The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have holes on their roster. Anyone who follows the team closely knows this already. With question marks at left tackle, quarterback, pass rusher, running back, defensive tackle and in the secondary the Buccaneers need to figure out who the immediate or long term starters will be for the next several years.
To this point, the Bucs have been more active than expected in free agency. Re-signing Jamel Deal to a four year contract was a great move for this season and years to come. However, guys like Lavonte David, Baker Mayfield, Greg Gaines, and Ryan Neal are all projected starters who only signed one year contracts.
These are all positions that the Buccaneers should and likely will target in the NFL draft. The problem with that is that they currently have more needs than they do picks to realistically address them all. General Manager Jason Licht needs to find a way to acquire more draft capital in the early to mid rounds to add depth and potentially future starters.
The Solution Is Obvious
It makes a lot of sense for Licht and company to look to trade down with their first round pick. At 19th overall it is unlikely that the team will find an elite talent at one of these positions with their first round pick. However, other teams might be looking for a difference maker at a different position that isn’t on the Bucs radar.
For example a team like the New York Giants might want to move up for a wide receiver. Or perhaps a team like the New York Jets might look to trade their pair of second round picks to move back into the first round for a player they love. These are the types of scenarios that the Bucs should be interested in.
This could add them an additional day two draft pick, whether it be in the second or third round depending on the trade they want to accept. Regardless of this, that could be an additional long term or even immediate starter on this team. This could be a player such as Illinois safety Sydney Brown or Wisconsin defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, both would be valuable additions to this team.
Is It Worth The Opportunity Cost?
The downside about trading down is likely missing out at your preferred prospect at 19th overall. Regardless of how far a team trades down, there is a chance that they miss out on the guy they wanted with that pick. It’s worth acknowledging that risk.
With that said, this is a deep draft into the second and third rounds. If the Buccaneers were to miss out on a guy like Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright or Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison then it would be a disappointment. However, it wouldn’t be a massive drop off from the next tier down of offensive tackles.
Trading down could also put the Bucs in prime position to draft an edge rusher. While there isn’t a ton of top end talent in this draft, the late first round to mid second round is rich with pass rushers. If the Buccaneers can walk away with Iowa State’s Will McDonald and an additional pick from moving down then that would still be a home run scenario.
Overall
The NFL draft is all about possibilities. Thousands of “what ifs” can occur and navigating it all is a process of endless adjustments. Having a pool of targeted players is really the only way to be prepared for it all.
In a trade back situation, the Bucs can dip into that pool and extra time or two and fill the needs on this roster. It might cost them some of the ideal options that could be there at pick 19, but it would likely be worth that risk to add an additional contributor. Considering the Buccaneers salary cap situation and need to round out the roster, sacrificing just a little bit of quality in one player could be worth it to add more quantity of good players.
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