Tampa Bay Buccaneers make smartest move of the draft so far

During the initial night of the NFL draft on Thursday night, first time watchers could have easily been fooled to think that the enormous magnitude of trades was a normal thing. However, last night’s plethora of trades, including the one with the Buccaneers, was certainly an anomaly, setting the record for most trades in the first round ever with nine.

Fortunately for Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans, their franchise made one of, if not the smartest move of the night.

The team was set to pick 27th in the draft. Without any dire needs, the team was looking to add depth and options for the future.

With no major needs on the table, the Bucs were able to pull off a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars where they were able to acquire the Jaguars’ 33rd, 106th, and 180th picks in return for their 27th pick.

The best part of the deal was that the Bucs never even needed to take a risk and make this deal early in the hopes that they would correctly guess which players would still be available when their pick arrived. They instead were able to wait until the last minute, not making the deal until the 26th pick was up, and they knew exactly which players were still on the board.

With the trade made, the Buccaneers now head into the second day of the draft with far better second round position and two extra picks later in the draft.

While late round picks don’t always generate the most consistent on-field talent, there is certainly a multitude of examples of players drafted late becoming major contributors to teams and even stars.

Regardless of if any of those picks do turn out to make an impact on the Bucs in the coming years, one thing is for sure; the Bucs put themselves in the best possible position they could to try and ensure they get production out of this year’s draft class.

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