So this may be somewhat of a surprise for some of you. Even the casual Buccaneers fans could point to the problem that the team faced for most of last season. It was the defense, especially the secondary and pass rush. Therefore, it makes sense to use high draft picks to solve that problem.
Most mock drafts have done this. However, based on some of the guys they’re bringing in, the Bucs’ brass may see things differently. They have brought in three WRs for an official 30 visit, tied for the second most among the position groups they have brought in. The Bucs have brought in Jaylin Noel, Elic Ayomanor, and Matthew Golden. Golden is one of the top receivers in the draft and the other two have the potential to go in the second. I’m not even convinced Golden would be available for the Bucs at 19.
Past the surface it does make some sense. Mike Evans is getting older and you can no longer fully rely on him playing past another season or two. The Bucs may also have some scars from losing their top WRs in the middle of the season. And if a WR is the best player left on the board (be it Golden or McMillan, Tetairoa that is), is it not better to draft one than reach.
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But I’m still not sure this is the best idea. Outside of Travis Hunter (who almost certainly won’t fall to 5, much less pick 19), there isn’t a truly elite WR prospect like last year. Would a guy like McMillan be better than a guy like Jahdae Barron or Jalon Walker even if there are some questions on their upside? The Buccaneers have also proven they can get really good WRs in later rounds with their McMillan.
Now like I said, it does make sense if the board doesn’t fall the Bucs way at all. If the Bucs are staring down lesser prospects (imo) like say Nick Emmanwori or Trey Amos, it does make more sense to go with a Golden or McMillan. Not saying those guys are bad by the way, but it would be more of a reach than the guys I mentioned before at pick 19. Unless they trade back, which would make sense.
At the end of the day, these 30 visits don’t always reveal what the team is doing. They drafted Calijah Kancey without bringing him in. But they also brought Graham Barton, Chris Braswell, and Bucky Irving for a visit last year. So it really is hit or miss. But there does seem to be some smoke to the idea the Bucs will take a WR earlier in the draft than people may expect.
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