“Tremendous Film”
April 27th, 2020
The term “steal” gets thrown around a lot before, during and after the NFL Draft.
Did the Bucs land one in Round 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft in safety/nickel Antoine Winfield, Jr.?
Of course, nobody knows yet. Five safeties came off the board in Round 2 (none in Round 1) and Winfield was fourth in line.
A healthy percentage of the mock drafters had Winfield as a late first-round pick. Helmet hair Mel Kiper, for example, pegged Winfield as the No. 2 safety off the board, going No. 31 overall to the 49ers. NFL Network guru had Winfield as his No. 3 safety available and a second-round pick.
Former NFL safety and ex-Eagles personnel man, Louis Riddick, glowed about Winfield’s “tremendous film” during a predraft feature on ESPN.
Winfield himself was interviewed (predraft) and talked about how sitting out most of 2018 with a foot injury really helped his game, forcing him into deeper study of the entire Minnesota Gophers defense. The led to him really understanding his role for his breakout seven-interception season of 2019.
Joe suspects/hopes Winfield will settle into primarily a nickel role this year, much like Tyrann Mathieu and Budda Baker did as rookies under Bucco Bruce Arians.
In the Bucs defense, it’s the nickel who is the top blitzer.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:04 am
Film doesnt lie.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:07 am
Success for him seems like it will come down to whether he wants to be a professional or a celebrity. Hargreaves was supposed to be the nickel but he was more dialed into his social media then his game film.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:12 am
I must say I am concerned about his size. I know he was dominant defender in college but will that translate to the pros. I remember last year when BA & loser Licht raved about MK Stewart & we all know how that turned out. I feel the Bucs panicked in the 2nd rd. like in the past. Does that sound familiar? Remember how Licht panicked when he moved up to draft the infamous Aquayo because he was afraid someone else was going to pounce on him. Well here again we all know how that turned out. I get a little sick in tired the way BA & Licht BS the fans & build up these players. Yesterday I read that BA said Winfield could play CB, S & even LB. Now keep in mind he is 5’9″. Enough with the BS. I must say BA & Licht are two of the best BS artist I’ve ever heard.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:27 am
We are honestly stacked with young and talented safeties. We have four guys vying for two positions. Evans is supposedly healthy. Whitehead has started the most games, Edwards had the Honey Badger comparison last year. And now Winfield. Two of them HAVE to step up. Whitehead just needs to take a step. Evans needs to prove he’s healthy. Edwards needs to take several steps. And Winfield who was the most pro ready safety in college. We’ve also got Andrew Adams who is a solid backup. I’m thinking we only keep four. Not sure where MJ Stewart fits in this secondary. We also signed a good UDFA CB from Oklahoma that has a shot at being our 4th or 5th CB on Parnell Motley.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:27 am
The good news is that Antoine Winfield, Sr. will serve as an extra coach and be all over Jr. if he doesn’t perform well on and off the field.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:29 am
put some lifts in his cleats and he’s good to go 🙂
April 27th, 2020 at 9:29 am
I like his center-fielder mentality. He can quickly assess a play and make the right moves. Great pick.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:32 am
Please stop all this Aguayo that was long time ago, you need to appreciate Litch for the last year draft and this year draft too, Winfield was the number 2 Safety on many expert draft? It wasn’t a panic draft it’s taken care of the team need. BA and Bowles drafted Tyrann Mathieu and Jamal Adams.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:38 am
Good, maybe he can take a year to study the defense while there is no season
April 27th, 2020 at 9:41 am
Tom, first of all it’s MJ Stewart and you’re ready to label him a bust after his first season with Bowles defense? SMH….clueless fans.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:42 am
I absolutely love this kid. This was such a good pick!! He is going to become a fan favorite for sure.
The secondary was lacking leadership, and I thought they would turn to FA vet Tony Jefferson to provide that. I really believe Winfield, even tho he is a rookie, can be that Alpha dog this secondary is missing.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:45 am
Size doesn’t matter if you can’t cover or get close to a tackle……this guy has great instincts and will be near the ball…..love the pick.
How can anyone claim that Licht was desperate here?……Winfield was the #1 player on the ESPN board when we picked him.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:46 am
And for those worried about his size.
Antoine Winfield Jr. – 5′ 9″ 203lbs.
