Bucs Trade Up And Draft WR Jaelon Darden In Round 4
May 1st, 2021
UPDATED: Our beloved Bucs made a move with the Seahawks to jump up in Round 4 to grab WR/returner Jaelon Darden out of the University of North Texas.
The 5-7 speedster (4.4 speed) appears to be instant competition to take the punt returner/kick returner gig.
Bucco Bruce Arians said upgrading special teams was a priority when Joe asked for Saturday goals last night. The Bucs ditched their sixth-round pick and this year’s fourth-rounder to climb the board.
The Pro Football Focus crowd (aka The PFF Tribe) had Darden as a top-50 prospect, and the Mean Green receiver widely was considered a third-round pick.
The Conference USA MVP caught 74 passes for 1,190 yards and 19 touchdowns in only nine games last season.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:20 pm
Goodbye, Jaydon Mickens
May 1st, 2021 at 1:22 pm
Small and fast.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Hopefully this is our return man. Haven’t had anyone good at it since Spurlock.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Kick and Punt returner.
https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2021/04/15/2021-nfl-draftaelon-darden-player-profile/
May 1st, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Licht moving up for a guy thatvwouod have been there when we need more depth on special teams. He can be a returner…good…but he is too small to be a gunner. The other teams returner will just shove him aside as they gain 20 yards.
Oh well. Hopefully we still have 2 more pics.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:24 pm
Another four year big board. Nice.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:25 pm
I love his comment “making someone miss is like waking up in the morning and brushing my teeth, I gotta do it”. Let’s see what juice he brings, Mickens is on the clock
May 1st, 2021 at 1:25 pm
Just watched some YT highlights. Fun player been. Nightmare to tackle in space. Reminds me of a receiver version of warrick Dunn
May 1st, 2021 at 1:27 pm
Nice, kr/pr was addressed.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:28 pm
Arians just said on NFL Radio that Brady was all-in on the Trask pick. They talked about it.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:28 pm
There’s our Deonte Harris. I like it
May 1st, 2021 at 1:29 pm
Finally a small fast kick and punt returner. Bucs are now working on making special teams a lot better! Plus he is going to be a nightmare in the slot.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:31 pm
Arians just said on NFL that he’s the punt & kick returner
May 1st, 2021 at 1:33 pm
Hopefully this guy makes the team and makes the team better. Lots of receivers on the Bucs
May 1st, 2021 at 1:33 pm
I like it.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Bizzarro World that our team has the luxury to take shots on ST players. We have little need and limited room for depth.
I think some people still think every pick has to stick.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:37 pm
Nice pick.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Darden can make people miss – that’s for sure. And very productive
May 1st, 2021 at 1:42 pm
Seems like just about every team has drafted a kid named Jalen this year
May 1st, 2021 at 1:45 pm
Once again a nice draft. I personally would have picked Book or Mond instead of Trask but I hope I’m wrong
May 1st, 2021 at 1:46 pm
Wow!!!! The highlights had me smiling the whole time. Kind of reminded me of Antonio brown in his prime. Of course against small school talent. So not saying he is anywhere close to ab. Just reminded me of him. Won’t be grabbing a beer or running to pee during punt and kick returns now.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:47 pm
Where are his PR/KR highlights?
May 1st, 2021 at 1:50 pm
They said he only did punt kick returns his first year full time. Then he was to valuable as one of the best recievers in college to have risk being a return man.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:50 pm
Just watch Darden’s highlight film. This kid a great shake and miss move. I can see him being very dangerous in open space. Not bad for a WR but looks to be a returner for the Bucs.
May 1st, 2021 at 1:58 pm
Went to school with this guy. He’s the real deal – I’m pumped!
May 1st, 2021 at 1:58 pm
His quote “slow feet don’t eat”. Love that! Kid is shifty and doesn’t need much space on the sidelines. Great gadget player!
May 1st, 2021 at 2:03 pm
Man, watching Dardens highlight tape makes me think he might be our best draft pick so far. He got speed, skills and deceptive moves. We shall see.
May 1st, 2021 at 2:04 pm
SKbucFan your crystal ball is too close to the bong. Tip 50 player that droped and wasn’t going to fall much further.
May 1st, 2021 at 2:12 pm
@Topdoggie. 😂
May 1st, 2021 at 2:27 pm
We got Tyler Durden!
May 1st, 2021 at 2:34 pm
SKBucfan…
What the hell do you think they need it in special teams? A Return guy.
And what do you think he gave up… A sixth round pick – that’s it. They only have about 10 slots on their whole team since they returned everybody plus back ups.
And several scouts had this guy going in the third or fourth round so no, they don’t know if he’s going to be there later.
The last three years this scouting department and GM have done fantastic.
How about some of you stop biotching and complaining and acting like you know better and trust the job that they’re doing.
Which is 100 times better than you all.
May 1st, 2021 at 2:39 pm
He needs to bulk up but I like his shiftiness. He kind of reminds me of DJax but this guy might be more physical.
May 1st, 2021 at 2:42 pm
Kick/ punt returner has been a need for awhile.
If this guy can do that job- then we’ve improved!
Fills a need- good pick!
May 1st, 2021 at 2:46 pm
Can you imagine if this guy turns out to be a speedster and shifty runner like Tyreek Hill when returning punts and kickoffs? Just what this offense needs. Starting drives on the 35 or 40 instead of the 20 or 25 each drive.
May 1st, 2021 at 3:07 pm
The Bucs are doing exactly what Arians said they would, addressing special teams!
I am glad we traded up for this guy.
He was graded as a top 50 prospect, so you move up vs taking the chance of some other team snatching him!