27 Days, 27 Picks: DT Vita Vea

River Wells

April 4, 2023 at 4:25 PM·3 min read

In 27 Days, 27 Picks, Bucs Wire will analyze the last 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft picks, one for each day leading up to the 2023 NFL draft. We’ll take a look at the player’s college stats, their pre-draft numbers (either via the NFL Combine or their Pro Day), their NFL stats, some player footage and analysis at the end on whether the pick itself was a good one.

GM Jason Licht had a pretty decent string of picks in the first round from 2018-20, selecting three players that would help him get a Super Bowl ring. The first of those players, drafted in 2018, was DT Tevita Tuliʻakiʻono Tuipulotu Mosese Vaʻhae Fehoko Faletau Vea — but most people just call him Vita.

Check out our 27 Days, 27 Picks rundown on Vita Vea below:

College Stats

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Vita Vea played college football at Washington. He was named to the All PAC-12 second team in 2016 and was named to the first team in 2017. He was also the PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.

Year	G	Solo	Ast	Tot	Loss	Sacks	PD	FF	FR
2016	11	13	4	17	3.0	1.0	0	1	0
2017	14	22	17	39	6.5	5.0	1	1	0
2018	12	30	13	43	5.5	3.5	4	0	0
Total	37	65	34	99	15.0	9.5	5	2	0

Pre-Draft Measurements

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	Bench press
6 ft 4 in	347 lb	32 5/8 in	10 in	5.10s	1.76s	2.95s	41 reps

Pick Selected

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Vita Vea was selected with the No. 12 pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Player selected before him: S Minkah Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins

Player selected after him: DT Daron Payne, Washington Commanders

NFL Stats

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Vita Vea has played five seasons in the NFL, all of them for the Buccaneers. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2021.

Year	G	Solo	Ast	Tot	Sack	Loss	FF	FR	PD
2018	13	21	7	28	3	2	0	0	0
2019	16	19	16	35	2.5	3	0	0	3
2020	5	6	4	10	2	2	0	0	0
2021	16	22	11	33	4	5.5	0	1	3
2022	14	15	16	31	6.5	3.5	1	1	0
Total	64	83	54	137	18	16	1	2	6

Player Footage

Pick Analysis

(AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Vita Vea is the first Jason Licht first-rounder since Mike Evans in 2014 to be extended, and there’s a very good reason why.

Simply stated, Vea is a hit. His presence in the run-stuff is among the league’s very best for a nose tackle, and he lead the team in sacks in 2022 with 6.5. He was also imperative for the team’s Super Bowl run in 2020, as he was injured earlier in the year in a game against the Chicago Bears but came back during the Super Bowl run and proved a valuable piece of the defense.

Vea is one of the best nose tackles in the league, and his selection was the start of a good three-player streak for Licht in the first round of the NFL draft.

Story originally appeared on Buccaneers Wire

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