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Bucs rookie LB Alexander makes rapid ascension

TAMPA — When dawn broke on the final day of the 2015 NFL draft, Bucs general manager Jason Licht felt a cold sweat.

Kwon Alexander, a fast, athletic linebacker from LSU, was still on the board through three rounds, but Tampa Bay had already surrendered its early fourth-round pick to Indianapolis to move up in Round 2 and select Hobart guard Ali Marpet.

Midway through the fourth round, with Alexander still available, Licht called a key source at LSU, seeking one more confirmation.

“The guy looked at his phone and saw it was me,’’ Licht recalled this week.