1 - DT - Calijah Kancey - Pittsburgh The first-team All-Florida pick from Miami Northwestern High School redshirted his first year with the Panthers, playing in one game with no statistics. He played in all 11 games of the 2020 season, starting the final four contests (27 tackles, seven for loss with 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups). Kancey garnered third-team Associated Press All-American and first-team All-ACC honors as a sophomore with a team- high 13 tackles for loss (with seven sacks among 35 total tackles) in 14 starts. He was a first-team AP All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a junior, as well as a finalist for the Nagurski and Outland Trophies after leading the Panthers with 14.5 tackles for loss with 7.5 sacks in 11 starts (31 total stops). Kancey missed the final two games of the year with a shoulder injury. 2 - OL - Cody Mauch - North Dakota State Mauch played nine-man football in high school, setting the Hankinson, North Dakota, school record for both career touchdowns and sacks. He redshirted as a walk-on tight end at NDSU and then added 40 pounds to move to the offensive line in the spring of 2018. Mauch played in six games as a reserve in 2018 and in all 16 games off the bench the following year as the Bison won their third straight FCS title. Mauch caught a two-point conversion in the team's NCAA semifinal win over Montana State. He played as a reserve in the team's only fall 2020 game but moved to the starting lineup for the spring season (two games at right tackle, seven at left tackle), garnering second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors. Mauch was a second-team Associated Press All-American and a first-team all-conference pick in 2021, starting all 15 games at left tackle as the team again took the FCS title. The AP voted him a first-team All-American in 2022, as did the MVFC coaches, as he started all 15 games at left tackle. 3 - DE - Yaya Diaby - Louisville Diaby (pronounced dee-AH-bee) did not receive scholarship offers coming out of North Clayton High School in Georgia because of his thin frame. He grew into a top junior college prospect, however, during his two years at Georgia Military College. Louisville signed him for the 2020 season, when he started seven of eight games played (18 tackles, 2.5 for loss) despite missing time due to injury and contracting COVID-19, though he was asymptomatic. Diaby continued to improve in 2021, starting 12 of 13 appearances (39 tackles, three for loss with 1.5 sacks). He was voted third-team All-ACC by league coaches in 2022, racking up 37 tackles, 14 for loss with nine sacks in 13 starts. 5 - LB - SirVocea Dennis - Pittsburgh Dennis spent a year at The Peddie Prep School after graduating from Christian Brothers Academy, where he tore his Achilles four games into his senior football season but returned for basketball season. He got his feet wet with the Panthers in 2019, playing in eight games as a reserve and on special teams. ACC coaches then voted him third-team all-conference in 2020 when he tied for eighth in the FBS with 14.5 tackles for loss (four sacks, 57 total stops in 10 starts). Dennis was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2021 (team-high 87 tackles, 9.5 for loss with four sacks, one interception in 13 starts) and a first-teamer in 2022 (team-high 94 tackles, 12 for loss with seven sacks, one interception, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles in 12 starts). He opted out of the Sun Bowl to prepare for the draft. 5 - TE - Payne Durham - Purdue Durham was a lacrosse player before choosing to play football his senior year at Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia. He was an all-region pick that year and signed with Purdue for 2018, redshirting while playing in two games (no statistics). Durham started four of 12 games played in 2019 (9-82-9.1, four TDs) and garnered honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference honors in 2020 (16-166-10.4, three TDs in six starts). He was again selected as an honorable mention pick his junior year (45-467-10.4, six TDs) despite missing time with a concussion and playing through multiple injuries. Durham had his best year as a senior in 2022, receiving second-team all-league honors with a career-high 56 receptions, 560 yards (10.0 per) and eight touchdowns in 13 games with 12 starts. He opted out of the team's bowl game to prepare for the draft. 6 - CB - Josh Hayes - Kansas State Hayes signed with FCS powerhouse North Dakota State after starring at Florida's Lake Gibson High School. He played in all 15 games as a true freshman (15 tackles, three pass breakups), starting the national title victory over James Madison. Hayes started twice in 15 appearances in 2018 (28 tackles, nine on special teams), recording a tackle for loss and one of his three pass breakups for the year in the win over Eastern Washington in the 2018 FCS Championship Game. He helped the team win a third straight title in 2019, garnering second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors (59 tackles, two for loss, two interceptions, 10 pass breakups in 16 starts). Hayes started six games in the Bison's six-game 2020-21 season (30 tackles, three pass breakups) before heading to the transfer portal. He landed at Virginia for 2021 (one tackle in three games) before moving on to play for former NDSU head coach Chris Klieman at Kansas State for his final campaign. He moved from corner to safety for the Wildcats, starting 13 games (71 tackles, 5.5 for loss, seven pass breakups). 6 - WR - Trey Palmer - Nebraska Palmer was a five-star prospect who signed with LSU after leading Kentwood High School to a state title his senior season. He also won the 100-meter dash at the state track meet his senior year in addition to winning four 200- meter state titles. He played in nine games off the bench as a true freshman (1-6-6.0 receiving; 1-11-11.0 kick returns; 3-65-21.7, one TD punt returns) and in eight games the following year (10-108-10.8 receiving; 7-241-34.4, one TD kick returns; 2-8-4.0 punt returns). Palmer started five games his junior campaign (30-344-11.5, three TDs receiving; 7-142-20.3 kick returns; 18-115-6.4 punt returns in 11 games). He transferred to Nebraska after the season. He excelled with the Huskers, earning third-team All-Big Ten Conference accolades by setting a single-season school record with 1,043 receiving yards (71 receptions, 14.7 per) and scoring nine times while contributing as a rusher (5- 75-15.0) and returner (3-62-20.7 kickoffs, 4-36-9.0 punts), starting 11 of 12 appearances. 7 - LB - Jose Ramirez - Eastern Michigan Ramirez signed with Arizona out of Auburndale High School, where he was an All-Florida pick as a senior. He redshirted the 2017 season before racking up eight sacks in 12 games for Riverside City College the following fall. Joining EMU for 2019, he played in four games as a reserve (no statistics). Ramirez garnered third-team All-MAC honors the next two seasons, starting all six games in the shortened 2020 campaign (27 tackles, 2.5 for loss with two sacks) and leading the Eagles with 12 tackles for loss with 6.5 sacks (among 63 total tackles) and three forced fumbles in 13 games with eight starts in 2021. He took advantage of the extra year of eligibility awarded all players due to the pandemic, winning 2022 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and third-team Associated Press All-American honors by ranking second in the FBS with 12 sacks and tying for fourth with 19.5 tackles for loss while also posting 66 total tackles, breaking up two passes and forcing two fumbles in 13 games (11 starts).
Calijah Kancey
Cody Mauch
The 2023 Buccaneer draft review The Bucs picked 19th through the draft. They gave up a 6th round pick to the Packers to move up two spots in the 2nd round. They gave up a 4th round pick to Jacksonville in a 2022 draft day trade. They gained an additional 5th round compensatory pick. Deals with the Colts and Eagles brought the extra two second round picks and they dealt away their 7th round selections.
Payne Durham
Yaya Diaby
SirVocea Dennis
Trey Palmer
Josh Hayes
Jose Ramirez