Tampa Bay was in a unique position on Thursday night, waiting all the way until pick 32 to make their first selection of the 2021 NFL Draft. With that pick, after a run on offensive players and some unconventional defensive picks toward the bottom of the round, the Bucs decided on Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, an outside linebacker out of the University of Washington.
Tryon was one of the players this past season that made the decision to opt out due to the COVID-19 pandemic and it was likely made easier by the fact that he proved much of what he needed to in the 2019 season alone. In fact, Tryon was lauded as a preseason All American by multiple outlets heading into 2020 due to his production. In 13 games at the University of Washington, he managed 41 total tackles, 12.5 of which were for loss and 8.0 sacks.
Tryon now joins the ranks of Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul in the Bucs' outside linebacking corps to bolster the edge rotation. And he's already familiar with one player on the Buccaneers: fellow former Dawg Vita Vea.
View pictures of Washington OLB Joe Tryon, who Tampa Bay selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.