Jeremiah Smith could be too good for Buccaneers to pass up in 2027 NFL Draft

If the season ended today, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would hold the first overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, putting them in position to add a game-changing talent to the roster.

The season is quickly coming off the rails, as the Bucs are 0-3 and quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to miss at least three weeks with a dislocated thumb. Things could get really ugly in Tampa Bay, but an early pick in a highly touted draft class would help to soften the blow.

Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith is being billed as a generational wide receiver, and is all but a lock to be the first non-quarterback off the board. If the Buccaneers continue on this trajectory, the chance to bring Smith to Tampa Bay would be too good to pass up.

Jeremiah Smith is the missing piece for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

You might be thinking that selecting a wide receiver with such a premium pick would be a luxury. After all, if the Bucs really are picking that high, they'll have more pressing needs than wide receiver, where they already have a deep room.

But that just isn't the case. When it comes to pressing needs, the Buccaneers’ biggest potential holes next offseason are at interior offensive line and linebacker — two positions rarely addressed this early in the draft. And while Tampa Bay has a solid receiver room right now, the long-term outlook isn’t nearly as secure as it may seem. 

Chris Godwin could be playing his last year in Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers will decide on his team option after this season. Jalen McMillan, once thought to be a cornerstone offensive piece for the future, is injured for the third straight year. The Buccaneers will need another reliable playmaker for the coming years outside of Emeka Egbuka and Ted Hurst.

There isn't a single wide receiver on Tampa Bay's roster as dynamic as Smith. He's worthy of the "generational" label, and has drawn comparisons to Julio Jones while being viewed as a future star on the level of the NFL’s elite wide receivers.

The 6-foot-4, 222-pound X receiver looks downright unguardable at the college level — a true "man amongst boys." The Buccaneers are really missing Mike Evans, a similarly big-framed matchup nightmare, and Smith can bring that explosive dimension back to Tampa Bay.

Smith is the Buckeyes' all-time receiving yards leader after breaking the school record this season. Who did he surpass? That would be Egbuka. The two formed one of the top receiving tandems in college football, combining for 2,326 yards and 25 touchdowns en route to a national championship victory in 2024. Egbuka served as a mentor to Smith before heading to the NFL, and now they can reunite and bring that chemistry to Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers went all-in on Baker Mayfield this offseason, giving him a three-year, $165 million extension that ties him to Tampa Bay through 2029. He's struggled early in 2026, but what better way to help him return to playing at an elite level than by pairing him with one of the best wide receiver prospects to ever enter the NFL Draft?

There are plenty of games left to be played, and it's possible the Buccaneers put together some wins and knock themselves out of range to land Smith. But if they have the chance to bring this generational talent to Tampa Bay, they need to make sure he spends his NFL career wearing red and pewter.

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