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

Here we go, the Bucs finally take a quarterback.

Coming into the offseason, most of the pundits were mocking a quarterback to the Bucs since it seemed like both the easiest and most obvious position of need. The roster certainly didn’t get better when Brady left, but it was a knee-jerk reaction to assume they’d go all-in to replace him through the draft his year.

Case in point, landing Malik Cunningham on Day 3.

He’s not one of the top quarterbacks in the draft class, but Cunningham is the perfect type of pick for the Bucs to make this year. Kyle Trask needs to be test driven before a final verdict can be made on his future in Tampa Bay, and picking another young quarterback high in the draft doesn’t really improve the situation.

If Trask isn’t the guy, then the Bucs will need to look elsewhere to find their franchise quarterback. Most believe that will be in next year’s draft, with Caleb Williams being circled as a top option, but Cunnigham could be in the running. He’ll at least survive the Trask era, as the Bucs would likely carry him as a backup if all goes well and he could be in a position to learn from someone like Jacoby Brissett on how to develop as a pro.

Cunningham has a ton of upside, and that’s what you’re drafting this late in the weekend. He doesn’t need to turn into a top guy and won’t have the pressure that even a Hendon Hooker might if the BUcs take him. It’s a low-risk, high-reward gamble that’s worth taking.

Round 7

For all of the talk about using draft picks to replace outgoing free agents, one position that seems to get forgotten is kicker.

Moving on from Ryan Succop can save the Bucs roughly $3.7 million in June, and Moody is both much younger and cheaper. Kicking has always been a source of anxiety for Bucs fans, and Succop was reliable, although he struggled with longer field goals.

It’s that lack of range that makes Succop expendable, in addition to the money the team would save. Moody finished his career at Michigan with three kicks of 50 yards or more and has an impeccable mustache game that the team should embrace with open arms.