Opinion: It’s Wide Receiver or Bust for the Buccaneers in Round One
Option 1: Draft a Defensive Back
Tell a Buccaneers fan two months ago, their team could potentially land the aforementioned
from the Michigan Wolverines and you’d have been laughed off Twitter, Facebook or out of whatever Buffalo Wild Wings you were sitting in.
Now, tell them they’re team should take him – because he’ll almost certainly be available if recent murmurs continue – and they may tell you you’re crazy and that he’s Mark Barron Part 2.
This is the position we’re in though, and it warrants some examining despite the fact the team’s secondary stepped up pretty impressively down the final stretch of games in 2016.
Keith Tandy looks like a guy with real starting potential and Bradley McDougald may not have gotten a Pro Bowl spot, but he wasn’t exactly a consistent liability back there either.
So, outside of Peppers, who could the team be looking at?
Well, Jalen Tabor (Florida) is a name who could still be sitting on the board. This pick would be interesting on two levels: the first being he is the former teammate of the Bucs’ 2016 first-round pick Vernon Hargreaves III, and the second being he plays the exact same position.
Two cornerbacks in consecutive first rounds would be a first for this franchise and I’m not certain it wouldn’t be for any franchise in the NFL.
In fact, Tampa has only drafted cornerbacks in the first-round three times up until now, so doing it in back-to-back years seems unlikely.
Plus, the team needs an impact safety if they’re going DB in the first, right?
Must Read: Corey Davis or John Ross?
Well folks, there simply aren’t any. Currently, the only NFL ready safeties projected to go in the first round by many, and certainly by Luke Easterling of the DraftWire are LSU’s Jamal Adams and Ohio State’s Malik Hooker.
Barring a last-minute weed smoking video being blasted on their Instagram accounts, they aren’t getting anywhere near #19.
Following those two, there isn’t another safety projected to come off the board until 20 picks after the Buccaneers’ first selection. That’d be quite the reach if you ask me.
All this being said, defensive back at 19th simply doesn’t look to be in the cards at this point.