It’s that time of year again Buccaneers fans! The NFL offseason, or silly-season as some would call it is here. That can only mean it’s time for some mock drafts.
The news has been incredibly slow as of late. For some reason, we have not yet traded for Myles Garrett yet. I don’t know what the hold-up there is, but I don’t appreciate it. So, I have decided to do a full mock draft where I attempt to get into the mind of our beloved leader and GM.
Round 1 (19)- Edge Rusher Jalon Walker
I have written about Jalon Walker before, so I will not go too far into depth here. All I will say is this is very much a Todd Bowles pick. A super athletic defender with all the skills to be an elite player. The Buccaneers have done a good job in recent history molding these guys into good pieces. It says edge on most mock drafts, but he could also fall into MLB if needed to. Fantastic promise here and if he falls here, will almost definitely be the pick.
Round 2 (53)- IOL/T Grey Zabel
This may be controversial, but I do think despite the good play by the line there is room for improvement. Ben Bredeson was very much the mediocre to average player I expected him to be. And it did mostly work, but he was brought in on a one year deal. He’ll likely be brought back, but Grey Zabel has promise to be an upgrade at the position. At the bare minimum, he is a back-up that could pretty much play any position. It may seem rich to use a pick on a back-up, but a guy who has played literally every position, and done it well, is useful. I obviously see him filling in at LG should he come here. He has played a majority of snaps at LT for NDSU, but still has taken quality snaps at both guards and RT.
He is more seen as a pass blocker, but he has the strength to make some noise in the run game. I like this pick because it does fall in line with the profile that Licht likes in small school linemen (NDSU is where Cody Mauch came from) and “glass eater”. Ironically he has a similar complaint that Luke Goedeke got in his short arms. But if the Buccaneers can work around it, they have a guy who some project as a late first rounder in the second.
Round 3 (84)- LB Carson Schwesinger
Some people see Carson Schwesinger as a second round pick, but he seems like too much of a project to use so high. There is a lot to like here otherwise I wouldn’t have him here, but he has one year of starting experience. I think that will scare a lot of teams. By all accounts, he is a very intelligent player. As Draft Buzz points out, he achieved academic honors as a bioengineering major. And how he plays the position suggests that as well. Which is good because while he is athletic and fast, he is a bit undersized and has some issues with shedding blocks; a problem that will only get worse in the pros.
If the Buccaneers think Lavonte will run it back (or Bobby Wagner if part of my weird FA article comes true), then this would be a great guy to develop behind him. I just don’t see him as an immediate starter. That may scare some of you off, but Linebacker is an incredibly tough position to transition to from college. If he does have an immediate impact, it will be on ST where he played most of his snaps until the final year.
Round 4 (84)- LB Demetrius Knight
Yeah I’m going same position back to back. You going to stop me? Demetrius Knight has been projected all over the draft between the 2nd and 4th round. So I’ll be optimistic and say he’ll be there in the 4th. He has shown to be a fantastic blitzer in terms of how he times that up. I’m sure Bowles ears perked up at that. He is actually a little bit smaller than Schewesinger, so at this point I’m just projecting the Buccaneers to get every undersized LB to get them underappreciated HOF careers. I like Knight a lot just for some of the adversity he has faced. He started as mostly a special teams guy before transferring to South Carolina and breaking out. Sort of like the previous pick, just less overall talent. Knight is more of a run defender and different from Schewesinger in that way. Again I’m not sure if he is a day one starter, but like as a piece that could develop.
Round 5 (158)- CB Jacob Parrish
I don’t expect this 5th round cornerback to develop like McCollum. However, there are some similarities admittedly. Both have a ton of athletic potential. Jacob Parrish is far shorter than Mcollum is at 5′ 9″ leaving some questions as to whether he could even play outside corner. He has good burst and can process things well on the field. Potentially a good CB3 in the making or a good special teams player (not sure how many players he could bring down though at 5′ 9″), but likely won’t replace Jamel Dean any time soon barring a miracle. About what you would expect here.
Round 7 (237)- WR Theo Wease
Mocking late round picks is never fun because these guys almost never work out to be elite players. Occasionally a team lands a gem. But more often than not, there’s a reason they fell. Theo Wease was an incredibly reliable target for Missouri when he transferred there. Has a good frame for the position at 6′ 2″, which gives him a good target for Baker. I could definitely see him replacing Trey Palmer as the guy in the mix for the WR4 or 5 spot.
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