The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can go in a number of different directions in the NFL Draft, but should be careful about what they end up doing.
We are just days away from the NFL Draft, which means the rumor mill is turning harder and faster than it has all offseason.
Now is the time for scenarios to be thrown against the wall to see what sticks, and the game of smoke-and-mirrors is at its peak. It’s hard to determine what’s a real report and what is merely a rumor that teams are throwing out into the wild in order to create chaos in other war rooms.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, picking at No. 19 means they’re sort of removed from the frenzy of chaos in the early and middle of the first round. However with so many positional needs, things could get crazy for the Bucs in a hurry.
Specifically, there are positions the team should be looking at and ones it should avoid being tempted by as the 11th hour approaches.
NFL Draft: 3 positions Bucs should target and 2 they should avoid
Target: Tackle
Possible Picks:
- Darnell Wright, T/Tennessee
- Broderick Jones, T/Georgia
- Anton Harrison, T/Oklahoma
Pipe Dreams:
- Paris Johnson Jr., T/Ohio State
- Peter Skoronski, T/Northwestern
This one feels obvious, because it is. The Bucs drafting a tackle makes the most sense from a number of different angles, from a positional need to the depth of talent in this year’s class. One thing that might work against the Bucs landing a top tackle is whether or not there will be a run on them before the team goes on the clock at No. 19 overall.
It feels like there’s a decent chance of that happening.
Jason Licht has traded up in the first round just once in his career as a general manager, and it was back in 2020 to draft Tristan Wirfs. That move has paid off well, and it might be one he has to repeat in order to ensure the the Bucs land a potential anchor on the other side of the line as Wirfs.