Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bucs control the draft with the fifth pick

With a shortage of talented quarterbacks and a weak class at the position, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers control the draft with the fifth pick in the draft.

With the fifth pick in the NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit at a pivotal point in the first round. With pass rushers pegged to go to Arizona, San Francisco, New York, and Oakland, the Bucs could control how the rest of the draft proceeds. Tampa Bay could demand a king’s ransom for a quarterback needy team to trade up in order to land their future franchise signal caller.

In a weak quarterback class where only Dwayne Haskins, Drew Lock, and Kyler Murray are projected as the only first rounders, teams will need to fight their way to the top in order to land their guy. The Giants may find themselves needing to jump up one spot in order to secure Haskins, while surprise teams like Denver, Washington, Miami, or Cincinnati could shock the NFL world and make a move for a new quarterback.

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While the Bucs have some holes to fill, and with only six picks, they should take a page out of the Cleveland Browns’ playbook and trade back to stack picks and build for the future. Image if a team such as the Bengals, Dolphins, or Washington wants to trade up to five; Tampa Bay would still sit in the top-15 of the first round while potentially adding a future first round pick and another early pick.

Working in Tampa Bay’s favor, all of the holes that the team needs to fill tend to have deep classes, and the defensive line, offensive tackle, and corner class still figures to have high caliber prospects slated in the middle of the draft. Even at pick 15, where Washington is currently slated, prospects like Greedy Williams, Jonah Williams, and Brian Burns should still be on the board.

At the fifth pick, the Bucs have a decision to make, and due to having limited cap space and few picks in the draft, Tampa Bay needs to consider adding a few more picks and injecting an infusion of youth and talent into their roster. The 2019 NFL Draft would be a great opportunity due to a deep rookie class, especially at critical positions that the team needs to address.