Buccaneers NFL Draft Target: Demetrius Knight Jr., South Carolina

Could the Bucs’ heir apparent to Lavonte David be Knight?

The Buccaneers’ linebacker corps got consistently abused all last season, and the long-term outlook remains grim heading into 2025.

While Lavonte David is still good, being in year 14 at 35 years old sets a clear need for expectations on his play moving forward. K.J. Britt, one of the league’s worst at the position, is long gone, while third-year player SirVocea Dennis is talented but needs to stay healthy.

Some veterans in the waning stages of their career, like Anthony Walker and Deion Jones, offer some depth but there’s a critical necessity for someone in the room with definable upside.

Could Demetrius Knight Jr. provide that hope? Let’s explore.

DEMETRIUS KNIGHT’S COLLEGIATE CAREER

Knight went through an extensive journey with his collegiate career.

A 3-star recruit and freaky athlete out of Locust Grove, GA, he lettered in football as a dual-threat QB, as well as in other sports like baseball and basketball, before converting to linebacker at Georgia Tech.

He played in 36 games in four years as a backup for the Yellow Jackets before deciding to redshirt and transfer in 2022. During that time, he totaled 51 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and a sack.

He found his way to Charlotte to prove himself as a starter and immediately made an impact by earning first-team All-AAC in 2023. Starting all 12 games, he compiled 96 tackles (5.5 for loss), 3 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 4 pass breakups, and 1.5 sacks. He did all of that while providing for his wife and two children, going as far as to run DoorDash orders after games.

In his final year of eligibility, Knight decided to transfer once again to a Power 5 program, this time in the SEC with South Carolina. With his starting ability established, he again made splash plays throughout the season with 82 tackles (8 for loss), 3 forced fumbles (led the team), 2 sacks, and 1 interception.

He did participate in South Carolina’s bowl game, as well as the Senior Bowl.

PRO DAY AND SCOUTING COMBINE

Knight did the full assortment of testing at NFL Scouting Combine and did well for himself.

Measuring 6-foot-1, 235 pounds with 32 ⅝” arms and 10” hands, Knight possesses ideal size for middle linebacker at the pro level, and he demonstrated his ability to use it consistently on the field. He also showed off his strength with 22 reps on the bench press.

He did well in all aspects of testing, which tracks with his overall athletic profile. He ran a 4.58 40-yard dash with a 1.58 10-yard split and 2.66 20-yard split – all very strong numbers for his position.

Perfectly fine explosiveness testing (31 ½” vertical and 9-foot-10 broad) and good agility testing (4.25 short shuttle, 7.12 3-cone) put the cap on a strong day for the 24-year-old prospect.

Knight wisely stood on all of his numbers at South Carolina’s pro day on March 18, opting just to verify measurements and interview with attending teams.

WHAT KNIGHT CAN DO FOR THE BUCS IN 2025

Knight would figure to fit in prominently into Tampa’s defensive rotation.

With his impressive size, demeanor, and instincts, Knight is built to contribute in Tampa’s traditional middle linebacker role. Todd Bowles’s “moneybacker”, more akin to a traditional WILL linebacker, is a better fit for both David and Dennis, so that should afford Knight some ability to get into the game in various configurations, especially on early downs.

Knight is impressive at sorting through traffic to track down ball carriers, either with his maneuvering skills or using his violent hands to disengage, stacking and shedding blockers to get into the action. Even more importantly, he plays controlled and patient football – something we were not used to seeing from someone like Devin White, whose freelancing was often a detriment.

The coverage aspect is still a work in progress, but he’s proven to at least be competent in various zone drops so he should be far from a liability in that regard. With names like Dennis, David, and Walker, there are bodies better equipped to handle those responsibilities in the short-term but he’s capable of getting there.

And at the least, Knight has a lot of special teams experience throughout college and should be an immediate boon there while he earns his snaps on defense.

THREE-YEAR OUTLOOK

When it comes to floors, this is about as safe a prospect as you’ll find this year.

Knight is a high-character, high-energy player with impressive intelligence and feel for the position. He’s not a crazy athlete but he’s certainly good enough, and his on-field time will only be limited by how quickly he can pick up on the intricacies of Tampa’s notoriously complex defense.

The Bucs would have to feel good about that capability to adapt fast since he’s already 24 years old, fairly older than the normal prospect and therefore immediately shortened in his prime years. That’s always a little risky when a player will already be pushing 30 by the end of his rookie deal.

It is worth questioning how close Knight is to maxing out his potential already.

His movement skills might not be quite good enough to become a reliable coverage man – adequate for sure but not lock-down. He’s also had limited production as a blitzer, which he’ll be asked to do plenty of in this defense, so you’d have to hope his translatable traits in that area can be unlocked with better coaching.

he answers to those primary questions will go a long way in determining if Knight is simply a steady, if not unspectacular, contributor throughout his rookie deal or he can become a true difference maker.

STOCK REPORT

The word on Knight is generally mid-to-late Day 2, as he’s firmly considered a Round 2 or 3 pick.

The praise for his character and feel for the position is near-universal, as are the jeers about his age and non-elite athletic profile. Here’s what the 33rd Team’s Kyle Crabbs had to say about Knight:

“Knight Jr. projects best as a MIKE linebacker in a pressure-oriented system. His game is predicated on aggressiveness in many phases. Whether he is involved in triggering as a blitzer or dropping to landmarks in fire zones, Knight Jr. will be most impactful on passing downs with these concepts.”

Here’s a take from an anonymous NFC scout, per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

“I didn’t find much that I didn’t like about [Knight]. He might get dinged for being a six-year player, but that Alabama game shows you everything you need to see.”

ON THE CLOCK…

What say you, Bucs Nation? Would like to see Knight drafted as Lavonte David’s eventual replacement? Discuss in the comments and vote in the poll below!