Tyrann Mathieu – 5′ 9″ 190lbs.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:47 am
I hope he can stay healthy. He had injury issues his freshman and sophomore seasons. Other than that I don’t have very many concerns with this player. The dude can ball.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:49 am
Winfield will play FS and SMB will be the nickel. Injuries can cause shake up but winfield has the most range of any safety on the roster besides Evans who i dont expect to play. Lots of interchangeable parts and depth i love the pick.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:50 am
@Tampabaybucsfan, if Litch and BA trade for Mahommes or Watson they’ll still complain, some will say they gave up to much, so will say he’ll be a bust and even some will say Jameis Winston is better than him. No matter what he does they’ll still criticize him. And he’s about to prove all the doubters wrong, BA still said we should’ve made the playoffs and all the players knew that if we had less TO.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:53 am
Clean house, if you want to be a little ninnie by hiding under your bed then go right ahead. Would be ecstatic to bet you money that there will be a season. Business are about to open back up, people are about to go to work. NBA teams are starting to open facilities, testing will be doubled within the next few weeks. Hell even go on LinkedIn – look at all the job postings, companies are gearing up for a reopening.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:55 am
@Tampabaybucsfan, if Litch and BA trade for Mahommes or Watson they’ll still complain, some will say they gave up to much, so will say he’ll be a bust and even some will say Jameis Winston is better than him. No matter what he does they’ll still criticize him. And he’s about to prove all the doubters wrong, BA still said we should’ve made the playoffs and all the players knew that if we had less Turnovers.
April 27th, 2020 at 9:55 am
I like the pick, but man, he’s short. I worry about him and Whitehead covering a 6’6″ tight end and they are both 5’9″
April 27th, 2020 at 10:00 am
Dudes got ups. Just like those other safeties mentioned he’ll be fine
April 27th, 2020 at 10:08 am
Tyrann Mathieu is 5’9 and Winfield is also 5’9. How’s he short and Tyrann Mathieu isn’t short?
April 27th, 2020 at 10:10 am
Tyrann Mathieu is 5’9 and Winfield is also 5’9. How’s he short and Tyrann Mathieu isn’t short?.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:20 am
Tyrann Mathieu is 5’9 and Winfield is also 5’9. How’s he short and Tyrann Mathieu isn’t short?..
April 27th, 2020 at 10:25 am
I don’t get why people are making such a big deal on his height. R. Barber was 5’ 10” only one inch taller. Winfield’s vertical was 36” compared to Barber’s 34.5. They’re also more strictly giving accurate height today I’ve seen Ronde in person and he is a short 5’ 10”.
This was the safest, most likely best choice of the draft for the Bucs.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:47 am
Clean House…why do you suppose they spent their cap money down to nothing by paying Gronk 10 million?
Cause there won’t be a season?
April 27th, 2020 at 10:49 am
Danny C, do you really think, it woulld be a much better matchup with a 6’6 TE if he were 6’1?
April 27th, 2020 at 10:50 am
His dad was special and played like 15 years
They just dont need to practice him everyday as he had 2 injuries over last few years where he missed substantial time
We do not need another justin evans
Have this kid play free safety
And let whitehead go head hunting at strong safety
April 27th, 2020 at 11:02 am
Lol I said before and I’ll keep saying it… that WINFIELD will be an instant fan favorite after his first big hit game 1. This dude plays like a rabid dog. Winfield and Wirfs are about the safest picks in the entire draft. Espn gave Wirfs the highest likelihood to become a pro bowler of any player in the draft.
Delpit takes poor angles and can’t tackle that well and McKinney isn’t quite fast enough for what we need him for. We got the best player in the draft for this position of need. Sean Taylors (Derwin James) don’t come around too often.
Licht did great, we are set at 2 positions minimum now. đź’Ş
April 27th, 2020 at 11:17 am
Seems Winfield is a “short” 5’9″, while Honey Badger is a “tall” 5’9″.
I suppose Ronde Barber was a “giant” 5’9-10″
April 27th, 2020 at 11:22 am
“It ain’t the size of th4e dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
I predict Winfield will be an explosive player.
April 27th, 2020 at 11:23 am
The only better safety in the draft was Simmons. Not HE would be totally bad-ass.
Not just as a safety, but almost anywhere on defense.
April 27th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
So hes the shortest guy in our secondary. So what. Davis and Dean are tall on the outside. “Secondary is fixed”
April 27th, 2020 at 2:40 pm
Another Safety that Arians used a high pick on was Budda Baker in 2017, his last draft with the Cardinals. Baker has become one of the bright spots on the Cardinals Defense.
Budda Baker was 5′ 10″ 195 at the combine. This whole height thing with Winfield Jr. is kinda dumb.