Buccaneers: ESPN’s McShay projects Tampa taking RB in first-round

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2021 NFL Draft (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2021 NFL Draft (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Despite the other major roster needs, ESPN’s Todd McShay projects the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take a running back in the first-round.

ESPN’s Todd McShay released his latest NFL Mock Draft for the upcoming 2020 event and he certainly had a strange pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Buccaneers- who are slated to pick No. 14- have been linked to several offensive tackles and defensive linemen, but McShay went completely out of that realm.

The draft analysis has the Buccaneers taking Georgia RB D’Andre Swift.

Thoughts:

While running back is certainly a position that the Bucs need to address, the first-round is not the time to do so.

Tampa Bay has deficiencies along the offensive line and questions on the defensive line and in the secondary, depending on how things go in free-agency. If those issues are still prevalent when the draft comes around, one of the worst decisions the Buccaneers could make would be taking a running back that early.

It’s one thing to take a RB like J.K. Dobbins or Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the second-round, but that first-round pick has to be an absolute home run and Swift would just be a complimentary piece to Ronald Jones II, not a player who could change the overall outcome of games.

As of right now, we’d expect Tampa Bay to look at taking one of the first four offensive tackles- Mekhi Becton, Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills Jr. or Andrew Thomas– with that No. 14 overall pick and then to go with a defensive lineman- Javon Kinlaw or K’Lavon Chaisson if that falls through.

In addition to pick in the trenches, the Buccaneers also may choose to address the quarterback position depending on what happens in free-agency with Jameis Winston.

Next. We need to stop making excuses for Jameis Winston. dark

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