Lewis Cine Is The Anti-Keanu Neal
April 27th, 2022
Hard-hitting Georgia safety Lewis Cine.
So last night on a special ESPN presentation, all the network’s NFL beat reporters took part in a mock draft.
Of course, since she covers Tampa Bay, Jenna Laine represented Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht. Laine selected Georgia safety Lewis Cine as the Bucs’ pick at No. 27.
At first Joe did a facepalm. Another safety? Ugh. Joe is convinced the Bucs need a tackling corner. But Laine gave a compelling argument.
Cine, Laine detailed, is as close to Jordan Whitehead as there may be in the draft. This Cine lays the wood to people.
Additionally, Laine noted, recently signed Keanu Neal is beyond brittle — those are Joe’s words, not Laine’s — and that no matter how good Neal is, the Bucs cannot bank on him playing a full season.
Joe noticed that Cine, playing in the rough-and-tumble SEC, has not missed a game in the past three seasons.
Then Joe did more research and noticed Cine was the Defensive MVP of the national championship game which Georgia won, and is an All-American whose production increased each year he was in Athens.
And Cine moves! He runs a 4.3 40-yard dash which tells Joe he should be playing at least some slot corner.
In Dane Brugler’s “The Beast” draft guide on The Athletic, Brugler has Cine as his No. 3 safety.
SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Georgia, Cine played free safety in former defensive coordinator Dan Lanning’s scheme, also seeing time at strong safety and the “money” position. He was born in Haiti, grew up in Florida, learned to play football in Boston, became a top recruit in Texas and earned All-American status at Georgia – a diverse journey that concluded with him earning Defensive MVP honors in the 2021 national championship game. With his range, explosiveness and appetite for contact, Cine is a do-everything safety and led a talent-rich Georgia defense in both tackles and passes defended in 2021. Although he has room to tidy up his tackling technique, he is at his best as a physical run defender, running the alley like a freight train and tuning up his target. Overall, Cine lacks ideal size by NFL standards and has marginal ball skills, but he is an enforcer vs. the run with the athleticism in coverage to make plays. He is an ascending talent with NFL starting skills, similar to Xavier McKinney as a prospect.
A blazing fast safety who hits? Yes, please. Joe still would prefer a corner but with Cine’s speed and smarts, he ought to get a spin at nickel. Per Brugler, Cine has played both free and strong safety.
April 27th, 2022 at 9:17 am
That is a very compelling argument. I had no idea he was that fast. He could end up being a great player for 10 years in this league!
April 27th, 2022 at 9:17 am
I’m intrigued.
April 27th, 2022 at 9:22 am
IF…. and it’s a big if… the Bucs bypass grabbing one of the guards (Johnson or Green), or if they’re both gone by 27.. AND if they don’t trade down (they should), my ideal scenario Booth at 27 and Hall (DT- Houston) at 60.
April 27th, 2022 at 9:29 am
Perimeter CB’s are essential, but if you truly want to have a dynamic defense in today’s game you have to have guys in the middle if the field that can cross all the scheme spectrums. I would argue that in Bowles defense, a player that can play slot corner and roll back to one of the safety positions is more valuable than a perimeter corner.
Lewis Cine or Dax Hall would be more valuable to this team than Andrew Booth Jr.
It took me a while to come around to the idea of drafting another defensive back, but I think one of these tweener guys that can multi-scheme in coverage and play the slot or safety positions are so valuable that you can’t pass on them. They fill multiple holes when injuries happen.
My main guys in this draft are Dax Hill, Lewis Cine, and if they go defensive line I almost like Logan Hall more than Devonte Wyatt because I think he’s more scheme versatile.
April 27th, 2022 at 9:32 am
Whose better Cine (Georgia) or Daxton Hill (Michigan)?
April 27th, 2022 at 9:32 am
Trade down and we can still get him and maybe either logan hall or trey mcbride in the 2nd-3rd
April 27th, 2022 at 9:38 am
Gosh damn, hell no. We have safeties and nickel corners coming out of our ears. Every single one of our corners is injury prone and only one is not sorry as hell. I’d even take that slow corner, Kyler Gordon from Washington over another safety. I’m slamming tequila shots if we take this kid in the first round. Please no.
April 27th, 2022 at 9:40 am
meh……starting to think we might want to trade down if there is not a great DL/DE when we pick.
April 27th, 2022 at 9:47 am
Guys, after reading the good draft Intel in the morning cup of Joe link, I’m definitely taking this guy over Hill. There were some troubling issues with Hill as expressed in that article. If we’re taking a safety high it should be this guy imo.
April 27th, 2022 at 9:48 am
Of course that said, I want d line or corner over safety for sure. Or one of the elite guards.
