Iowa football: Bucs think Nelson can play outside linebacker spot

In arguably the most confusing Iowa football player selection, the Bucs grabbed Anthony Nelson in the 4th. Here’s what think he can do.

When discussing potential landing spots for Anthony Nelson prior to the 2019 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccanneers never even entered my realm of thought because traditionally defensive coordinator Todd Bowles runs a 3-4 defense. Nelson has zero experience in a 3-4 defense in his time with the Iowa football program so where would that even leave him?

Would he play the 3-4 end position that would require possibly a little more weight on his frame or more strength in his upper body or would he take his hand out of the dirt and be a pass-rushing linebacker?

It sounds like the Buccaneers think he can do both of those things and more, and that was a big reason they took him early in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

General Manager Jason Licht had this to say about Nelson’s possible role in the defense:

"We will probably play him a little bit in the outside linebacker role. We’ll put a hand down and sub. We will see if he can rush inside. We’ll have plenty of 4-3 looks in our defense. It’s not just a base 3-4 all the time."

While I don’t disagree that Nelson is more athletic than people give him credit for and a hard worker who will give it his all at any position, I don’t see OLB as a fit for him. His height at 6’7” would make him just one of two players in the last 20 years to play OLB at that height (the other is Julius Peppers). Outside of his height, it depends on how they anticipate using him in that spot. If they want him to cover linebackers, I don’t believe his game tape shows the lateral quickness needed to do that (even if his testing does), but if the plan is to have him primarily rush the passer without his hand in the dirt, this could work out well.

The Buccaneers don’t seem worried about the former Iowa football player’s fit though. It sounds like with their fourth-round pick, they were happy to grab an intelligent, high-character player coming from a tradition-rich program like the Iowa football program.

"He has good speed to power, he’s got really good instincts. He’s a really, really smart guy and he’s been really well coached by [Iowa Head Coach] Kirk Ferentz"

Tampa Bay Defensive Coordinator is one of the best in the business though, and part of being the best is adjusting your defense to its players so if Nelson does struggle to make that transition, I feel more confident knowing that Bowles will put him in a position to succeed.

I do, however, wish that Nelson had just gone to a more traditional 4-3 team where he could play a similar position to what he did with the Iowa football team.