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Look, we all know what happened on Tuesday. We all know now that we have to fill our days this fall with something else. Don’t even ask me what I plan on doing on Saturdays from here on out.
What we also found out on Tuesday when the Pac-12 cancelled the fall sports season for 2020, is that the ‘draft pundits’ will now be year-round when it comes to Pac-12 football. Though mostly bad and unbearable, some of the pundits are good, and actually professionals.
One of those is ESPN’s Todd McShay, and in his most recent mock draft on ESPN.com, McShay selected four Pac-12 players in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
And USC Trojans DT Jay Tufele was one of those players.
With the 25th pick overall, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Tufele in McShay’s mock, addressing a glaring need for the Bucs, who addressed a ton of issues this past offseason.
Here’s what McShay had to say:
I liked what Tampa Bay did this past April, crossing off needs at offensive tackle (Tristan Wirfs), safety (Antoine Winfield Jr.) and running back (Ke’Shawn Vaughn). Now, with Ndamukong Suh coming off the books, the Bucs could use some more beef up the middle with Vita Vea. Tufele not only provides value as a run stopper but also as an effective pass-rusher from the interior. He’s big, quick and very strong at the point of attack. Linebacker/edge would also potentially be in the cards here if there were value, and if Vaughn doesn’t show pop in Year 1 alongside Ronald Jones II, someone like Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard could even be discussed.
So, with no football in 2020 for Tufele, do you think he’s still a first-rounder?
Fight On either way!