Latest NFL.com mock draft is a total nightmare scenario for Buccaneers
By Josh Hill
With the NFL Draft just 48 hours away, final predictions are coming in left and right from every corner of the internet.
On the macro, mock drafts are glorified thought exercises that usually never turn out to be completely right beyond glaringly obvious picks. Even those tend to be wrong from time to time, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans found out along with everyone else how difficult it is to predict what Jason Licht will do.
Last year the Bucs were expected to take an offensive lineman or trade for Will Levis but refused to do either. Calijah Kancey was the pick, seemingly out of nowhere, even though Levis was available and wouldn't have required a trade up.
That's how Licht rolls, which is why what he'll do at No. 26 overall this year is so intriguing. There aren't many ways the draft can go wrong for the Bucs, but one analyst has found one that would drive Bucs fans mad.
Buccaneers fans might riot if latest NFL.com mock draft plays out
NFL analyst Eric Edholm put together his latest mock draft and it's s total nightmare scenario for the Buccaneers. It's not that Chop Robinson, who is the pick at No. 26, is a bad player but it's who was available with Tampa Bay on the clock that would be the reason for frustration.
Edholm has the Bucs taking Robinson over Jared Verse, Graham Barton, and Jackson Powers-Johnson.
"There's some buzz that Robinson could go off the board sooner than this. As for the Bucs, they don’t appear to be married to one position, but this pick would check off boxes in terms of both value and need. Adding one more athletic rusher to the mix might really make this pass-rush unit sing in time," Edholm wrote.
Again, Robinson is a good player and a clear fit for the Buccaneers but he's not someone the team should take if those other three guys are on the board.
Verse is not only a local kid from his days at Florida State, but is potentially the better edge rush prospect. Both Powers-Johnson and Barton fill even bigger needs for the Buccaneers on the offensive line, and it would be wild if the team passed on them to foritfy the trenches on the other side of the ball.
Tampa Bay can double-dip later in the draft on offensive linemen, but passing on one of the top guys in the first round just doesn't make a lot of sense even if Robinson is a fit.
It's a matter of a few other guys making more sense.