Buccaneers 7-Round NFL Mock Draft after re-signing Jamel Dean, trading Shaq Mason

Jamel Dean is staying in Tampa Bay, which means it’s time to take a fresh look at the Buccaneers NFL Mock Draft knowing their plans have slightly changed.

Let’s not stand on ceremony here, Jamel Dean is back. 

In a stunning turn of events, one that almost nobody saw coming, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed their star cornerback on the first day of the legal tampering period. NFL Free Agency doesn’t officially begin until 4 pm ET on March 15th, but when it does Jamel Dean will not be on the open market.

He’ll be in Tampa Bay, where he belongs.

Everything seemed to indicate that Dean would be leaving in free agency, but despite it all Tampa Bay managed to bring him back. Doing so does more than just bolster the defense, as it creates some flexibility elsewhere in the offseason plans.

One of those areas immediately impacted by Dean’s return is the team’s NFL Draft strategy.

Prior to free agency, all signs seemed to point toward the Bucs using the No. 19 pick on a cornerback to replace Dean after he left. Now that he’s staying, the team doesn’t have to lock itself into drafting a defensive back and can instead widen the scope of options.

The Bucs draft board has shifted a bit since the start of the offseason as well. On Tuesday the team traded offensive guard Shaq Mason to the Houston Texans in what was essentially a late-round pick swap.

• Tampa Bay sent Pick 230 to Houston
• Houston sent Pick 179 to Tampa Bay

Last year the Bucs traded the 170th pick to acquire Mason, which means they successfully flipped him as a one-year rental without incurring much of a cost. That new pick, however, gives the Bucs a string of selections in the sixth round of the draft this year that could either be spent on a bunch of lottery tickets or packaged to perhaps regain a fourth-round pick (of which the team doesn’t have one this year).

With Dean back, and the draft plans perhaps slightly impacted, let’s dive into what the outlook is heading into free agency.

Updated NFL Mock Draft after Jamel Dean re-signs with Buccaneers

Note: We’re not doing any trades in this mock, simply letting the chips fall where they may and going from there.

Round 1

Other Available Options:

• Bijan Robinson (RB, Texas)
• Deonte Banks (CB, Maryland)
• Nolan Smith (DE, Georgia)

There are a few different options the Bucs can roll with here, with the most attractive being trading down.

If this is what the draft board looks like when the Bucs get on the clock, moving down a couple of spots and drafting an offensive lineman should absolutely be under consideration. The idea of being able to move back a bit and snag an additional Day 2 pick, while also landing someone like Jones, is a dream scenario. For what it’s worth, Todd McShay has Jones going No. 13 overall in his latest mock draft, so Tampa Bay might be lucky if he’s still on the board.

Of course, Seattle is lurking right behind the Bucs and could take Jones, so there’s risk involved but the point is there’s a flexibility that didn’t exist before Dean re-signed.

For now, let’s not do any trades and just stick at No. 19 and pick Jones.

Drafting Jones would allow the Bucs to keep Tristan Wirfs at right tackle rather than moving him to make up for the departure of Donovan Smith. With Jones and Wirfs, Tampa Bay now has both tackle positions locked down, and if they’ve hit another home run with an offensive lineman then whoever is the quarterback of the future has some incredible protection in front of him.