After tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last November, LSU linebacker Kendell Beckwith's draft stock took a hit. At the time, it was unclear exactly when he'd be ready to contribute as an NFL rookie.
In some ways, the injury was a blessing in disguise for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They drafted Beckwith with the 107th overall pick in the third round, and seven games into the season, he leads the team with 47 tackles.
"We felt very fortunate to get him," Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said on a teleconference Wednesday. "We felt like if he wasn't coming off the ACL surgery that late in the season that he would've gone higher.