It was a shocking first round for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they landed the steal of the draft with Ruben Bain Jr. falling in their laps.
Tampa Bay badly needed a game-changing pass rusher, and they feel they got their guy in Bain.Â
The Bucs still have one pressing need to address, hopefully tonight, at the inside linebacker spot. The team enters the second day of the draft armed with two picks:
- Round 2, Pick 14, No. 46 overall
- Round 3, Pick 13, No. 77 overall
That could change if the Bucs trade down or craft a package to move up. The latter situation isn't out of the question, especially if they want to secure a blue chip linebacker prospect like Jacob Rodriguez.
ESPN’s top 50 players still available for Buccaneers to target on Day 2 of 2025 NFL Draft
This is a deep draft class on Day 2, which is why the initial expectation was that the Buccaneers would move down and acquire more draft picks.Â
But with Bain there for the taking at No. 15, the Bucs had to pivot from their trade down strategy and sprint to the podium after their pipe dream became reality.Â
There is plenty of top tier talent on the board for the Buccaneers to have their pick at on Day 2.Â
Here are the best players available on Day 2 of the NFL Draft according to ESPN’s Matt Miller:
- Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
- Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
- Avieon Terrell, CB, ClemsonÂ
- Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
- Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State
- Zion Young, Edge, Missouri
- Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M
- Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
- Chase Bisontis, IOL, Texas A&M
- Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Texas
- Â Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
- Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
- Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia
- Chris Brazzell II, WR, Tennessee
- Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama
- Gabe Jacas, Edge, Illinois
- CJ Allen, LB, Georgia
- Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
- Emmanuel Pregnon, IOL, Oregon
- Keionte Scott, CB, Miami
- Christen Miller, DT, Georgia
- Gennings Dunker, OT, Iowa
- T.J. Parker, Edge, Clemson
- Jake Golday, LB, CincinnatiÂ
- A.J. Haulcy, S, LSU
- Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson
- Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame
- Derrick Moore, Edge, Michigan
- R Mason Thomas, Edge, Oklahoma
- Josiah Trotter, LB, Missouri
- Zxavian Harris, DT, Ole Miss
- Max Klare, TE, Ohio Stats
- Malik Muhammad, CB, Texas
- D’Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana
- Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech
- Mike Washington Jr., RB, Arkansas
- Treydan Stukes, S, ArizonaÂ
- Ted Hurst, WR, Georgia State
- Jalon Kilgore, S, South Carolina
- Skyler Bell, WR, UConn
- Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana
- Keyron Crawford, Edge, Auburn
- Keith Abney II, CB, Arizona State
- De’Zhaun Stribling, WR, Ole Miss
- Chris Bell, WR, Louisville
- Dominique Orange, DT, Iowa State
- Jake Slaughter, IOL, Florida
- Sam Hecht, IOL, Kansas State
- Deion Burks, WR, Oklahoma
- Zakee Wheatley, S, Penn State
Several names will jump right out at Bucs fans. Jacob Rodriguez, CJ Allen, Anthony Hill Jr., Jake Golday, and Josiah Trotter are the top five linebackers remaining, and the expectation is one of those five will be drafted by the Buccaneers.Â
If they go a different direction in the second round, it could be at the cornerback or defensive tackle position. The Bucs have expressed a ton of interest in Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter during the pre-draft process, so he’s worth keeping an eye on, and Indiana CB D’Angelo Ponds would be a great fit.Â
Tight ends Eli Stowers and Max Klare are also intriguing, and the Bucs desperately want to add another dynamic pass catching tight end. But it would be surprising if they made that pick in the second round, it’s more likely to be addressed in Round 3 or tomorrow in Round 4.Â
The top remaining prospects list is chock-full of names that would be great value on Day 2 and ideal fits for the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is already earning rave reviews for their Rueben Bain Jr. pick in the first round, and a strong Day 2 could give Jason Licht one of his best draft classes ever.
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