Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Final 7-round mock draft the day of

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Round 1, Pick 5: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston

With the fifth overall pick in the draft, the Buccaneers could be looking to trade out as Washington is looking to move up in the draft and potentially secure a top-five pick to grab their quarterback of the future in either Dwayne Haskins or Daniel Jones. However, if Tampa Bay stays in their assigned spot in the draft, Ed Oliver, defensive tackle from the University of Houston, would give them quite possibly the most athletic and dominant player in the entire draft.

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While it has been a bumpy pre-draft process for Oliver, as scouts have been worried about his lack of size, and his non-issue of Major Applewhite trying to rip a coat off of him, Oliver has seemed to come back into balance and should not have to wait long tonight to hear his name called. Here, he rounds out the top-five to the Buccaneers.

During his career at Houston, Oliver averaged five sacks per year from the interior of the defensive line, and would have been well on his way again to that number in 2018 had he played the full season. Oliver has also made a living in opposition’s backfields, recording a total of 53 tackles for loss in three years.

To go along with his production, Oliver has the athleticism to boot, running a 4.73 second 40 yard dash at nearly 6’2 and 281 pounds, bench pressing 225 pounds 32 times, hitting 36 inches on his vertical jump and 10 feet on his broad jump, and running an impressive 7.15 second 3-cone drill. This combination of production, speed, and athleticism more than make up for Oliver’s size, and a result the Buccaneers take him with the fifth overall pick in the draft.

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