Dane Brugler Believes Bucs Had The Best Pick Of Day 3
April 29th, 2026
Home run?
When it comes to draft guides, there are so many to choose from. But one is well above the rest.
Anyone who has ever paged through Dane Brugler’s “The Beast,” via a subscription to The Athletic, knows what a draft bible that is.
Joe really likes Emory Hunt of CBS and his draft guide, while Bob McGinn does a form of a draft guide; his dozen or so articles breaking down each position of draftable players are really, really good because all his intel is from NFL scouts.
But Brugler’s “The Beast” is the standard.
Yesterday, Brugler was on Kay Adams’ show to discuss the draft. Adams asked Brugler to name the best player on Day 3 of the draft. Brugler said there were a couple but for him, the player that stood out going to a team that will likely use him to his best abilities was Bucs’ fourth-round pick cornerback Keionte Scott.
“Keionte Scott, getting him on Day 3, “Brugler began. “I mean, anybody that watched Miami’s defense, that pick-six against Ohio State, or watch the Louisville tape. He had 13 tackles for loss [in 2025].
“He’s a corner in a linebacker body. And so I think the fit concerns is why he fell in the draft. But I have no doubt that, I think Coach Bowles will find a way to utilize that play-speed, especially downhill.
“It won’t surprise me when you [see] he ends up getting a couple sacks, because they’re gonna use him as a blitzer. He’s going to show up in a lot of different ways for Tampa this year.”
Yes, the Bucs noticed they were giving quarterbacks way, way, way too much time to throw. Not only did the Bucs get edge rusher Rueben Bain in Round 1, but also two guys, one on each level of the defense specializing in blitzing, Josiah Trotter and Scott.
Joe just hopes Todd Bowles brings the kitchen sink at quarterbacks. If the Bucs get burned because Bain was rushing Michael Penix instead of covering Drake London, so be it.
Go full-blown Buddy Ryan. Send the friggin’ house!
NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler says Buccaneers CB Keionte Scott will be the STEAL of the draft đ¤@KeionteS | @dpbrugler | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/x87ht2wgXw
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) April 28, 2026
April 29th, 2026 at 9:01 am
Moneybacker
April 29th, 2026 at 9:07 am
Joe,
Didnât you have an article a few months back that Suh, JPP, and Shaq just did their own thing and ignored Bowles plan? The gist I got was their experience and instincts made them deadly as a defense and not Bowles âgenius.â
April 29th, 2026 at 9:11 am
Pretty sure Suh said that (about a sack in the Super Bowl), at least some plays. But those guys were established stars they had street cred to change something they saw (Joe assumes). Bain, Trotter and Scott are rookies.
April 29th, 2026 at 9:15 am
Keionte Scott skill set will be a valuable asset for the Bucs
They can use him in a lot of packages
April 29th, 2026 at 9:21 am
Pretty sure he meant a LB in a Cb body, really wonât matter if you bring the house if the corners are 12 yards away from wrs and DLinemsn are covers scat backs n slots, 7th round rookie backup QBs can figure it out, he needs to play tight coverage when blitzing, you know common sense, something Todd seems to lack
April 29th, 2026 at 9:27 am
Joe Says
Go full-blown Buddy Ryan. Send the frigginâ house!
….
I agree, last 2 years they were getting beat by playing soft coverage so might as well go full throttle
April 29th, 2026 at 9:32 am
Cue up the boring Bowles whiningâŚ.
April 29th, 2026 at 9:32 am
Ah, that time of year when hope springs eternal!
I love our picks. A really good draft, but how will it all play out? We can only hope that the potential JL and TB saw in the players they drafted manifests itself on the field. Can’t wait to see.
April 29th, 2026 at 9:35 am
Thanks Joe. I guess Iâm connecting the dots that Bowles\Licht have gone out to get veterans to fill that role of using their experience to fill in a plan that isnât effective in the moment and rookies with the skill, aggression to win, and smarts to develop the next leadership all teams need to adapt. In the army we made hundreds of pages of plans only to chuck them away once the first bullet is fired. I think Bowles plans required too much adaptability and initiative that rookies or guys 2-3 years in have. Get veterans or rookies with more adaptability, initiative and aggression to win through violence. Iâm still skeptical that Bowles will use a different plan but he has pieces that can win more than last year.
April 29th, 2026 at 10:22 am
âFull Blown Buddy RyanââŚ.yes sir! Nice article Joe.
April 29th, 2026 at 11:01 am
I can live all day with sending the house. Thats why i can live with the 2021 rams loss…someone had a brain fart on that play or else thats a sack and good chance bucs win that game. I cant live with 3rd and 28….just like mike evans couldnt live with 3rd and 28….
April 29th, 2026 at 11:17 am
Paratrooper. Joe hit the nail on the head but to piggy back off what he said when you have all stars like them that have played at a very high level for a close to a decade or longer you can loosen the reins a little bit but look at diva white did. He would freelance all the time and it got him into more bad positions than good. Now white was a up and coming star but he didnât have 8 to 10 plus years of experience playing as a star.
April 29th, 2026 at 11:21 am
Buddy Ryan >>>>Todd Bowles!
April 29th, 2026 at 11:23 am
Scott was expected to be a top 50 pick. To get him in the 4th round is a steal.
For all the fans that wanted Jason to move up in the 2nd to get JRod. It would have cost the Bucs WR Ted Hurst (3rd) or at least (4th) CB Scott. Not to mention that JRod is more of a Sam or WIL and the Bucs were looking for a MO. Trotter was definitely the right pick. Especially after we found out that CJ Allen has a knee issue.
April 29th, 2026 at 11:27 am
Yaya will benefit from having Bain on the other side.
April 29th, 2026 at 11:29 am
Like Trotter hasn’t had 3 knee surgeries.