Old Salty’s Buccaneers Mock Draft To Maximize Capital

Looking through the landscape for this Buccaneers mock draft I proceeded to speculate on other teams’ needs and the best player available to determine the ability to trade back and meet needs.

My thought process started with Jason Licht’s comments about having a lot of needs in this draft. Even with those comments, liley to distract other teams from homing in on his plan, this team has many key players.

So a few starters and some depth this team can make a huge leap forward. So here’s an unlikely-to-happen mock built to start adding the impact players and depth required for now and the future.

The First Trades

I started by trading back from the 26th pick overall to the 42nd pick with the Atlanta Falcons. Now I should caviate and say I would probably never trade with a division opponent for the simple fact I don’t want them to select the players they covet. But, during this sim, all the edge players for the first round were selected except Penn State’s Chop Robinson. If you saw my targets article I’m not as high on him as everyone else. In fact, I think Adisa Isaac is just as good. Furthermore, in this trade, I picked up the 59th and 127th overall selections. From there I was offered the 112th selection overall to move back two spots to 44th overall. From there we roll into the selections.

Second Round

With the 44th selection overall the Tampa Buccaneers select Zach Frazier, Center, West Virginia. The Buccaneers are in need of a starting center and in the second round they can fill a need and have a day one starter. He has the size and nimbleness to compete immediately but he will need to improve some of his techniques. Either way, he’s a great fit and will be impactful. Following this selection in round two, the Buccaneers get very lucky as Max Melton falls to them at 57th overall. The corner from Rutgers is explosive, has range and tracking capability, and good size that he leverages well. Once his aggression is under better control he’ll be a force. He will fight with the current roster to start and should win the job.

Finally, at 59th overall I did not like the immediate players available and wanted to move back again. This resulted in moving to 66th overall with a trade to the Arizona Cardinals. This gave the Buccaneers a 2025 fourth-round pick to utilize next year.

With the 66th pick of the draft, I was able to select Marshawn Kneeland, Edge, Western Michigan. Also in my original mock draft, Kneeland will pair well with Yaya Diaby to form a formidable edge duo. Now back to the offense. Here at 89th overall the Tampa Buccaneers select Blake Corum., Running Back, Michigan. Adding some more power to the running game I wanted a multi-faceted player, so naturally I selected Blake Corum. He can do it all and spell Rachaad White. Feeling the same way as I did in the previous trade I had no worries dropping back from 92nd to 97th and picking up the 149th overall pick. This trade, with Cincinnati, gave me another pick to play with and I still got my next target.

With Baker Mayfield around for a few years, I felt the need to add a quarterback to groom. Enter Spencer Rattler, Quarterback, South Carolina. This will spell the end for Kyle Trask whom we may be able to showcase in the preseason and trade. Given what Mac Jones went for though he will likley just be cut.

Fourth Round

With the 112th selection, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Cade Stover, Tight End, Ohio State. Well, when you have a chance to add another Cade, why not? He’s a large red zone-worthy target that adds physicality to the second tight end spot. They could utilize two tight end sets more to add a wrinkle to the play calling with this selection. With the 125th and 127th pick (from the earlier trade) I received an offer that would not take my next targets off the board. So I jumped at a chance to get more picks (134th and 185th) to add depth to this team and hopefully find a gem to develop.

Thankfully the Jets allowed for that to happen. With the 127th and 134th selections, the Buccaneers add to the offense. Brenden Rice, wide receiver, USC. Brandon Coleman, guard, TCU adds depth that can develop due to their starting potential. Rice has the measurements and skills. He just needs to work on his route tree. Coleman was a blind side protector but I’m bringing him in with the thought of moving him inside. He won’t need to start with the current roster and can develop.

I’m not sure how he fell this far as I thought he was a clear third-rounder but things happen and this is just pretend. With the 149th pick, the Buccaneers add more depth with Luke McCaffrey, wide receiver, Rice. This adds another option for depth and builds a strong unit. Looking to the future this, along with Rice may come in handy if Chris Godwin leaves.

Sixth and Seventh Rounds

With the 185th and 220th selections in the sixth round, we add more depth and potential. Here I added to the defense where we had starters established in order to test the waters on developing some individuals. Curtis Jacobs, linebacker, Penn State, Jamree Kromah, defensive tackle, James Madison both flash some strengths. While Jacobs is largely unpolished and Kromah hasn’t faced top-notch talent they have room to grow and can play special teams in a pinch. To close out the draft I selected Jordan Magee, Linebacker, Temple. With size and good speed in pursuit, he has some upside. I want to explore his potential to get into the rotation.

Clearly, this is an unlikely scenario but one can dream, right? Grabbing all these players could go a long way toward adding to this team to win now and for some time in the future. One thing we know for sure though is that Jason Licht does not stay put if he sees an advantage. So let’s pay close attention to the moves made in this draft as we all can agree that Licht has done a very good job in finding talent that can aid this team.