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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers believe they accomplished their major goals of upgrading the defensive line and a porous secondary through the draft after going 5-11 and missing the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season.

The Buccaneers added more defensive pieces Saturday Youth DJ Moore Jersey , taking Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead in the fourth round and Wisconsin linebacker Jack Cichy during the sixth.

”Thirty-one teams passed up (taking me) so I’ve got a chip on my shoulder coming in already,” Whitehead said.

Cichy didn’t play in 2017 because of a knee injury that occurred in preseason camp.

”I feel great,” he said. ”I’m real close to 100 percent. I think by the time I get down there for minicamp and OTAs I’ll be 100 percent.”

Tampa Bay used its first-round pick Thursday to take Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea 12th overall. He will be plugged into a revamped defensive line anchored by six-time Pro Bowl tackle Gerald McCoy and bolstered by last month’s trade for pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul and the signing of Beau Allen, Vinny Curry and Mitch Unrein in free agency.

Tampa Bay ranked last in the NFL with 23 sacks a year ago.

The Buccaneers used a pair of second-round selections Friday to take cornerbacks M.J. Stewart from North Carolina and Auburn’s Carlton Davis.

”We feel great,” Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht said. ”There’s more of a better vibe, not that it was ever bad, more high-fives and more positive energy with all the coaches and scouts this year than I can remember.”

LEARNING CURVE

Bucs coach Dirk Koetter knows that 6-foot-6, 304-pound guard Alex Cappa, taken in the third round from Division II Humboldt State Trent Murphy Jersey Bills , will be facing a major step-up in competition. ”That’s a different level of football,” Koetter said. ”Right when his season was over, he goes down to Phoenix and works out at an O-line place with a bunch of NFL guys. He’s the right kind of guy but there’s definitely a transition.”

Tampa Bay has had previous drafting success with small-school offensive lineman, taking starting guard Ali Marpet from Division III Hobart College in the second round of the 2015 draft.

FAMILY AFFAIR

Former Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis is Whitehead’s cousin.

”He gave me a lot of advice going through this process,” Whitehead said. ”Stay humble, anything can happen throughout this weekend.”

FASTER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK

Second-round selection Ronald Jones II from USC is an explosive runner who the Buccaneers feel is faster than generally known.

”He’s got track times, the ran guy 10.3-something 100-meters and multiple 10.5’s,” Koetter said. ”He runs hard. He’s going to bring something.”

HIGH GRADES

The Buccaneers took Penn wide receiver Justin Watson in the fifth round. He will graduate after taking his last final Wednesday at Penn’s Wharton School.

”I didn’t have a lot of I-A offers, in fact the only two offers I had at the I-A level were Buffalo and Akron out of the MAC Byron Jones Jersey ,” Watson said. ”For me, Penn was just the best fit for both football and academics.”

STILL NEED

Tampa Bay could look to add depth at safety and the offensive line before the start of training camp.

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Julio Teheran was confident he could shake off his slow start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker was not so sure.

Teheran walked the first two batters he faced and then buckled down to retire 15 of the next 16 as the Braves rolled to a 5-1 win over the Cardinals.

Teheran (6-5) allowed just two hits over six shutout innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter after issuing two free passes over his first 13 pitches.

”The (heat) was kind of bothering me a little bit at first,” Teheran said. ”Then, I started concentrating on the game. When you get your head into what you want to do, everything else is secondary.”

Snikter was initially concerned.

”The first two or three batters, I was wondering if he was going to make it through,” Snitker said. ”Then he just kind of righted himself and he was sharp, efficient. His stuff was really good.”

It marked the fifth time this season that Teheran tossed six or more scoreless innings in 16 starts.

”He threw us a bunch of strikes and just kept guys off base,” St. Louis infielder Matt Carpenter said. ”He kept us off balance.”

Johan Camargo had three hits including a two-run double to help Atlanta win for only the fourth time in 13 games in St. Louis since the start of the 2016 season.

”We believe in ourselves and everything is possible Authentic Pernell McPhee Jersey ,” Camargo said.

Dan Winker recorded his first major league save by retiring the only two batters he faced.

Miles Mikolas (8-3) gave up one run on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, who have lost two straight.

”I felt pretty good out there,” Mikolas said. ”It was tough dealing with the heat the first couple innings, but after that, I think I settled in.”

The Braves used successive singles by Camargo, Dansby Swanson and Danny Santana to load the bases with one out in the seventh. Austin Gomber relieved Mikolas and his first pitch glanced off Ender Inciarte’s helmet for a 1-0 lead.

Camargo slapped a two-run double off Jordan Hicks in the eighth to push the lead to 3-0, and Swanson capped off the three-run inning with a run-scoring single.

Swanson also had three hits, trying a season high.

Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies singled in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to a career-high nine games, and later scored on Nick Markakis‘ sacrifice fly.

Kolten Wong grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth as the Cardinals avoided a shutout.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: C Tyler Flowers left the game with a right hamstring cramp after flying out to end the sixth inning. The game-time temperature was 92 degrees Cheap Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , ”I did everything I could to prepare for it,” Flowers said. ”No answer.”

… OF Ronald Acuna Jr. returned to the lineup on Friday after missing 27 games with a left knee sprain. He went 0 for 4 … RHP Brandon McCarthy was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right knee tendinitis. … RHP Matt Wisler was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Cardinals: INF Paul DeJong went 1 for 3 in his first rehab start with Triple-A Memphis on Friday. DeJong, who has missed 38 games with a fractured bone in his left hand, is likely to be recalled on Monday. … RHP Matt Bowman also began a rehab stint on Friday in Memphis. He has been sidelined with blisters and numbness in his fingers.

UP NEXT

RHP Luke Weaver (4-6, 4.59) will face LHP Max Fried (0-2, 4.09) in the second of the three-game series on Saturday. Weaver struck out a season-high nine batters in an 8-2 win at Milwaukee on June 24. Fried was scratched from a scheduled start at Gwinnett on Friday.

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