Keanu Neal

Neal was one of the Buccaneers' few veteran offseason additions, with the former Falcon and Cowboy set to return to his natural position of safety after mostly serving as a linebacker in his one season in Dallas. He still was productive at a different position, compiling 72 tackles and one sack across 14 games after tallying 100 stops in his three previous non-injury-shortened years at safety. Neal may have trouble matching his 2021 level of output this coming season, however, as he projects to serve as a rotational option behind starting strong safety Antoine Winfield.

The former Falcons safety bounced back from two injury-plagued campaigns to record the third 100-tackle season of his career in 2020. In the offseason, he elected to follow Dan Quinn to Dallas in free agency on a one-year deal. Surprisingly, the Cowboys are listing Neal at linebacker on their initial depth chart, but Neal more likely will fill a hybrid role on passing downs rather than be true competition for the likes of Jaylon Smith and Micah Parsons near the line of scrimmage. Quinn knows how to put Neal in a position to succeed, but it's hard to see him becoming an IDP asset again until his usage becomes clearer.

Few players offer as much IDP upside at defensive back as Neal does, but even fewer players have had worse injury luck in the past few years. Neal has generated 238 tackles while playing 2,171 defensive snaps in his career, which over a 1,000-snap sample projects to about 110 tackles. The problem is that Neal has played only 206 snaps since 2017 due to an ACL tear in Week 1 of 2018 and a torn Achilles' tendon in Week 3 of 2019. It seems like Neal almost has to stumble into some improved injury luck going forward, but his hard-hitting style of play invites concussion and shoulder-related concerns separate from his growing history of lower-body injuries. With that said, there's clear top-five defensive back IDP upside with Neal, and you probably can't say that about the other players in his price range.

Neal suffered an ACL tear Week 1 last year, but he should participate in most of training camp and therefore is immediately back on the elite IDP radar. He isn't much of a threat to intercept passes given that he had just one pick in his first 30 games, but 222 tackles, eight forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in that span more than make up for it. Neal is a notoriously hard hitter and probably brings high injury risk as a result, but he's capable of logging multiple 120-tackle seasons before his career is over.

There might not be a safety in the league that receivers fear more than Neal, who finds ballcarriers often and prevents plenty of completions by clobbering the intended target. It's unlikely that he'll ever be much of an interception source, and he's yet to post a sack in the NFL, but Neal has two seasons with triple-digit tackles in two tries. That's a remarkably high IDP floor for a safety, and it wouldn't be surprising if Neal approached 130 tackles at least once in his career.

If Neal's rookie season was any indication, he will be one of the league's top safeties in the near future. The 2016 first-round pick is already well above average, and he heads into his second season a strong candidate to go over triple-digit tackles. He did as much last year, and that was despite missing the first two games following a preseason knee scope. Neal isn't known for his playmaking in coverage and is unlikely to provide many interceptions, but he's already one of the league's most feared hitters after forcing five fumbles last year.

The 17th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft is expected to slide into the starting strong safety role right away. Neal brings a physical presence to a defense that struggled to get off the field in 2015, as teams converted 43 percent of their third downs against the Falcons. He should be in a prime spot to rack up defensive statistics assuming he can hold off Kemal Ishmael for Atlanta's starting job, giving him good potential in IDP leagues.