TAMPA, Fla. — It will be a while before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers go on the clock in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, but the Bucs have plenty of options and plenty of holes on the roster where the team can improve.
As time ticks down to the Bucs going on the clock on Thursday night, here's a look at what the Bucs are predicted to do in mock drafts, where they might be looking, and the team's history over the last few drafts. We'll also include analysis from our resident draftniks, Tim Kephart and Dre Bradley.
When do the Bucs pick?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans will have to hurry up and wait as the first round of the draft gets underway. The Bucs' first-round pick will be number 26.
If we assume each team ahead of the Bucs uses the full 10 minutes allotted to them and a starting time of 8 p.m., the team would go on the clock a little after 11 p.m. Thursday. However, it's safe to assume that all of the 25 teams ahead of them will not use their full 10 minutes to make their selection.
What are the Bucs' needs?
- Edge rusher, offensive lineman, cornerback
With cornerback Carlton Davis III heading to Motown in an offseason trade, linebacker Shaq Barrett being released by Tampa Bay and center Ryan Jensen retiring after dealing with nagging injuries toward the back half of his career, the Buccaneers have some key pieces to replace with this draft.
Center Robert Hainsey is heading into the last year of his four-year, $4.8 million deal. Even though he has been admirable playing in place of Jensen, the Bucs should decide to start anew and pick an offensive lineman with a higher upside that can protect their$100 million investment, Baker Mayfield.
24-year-old Zyon McCollum has minimal experience as a starting cornerback compared to Davis, who started 75 games with Tampa Bay in six seasons. The fifth-round pick hasn't shown any real flashes of being a true CB1 and is in the third of his four-year rookie deal.
The Bucs got some help with their pass rush last year when they selected linebacker Yaya Diaby in the third round of the draft. He had a sneaky good rookie season with 7.5 sacks, 38 total tackles, and a forced fumble, and another player to make an impact along the line of scrimmage opposite of Diaby certainly wouldn't hurt now that Barrett is out of the picture.
Who do mock drafts think the Bucs pick?
The mock drafts have been hitting the internet hard over the last few months, and when it comes to Tampa Bay's draft, the picks seem to be focusing on one player. Here's a quick look at some of the mock drafts of note.
- NFL.com (Chad Reuter) - Chop Robinson, Penn State, edge rusher
- NFL.com (Bucky Brooks) - Chop Robinson, Penn State, edge rusher
- CBS Sports (Garrett Podell) - Laiatu Latu, UCLA, edge rusher
- Pro Football Focus - Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama, cornerback
- CBS Sports (Pete Prisco) - Graham Barton, Duke, offensive tackle/guard
- The Athletic (Dane Brugler) - Nate Wiggins, Clemson, cornerback
- ESPN (Field Yates) - Chop Robinson, Penn State, edge rusher
- ESPN (Mel Kiper, Jr.) - Chop Robinson, Penn State, edge rusher
Who we think the Bucs will select:
- Chop Robinson, Penn State, edge rusher
Kephart's Analysis - Selecting Robinson will be all about projecting him developing the rare traits he possesses into production at the NFL level. Robinson stands 6'3" and weighs 254 pounds. Even so, he ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash with a 1.54-second 10-yard split. That's nearly cornerback speed from a projected edge rusher in the NFL. But Robinson wasn't able to turn that talent into production at Penn State. He played 22 games at Penn State and only pulled down 9.5 sacks and 41 total tackles. The question here is, was it due to Robinson being game-planned for and fighting off double teams or something else?
Still, the Bucs do have a glaring hole at outside linebacker to rush the quarterback after the team moved on from Shaq Barrett. If the Bucs are sold on being able to get the most out of Robinson, it appears he may be the pick with so many mock drafts focusing in on him. Still, remember draft season is the ultimate season of deception and the Bucs may have a completely different plan.
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- Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon, offensive lineman
Bradley's Analysis - Powers-Johnson racked up the hardware during his first year as a starting center in 2023, winning the Rimington Trophy as the country's best center and being named a unanimous All-American and first-team All-Pac-12. He measured in at 6'3" and 328 pounds at the NFL Combine, down six pounds from what he weighed at the Senior Bowl.
The 21-year-old showed off some tremendous strength while in Indianapolis, completing 30 bench press reps at 225 pounds. He also displayed some decent athleticism, putting up a 32-inch vertical jump and an 8'8" broad jump. A lineman with that amount of power and adequate enough movement against the likes of A'Shawn Robinson, David Onyemata, and Nathan Shepherd multiple times a year will be fruitful for a team looking to win the NFC South yet again.
I believe that if a team needs some offensive line help and it's available, they should go get it. With Ryan Jensen's retirement, you get an immediate starter to replace him and help keep Mayfield off the ground for the next couple of years.
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