safety Kentrell Brice recently and that rounds out the position for Tampa Bay.
Furthermore, MJ Stewart is now heading from corner to the safety position, something many draft experts a year ago had mentioned would be his better NFL position. What this all tells us is that the team is not happy with the current situation at the position and there is potential for more additions to the safety room.
With some additions and positional changes already underway, there’s little reason to believe the team would spend high draft capital on another safety. Enter Delvon Randall, safety from Temple who should be a round 3 selection at best.
Delvon Randall’s Career
Randall played in 8 games as a freshman for the Temple Owls and followed it up with three straight seasons playing in all games for Temple. In total, Randall played in 48 games while amassing a stat line of 246 tackles, 12 interceptions and a sack.
Randall finished with 4 sacks in each of his final three seasons at Temple. Randall was leaned on heavily to fill multiple roles for the Temple Owls defensive backfield and it allowed him to be masked in the system where his prowess and ability to spark big plays was on full display.
Pros
Randall will enter the NFL with a pro-ready physique that he uses fairly well when tackling. Randall, shown by the stats he racked up as a tackler, wraps up well and plays with good form and breaks down into his stops. Randall shows good angles taken to the ball and can lay down the boom when needed.
Randall has shown very good vision in the backfield and it has played an great role in why he’s been able to pick off so many passes in his collegiate career. Along with that vision is self awareness when the ball is in the air. Randall didn’t just intercept passes, he also ensured the receiver never got a chance on 50/50 balls as he’d bat the pass away.
Start and stop skills are present as shown by Randall’s ability to break on the ball and pursue plays while keeping the ball in front of him. Rarely do you see Randall let the play get past him and regularly he gets to the spot on time.
Cons
Overall run defense can be a bit shaky. At times you will see Randall get into the lane and make the stop, but more often you see him allow a few extra yards prior to getting into the mess of tackling the ball carrier, especially on between the tackle runs.
Randall has struggled at times with agility in close quarters and changing direction last second. Tagging along with this issue is some inconsistent “never give up” attitude. Randall has appeared to let a play run it’s course when he should have gotten involved earlier.
Speed is another con for Randall as he isn’t a top end burner or a great player at closing the gap between himself and the ball with speed. Instead, Randall relies more on his awareness and attack angles which isn’t a deal breaker at all, just something to note.
Why The Buccaneers Need Him
Simply put, this team needs more play makers in the secondary and Delvon Randall has proven to be just that. Randall’s ability to take the ball away from the other team is a premium in today’s NFL and for a team that struggled heavily to do just that in 2018, Randall would bring some much needed aggression to the secondary.
Leadership, Randall was the incumbent leader of the Owl secondary and the coaching staff had all the faith in the world in his ability to take on multiple roles. Being able to rely on players to play hybrid roles is something that will be of importance with Todd Bowles presence now as defensive coordinator as he likes to bring pressure and that often means players dropping into coverage who sometimes wouldn’t as well as players being brought to the line of scrimmage that otherwise may not be use to it. Having a player that can do both would fit in nicely.
The final reason is blatantly obvious, the team needs more safeties. With 3 safeties on the roster and a 4th moving from corner to safety, the Buccaneers still view safety as a position of need and Randall would help fill that void.
Will It Happen?
Possibly. Randall has a unique skill set that fits what Tampa Bay needs out of their safeties. Couple that with the fact that Randall has enough “flaws” to push him down to potentially a day three selection.
Delvon Randall would be a good value pick for the Buccaneers, he fits what Jason Licht likes in that he’s a football guy and a leader and the multiple roles he played for Temple fit’s what Todd Bowles generally does with his defense. All the makings of this being a potential match are there.
So again, will it happen? Possibly? Should it happen? Probably.
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