To kick off NFL Draft month, ESPN assembled a team of their top draft analysts for a three-round leaguewide mock draft.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this mock draft was better left in the drafts, as it presents a nightmare scenario in the second round.
ESPN’s latest mock draft has Panthers landing Jacob Rodriguez after Buccaneers pass on star linebacker
The mock draft starts off strong from a Bucs perspective, with Tampa Bay selecting Akheem Mesidor out of Miami. That would address the team’s biggest need for a game-changing pass rusher after Mesidor recorded 12.5 sacks last season.
But in the second round is where things get tough to swallow. Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez has been one of the most beloved draft prospects in Bucs circles this offseason.
His ability to force turnovers along with his instincts and football IQ make him the best-suited linebacker in this draft class to step in as Lavonte David’s successor.
His stock has been rapidly rising, and it’s starting to feel like a pipe dream that he’ll still be on the board when Tampa Bay is on the clock at No. 46 overall.
But in ESPN’s mock draft, Rodriguez somehow fell to the Buccaneers in Round 2, and they passed on him for another linebacker. Tampa Bay instead drafted Anthony Hill Jr. out of Texas.
Hill isn’t a bad prospect by any means. In fact, he’s got a sky-high ceiling with the production to match. He posted 31.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, and eight forced fumbles during his college career. He’s an impressive downhill linebacker that could be a star at the next level.
The issue isn’t with Hill as a player, it’s rather about the scenario of passing on Rodriguez in that spot, and what happens after that.
In the mock, Rodriguez gets selected just five picks later, to the NFC South rival Carolina Panthers at No. 51 overall. Rodriguez would join All-Pro Devin Lloyd in Carolina’s linebacker room and immediately form one of the most dangerous linebacker tandems in the NFL.
Carolina won the NFC South in 2025 and snapped the Bucs’ streak of four consecutive years atop the division. With the strong offseason they’ve already had, landing a bonafide star like Rodriguez in the draft would make it even harder for the Bucs to reclaim the throne.
In more positive news, ESPN closes out the Bucs’ three-round mock with a selection of tight end Oscar Delp at No. 77 overall, the exact same selection Pewter Plank made in our latest mock draft.
Delp is quickly moving up draft boards after his impressive athletic testing at his Georgia Pro Day. He’d be the perfect complement to Cade Otton in the Bucs’ tight end room, and would give the offense an immediate boost.
But while ESPN did the Bucs justice with solid picks in the first and third rounds, it still isn’t enough to make up for passing up on Rodriguez and letting him get scooped up by an NFC South rival.