Round 7
There are a few picks that feel like locks for the Bucs to the point where I might get irrationally upset if they don’t happen. Jake Moody is one of those picks, as the Michigan kicker makes too much sense to not be a late-round flier.
After cutting Ryan Succop this offseason, the Bucs need a kicker. They signed Chase McLaughlin to take over, and have Jake Verity on the roster as well, but drafting Moody to compete in camp is such a low-risk chance to take.
If he works out, then he’s a powerful young leg to help widen the range of Tampa Bay’s offense. As reliable as Succop was inside of 40 yards last year, he was awful at long distance and the Bucs, unfortunately, needed him in those situations a lot. The offense might not be much better without Tom Brady and the team might need a big leg to get points on the board. Moody finished his career at Michigan with three kicks of 50 yards or more, and the Bucs could see if there’s more where that came from in camp. If he can’t hack it, then he’s an easy seventh-round pick to cut without taking much of a hit at all.