Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has taken a simple but effective philosophy into play as he’s built a pair of Super Bowl winners over the last decade.
Roseman’s approach — everything starts up front — has been how he’s drafted for the Eagles. He did it until he figured the Eagles were as good or better than anyone in the NFL on the offensive line and defensive line.
It’s a philosophy that would serve the Tampa Bay Buccaneers well in the upcoming NFL draft, where Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper reports the franchise is bringing in 6-foot-3, 290-pound Texas A&M Shemar Turner in for a pre-draft visit.
“Turner has lined up visits with the Colts, Buccaneers, and Dolphins in the coming days,” Alper wrote on April 9. “He has already met with the Cowboys, Cardinals, and Eagles.”
Turner has retained his status as a mid-round prospect despite offseason surgery to repair a stress fracture, with Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reporting he’d already received medical clearance despite missing the NFL scouting combine in February.
After a positive Combine re-check today, Shemar Turner is set to visit the #Colts, #Bucs, and #Dolphins, source said,” Rapoport posted on his official X account on April 9. “His stock continues to rise after the medical disclosure and he recently had visits with the #Cowboys, #AZCardinals and #Eagles.”
Turner’s Pre-Draft Eval: ‘Relentless’ Interior DL
If you’re plugging defensive tackle prospects into some sort of AI draft prognosticator, 2 of the keywords you might ask the program to look for would be “viloent” and “relentless”: both terms used to describe Moore ahead of the 2025 NFL draft.
“Turner plays with unlimited activity and a heavy dose of violence,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. ” … His pressure rate is hurt by a lack of length but he’s a restless rusher who hunts blockers’ edges and will eventually leak through if the play extends. His athleticism and chase quickness will see him in or near the pile with some frequency as a future starter.”
Turner started 35 games for the Aggies over 4 seasons and was an All-SEC Freshman Team pick as well as an All-SEC pick as a junior in 2023 when he had 33 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 6.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 blocked kicks. In 2024, he had 36 tackles, 5.5 TFLs with 2 sacks, 1 pass deflection and 1 forced fumble.
Buccaneers Need to Create Depth on Interior DL
The Buccaneers need to figure out a way to create depth on the interior defensive line, where they have 2 frontline starters in former first round pick Calijah Kancey and 2-time Pro Bowler Vita Vea.
Getting an apprenticeship behind Kancey and Vea would be its own reward for any young defensive tackle — and we don’t need to look far to see what he market is for defensive tackles to make Turner be ready to put in the work.
Backup Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams, who started just 7 games in 2024 and far, far exceeded his projected market value when he signed a 4-year, $104 million free agent contract with the New England Patriots on March 10.
