Buccaneers land successor to Baker Mayfield in latest 7-round NFL Mock Draft
By Josh Hill
Round 3, Pick 89: Mason McCormick, G/South Dakota State
Tampa Bay was already in a bit of a luxurious spot when it came to having its cake and eating it too. We all know the Bucs need to upgrade the offensive line, but there’s not need to jump right in at the expense of passing up top prospects at other important positions.
It’s a very deep class at guard this year, which means the Bucs can add guys like Latu and Cooper first and still land someone like Mason McCormick to plug in as their guard of the future.
Interior offensive line play was horrid for the Bucs last season, and is the most obvious place the team needs to look for improvements. Tampa Bay got priced out of guard market in free agency pretty quickly, opting instead to add depth over starters.
That means McCormick would be coming into a situation where he had some runway to figure things out. Everything he’s done at South Dakota State suggests he’d fit like a glove, and would give Tampa Bay a stout run blocking guard who also graded high in pass protection.
If all goes well with Cody Mauch, the Bucs would have another pillar in the interior of the line to continue developing for the future.