April 27th, 2022 at 10:05 am
I see enough good CB/S’s in this draft that they can wait until the 2nd or 3rd for a guy who is essentially going to be a backup.
April 27th, 2022 at 10:11 am
[That’s not very nice. — Joe]
April 27th, 2022 at 10:25 am
I wouldn’t mind this pick Winfield and cine in the back for the future nice pieces to build around for sure.
April 27th, 2022 at 10:36 am
i’m fine with a top georgia defensive guy in round 1 or 2…especially on the d-line…
also i’d like the kid from the tampa area at wide receiver…watson…if he’s remotely available at 60 or around there you gotta try to make a play to grab him…
otherwise i will shut up until the draft 🙂
April 27th, 2022 at 10:41 am
Which Joe is writing this? The one that said we shouldn’t draft a DT in the first round because the Bucs have won 29 games the past 2 years with DTs we have (although we do not techinically have Suh at this time)?
If this is the same Joe, then a CB in the first round should be bypassed for the same reason (2021 starting CBs are still on the roster), and a safety should be considered.
If it’s the other Joe, then I get wanting a CB in the first, just not sure the talent available at that position is going to justify pick.
April 27th, 2022 at 10:46 am
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April 27th, 2022 at 11:00 am
That’s all nice to hear except for the fact that teams pass the ball on our defense 70% of the time ! We don’t need players to stop the run , we need players that won’t let WRs run free down the field and score the game winning kick as time expires !! Go Bucs
April 27th, 2022 at 11:03 am
I’d consider trading down if our guy isn’t there. I dont think moving back just into the second is goingto net us too much.
We need at least two starters, maybe three. Somehow, someway.
April 27th, 2022 at 11:03 am
Can’t pass on Karlaftis if there.
April 27th, 2022 at 11:07 am
I like Cine, but I’m slightly higher on Brisker at safety. He seems like an ideal fit since he would fit in just about any coverage system and can blitz. has better ball skills as well. I wouldn’t be hurt if Brisker was the pick..not sure about Cine.
April 27th, 2022 at 11:15 am
A lot of mock drafts (for what it’s worth) have the Bucs taking him, so we should know who he is. Thanks, Joe(s)!
April 27th, 2022 at 11:39 am
Hes good but I like Dax Hill better, played all over the defensive backfield in his career wjth Michigan.
April 27th, 2022 at 11:54 am
Pass on Cine. Dawgs had a sick pass rush which tends to make DBs look better than they are.
April 27th, 2022 at 11:55 am
NO NO NO…D-LINE OR OFFENSIVE GUARD…IF NOT THERE TRADE DOWN
April 27th, 2022 at 12:02 pm
Hill can play Slot and Safety, and has enough speed to cover NFL WRs. I think he has the versatility to help our injury plagued secondary.
April 27th, 2022 at 12:12 pm
So many experts on here future gms nfls missing the boat
April 27th, 2022 at 12:15 pm
Straight line speed does not equal coverage skills, for those fantasizing about having him cover WRs.
April 27th, 2022 at 12:26 pm
DT or this guy Cine, this guy is all over the place and the bucs need a guy that gun run the alley and play underneath as Whiitehead did, and him being a green rookie playing with Tahmmy, he will look to show up in the games so that Tahmmy and the bucs will remember him come Super Bowl in February, the guy is all over the place and in a good position to make plays
April 27th, 2022 at 12:59 pm
hope we only paid a few dimes for keanu neal, he really does not sound durable, a matter of time till he takes up residence on IR
Trade down then consider Cine with our first second round pick
April 27th, 2022 at 3:11 pm
Picking a safety in the first round is not a good financial investment. A very good safety can be had in Free agency for 6m – 7m. A very good WR, CB, OT, Edge cost 20m in free agency. We should target the more expensive positions in the first round and get them for 5 years on a rookie deal and look for the less expensive positions like safety, ILB, RB, TE in free agency
April 27th, 2022 at 4:09 pm
I’ve been saying no to every single suggestion and advocating to trade up for Jordan Davis at DT… But this pick would be very compelling.
April 27th, 2022 at 6:22 pm
That’s a great point Bucman. But I still like the idea of drafting a mvp off of a championship team. If the DT’s & OL aren’t there we should snag this dude. Sounds like he is exactly what this secondary needs; a very versatile, fast and tackling machine DB.
April 27th, 2022 at 6:24 pm
If you watched any Georgia football in the last 2 years you know that Cine
is a player.
April 27th, 2022 at 10:56 pm
Bring this guy to Tampa. With whitehead gone n Neal being brittle we still need all the help we can get in the secondary