Best Players Remaining for Tampa Bay Buccaneers after NFL Draft Day 1
By Josh Hill
We had to wait all night for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to make a pick but it ended up being well worth it.
Graham Barton wasn't supposed to be on the board when the Bucs went on the clock, but he fell right into their lap. Adding him gives Tampa Bay a potential franchise center to replace Ryan Jensen with and another young player on the line to develop as Tristan Wirfs enters his prime.
It was a steal of a pick, and hopefully just the first taste of what Jason Licht plans on doing with the rest of the picks he has in the Top 100. Day 2 will get underway on Friday night, and when it does there will be plenty of top players still on the board for Tampa Bay to land.
Best Players Remaining for Tampa Bay Buccaneers after NFL Draft Day 1
While some of the Bucs top targets are already gone, the good news is there are plenty of guys left who can not only fill needs but add some talent.
Cooper DeJean, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., and Kool-Aid McKinstry were all mocked as first round corners but are still available for Tampa Bay on Day 2. So are other top prospects like T.J. Tampa, Marshawn Kneeland, and Payton Willis -- all potential defensive studs who the Bucs can add.
Tampa Bay will pick 25th in the second round, which means there's a strong possibility that they land one of these Top 30 players still available after Thursday:
- Cooper DeJean, CB/Iowa
- Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB/Alabama
- Jer'Zhan Newton, DT/Illinois
- Adonai Mitchell, WR/Texas
- Troy Franklins, WR/Oregon
- Payton Willis, LB/NC State
- Tyler Nubin, S/Minnesota
- Ladd McConkey, WR/Georgia
- Mike Sainristl, CB/Michigan
- Adisa Issac, EDGE/Penn State
- Keon Coleman, WR/Florida State
- Roman Wilson, WR/Michigan
- Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE/Texas
- Braden Fiske, IDL/Florida State
- Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB/Missouri
- Javon Bullard, S/Georgia
- Ja'Lynn Polk, WR/Washington
- Johnathan Brooks, RB/Texas
- Kris Jenkins, IDL/Michigan
- T.J. Tampa, CB/Iowa State
- Blake Corum, RB/Michigan
- Jaden Hicks, S/Washington State
- Jonah Ellis, EDGE/Utah
- Kamari Lassiter, CB/Georgia
- Chris Braswell, EDGE/Alabama
- Edgerrin Cooper, LB/Texas A&M
- Christian Hayes, G/UConn
- Marshawn Kneeland, EDGE/Western Michigan
- Andru Phillips, CB/Kentucky
- Brandon Dorlus, IDL/Oregon
The question is which position should the Bucs prioritize on Friday?
The offensive line was addressed by taking Barton, but things were so bad that it makes sense to double-dip and add another top prospect. Christian Hayes could help fill a need at guard and further fortify the line, or the Bucs could look at adding someone at wide receiver to help out Baker Mayfield.
There started to be a run on wide receivers late in the first round, with the Carolina Panthers trading back in and landing Xavier Legette. It's hard to see guys like Keon Coleman or Ladd McConkey falling to No. 57, but no one expected the board to fall the way it did in the first round so all bets are off.
No matter where the Bucs look, it seems they're sitting pretty with how to spend the rest of their Top 100 picks on Friday.
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