2021 NFL Draft: Buccaneers trade up for rising star in new mock draft

The Buccaneers take the best IDL in the 2021 NFL Draft

Round 1-32: Christian Barmore, IDL, Alabama

With their first pick in the draft, the Buccaneers take the best player at his position; Christian Barmore. Defensive players are dicey in this class, but Barmore has proven himself as the clear best as a replacement for Ndamukong Suh down the road.

The Buccaneers were pegged to take a defensive lineman early last year as well, but they decided to wait and take Khalil Davis later on. Davis is a good player, but he has still not grown into a replacement for one of the key pieces on the best defensive line in football.

Barmore gives the Buccaneers one of the best depth pieces in the NFL in 2021, but his actual selling point is the financial relief that he would provide in 2022. Suh will be close to retirement by then, and if not, his price tag could be too high for the Bucs to contend with. Barmore already has the talent to start now, but a year spent learning under Todd Bowles could make him a better player than Suh at this point of his career.

This is still a predominantly future-oriented pick, but it also provides the most relief for now as a pick. Barmore is more than qualified to step in on a decent chunk of snaps on defense, and the insurance that he brings against injury could be too great to pass up.