Tampa Bay Buccaneers full 2018 NFL mock draft
By Joe Romano
Round 2 – Pick 38
Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado
An area of need for this team that was simply too rich with the seventh pick is the corner position. Tampa was wise to keep veteran Brent Grimes around this offseason. Fellow starter Vernon Hargreaves is in a bit of legal trouble as well. After one of the worst defensive performances by a defensive backfield, the Buccaneers need an injection of talent. Luckily this is a loaded corner class with prospects likely to fall out of the first round who can make an impact from the start.
Isaiah Oliver is that type of player. After watching two of his partners in the Buffalo secondary get drafted a year ago, Oliver did his best to try to get picked higher than them. That will likely be the case. Like fellow Colorado corner a year ago, Chidobe Awuzie, this year’s prospect showed special traits and skills on his way into the league.
Oliver is a long, rangy corner standing at 6-foot-1. His ideal size give him an advantage over many of the PAC-12 receivers he faced. At the NFL level he shows the size and traits to be a starting and possibly lock-down corner. The traits alone are enough to propel him into round one. Should he fall, Tampa would benefit greatly. Opposite Grimes, Oliver could grow into the top corner role for the team. This would also benefit former first round pick Hargreaves who is best served in a third corner role and playing the nickel.