The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Ohio State’s Denzel Ward in my first mock draft of the year. Some of you agreed, and some of you didn’t. Which is always the case of course.
However, I’m not the only one taking players for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as many a draft enthusiast has been weighing in on their choices for NFL teams.
Here’s some of the highlights:
FanSided’s own NFL SpinZone is the first one we’re looking at. The surprise came early in this one as Randy Gurzi had the New York Giants selecting Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson.
If my memory is correct, this is the first time I’ve seen this pairing.
He argues the Giants may believe Eli Manning has years (plural) ahead of him, and look to continue re-tooling their front line. Interesting.
For the Bucs, it’s Minkah Fitzpatrick listed as a safety to pair with Justin Evans.
There are several interesting choices here just in the Top-7, so make sure you check it out.
Next up, Maurice Moton and his submission for Bleacher Report.
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This one follows the typical pick path we’ve seen thus far. Until you get to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at seventh overall.
With Quenton Nelson still sitting in the green room, Moton has Jason Licht pulling the trigger on drafting Fitzpatrick as well. Apparently the Alabama star has his name written on a sticky note in Licht’s pocket.
He doesn’t offer an explanation for picking Fitz over Nelson. One can only assume it’s because the Bucs have a bigger need on defense.
The last mock draft for today comes from Jeff Risdon of USA Today’s Browns Wire. As you know, Cleveland currently has two picks in front of the Bucs, so they’ll have some say as to who is available when Tampa is on the clock.
Now, this one is just a Browns mock, but it’s significant.
With the top pick, he has Cleveland drafting Sam Darnold. No surprise there. However, with the fourth overall selection, Risdon breaks the hearts of Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans everywhere by selecting Bradley Chubb.
He speculates that a combination of Myles Garrett, Emmanuel Ogbah and Chubb would fit what Dorsey built in Kansas City and give Gregg Williams a more dynamic defensive front.
I imagine if this were to happen that Ogbah would come off the edge as a stand-up rusher more than he did previously.
All of these are interesting takes, and all are a bit different even though two of them select Fitzpatrick for Mike Smith’s secondary.
What do you think of these and all the other mock drafts floating around? Have a favorite? Share it with us!
Give us your take in the comments or on Twitter!