WR Trey Palmer listed as Bucs’ biggest steal in 2023 NFL draft
Every team is always looking for a steal in the late rounds of the NFL draft. It doesn’t always work out in hindsight, but there is usually something from preventing a prospect from getting drafted high, be it size or health issues — and many times, that something doesn’t weigh down certain prospects when they get to the league.
The Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar sought to find a steal for each team after the draft, taking into account certain aspects of their scouting report that may have made them slip down farther than they should have. For the Bucs, he landed on former Nebraska WR Trey Palmer, who the team drafted in the sixth round.
Here is what Farrar had to say about Palmer:
Last season for the Bucs, Mike Evans was the only receiver with more than three catches on throws of 20 or more air yards. With Tom Brady gone, and the quarterback job up for grabs between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, the thought might be that any deep completions will be more on the receivers to make happen. Perhaps that’s why Tampa Bay took Palmer with the 191st pick in the sixth round. Palmer, the former five-star recruit and LSU transfer, was a revelation as a deep receiver in 2022, with 12 catches on throws of 20 or more air yards for 507 yards and seven touchdowns.
Palmer isn’t yet a completely developed receiver, but with the kind of explosive potential he showed on plays like his 87-yard touchdown against Iowa, maybe that’s something that can be developed over time while Palmer just runs past the guys covering him.
Palmer’s status as a deep threat is well known, as he ran a 4.33 in at the NFL Combine and was a nightmare for opposing defenses in the deep game. It’s unlikely he’ll get a huge amount of playing time in 2023, but if the Bucs were able to develop him into a polished deep threat, he could be catching touchdowns in Tampa Bay for years to come.
