The Bucs took a Miami Hurricane in Round 1 when they had edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. fall into their laps. When they were scouting Bain, they must have seen the play of the Hurricane defense’s nickel Keionte Scott, because now he is reunited with his former teammate.
With the 116th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have selected cornerback Keionte Scott.
Our initial thoughts on the pick are tremendous. This is a player who is physical, finds the ball, and fits into what Todd Bowles wants from secondary defenders in his defense. The team has a bunch of fun defenders now in the secondary, and they added another after drafting two in the 2025 NFL Draft. And that is where I think Scott makes the biggest impact, he may push Benjamin Morrison out as he would likely compete with Jacob Parrish for the outside cornerback role.
We are grading this on the idea that Scott becomes the primary slot defender and Parrish becomes a starting outside cornerback. You essentially get a two-for-one with this pick in that sense, and it earns the Bucs an A grade.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: NFL Draft: Grading the selection of CB Keionte Scott by the Bucs