Buccaneers Round Table: Mid-Season Tampa Bay Draft Decision

Bailey Adams

So, this is all just an in-the-moment thing for fun, right? By the time the draft rolls around in April, we’ll all be fresh off watching the Buccaneers play in the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season, right? I’m really trying to roll with this optimistic outlook on the rest of the season, but it’s not exactly easy…

If the season ended right now, the Bucs would have the fifth pick in next year’s draft. With that pick, they need to upgrade the pass rush. Keeping that in mind, I’ll continue with what is likely going to be a popular selection among the rest of the staff’s submissions. That, of course, is defensive end Bradley Chubb.

Chubb, out of North Carolina State, would instantly upgrade what is currently a terrible situation at defensive end for Tampa Bay. Noah Spence has promise, but he needs to get his shoulder healthy. Robert Ayers is getting up there in age and hasn’t panned out to be what the team hoped. The defense as a whole is struggling right now, but the root of that problem is the lack of pressure from the big guys up front. The Bucs absolutely need to address that.

Chubb is easily one of the top two edge rushers in next year’s draft. His production last year (ten and a half sacks, 22 ½ tackles for loss and three forced fumbles) made him a big-time prospect for the 2018 draft, and he has followed that up in a big way. So far in 2017, he has seven and a half sacks and sixteen tackles for loss in eight games.

Selecting a shutdown defensive back would be another way to go in the first round for the Bucs, but the secondary can only do so much if the front seven isn’t putting pressure on the quarterback. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound senior can also stop the run, which is another key asset considering Tampa Bay’s circumstances at defensive end. Everyone is extremely tired of seeing no disruption of the backfield, which is why Chubb is the pick here.