I know, I know, it’s way too early.
Buccaneers’ fan’s want to hear about Trey Hendrickson, or Devin Lloyd, or the newly released Tremaine Edmunds.
And that’s all completely fair. Those are all viable free agents that would be welcome additions to the Buccaneers.
And if any of that happens, no one will be more excited than I am because that means that the front office will at least be making an effort to improve what was a very below average at best defense last year both on paper and in practice.
But it’s impossible to predict free agency decisions.
So you know what I wanted to do? Try to predict something even more impossible: draft decisions!
So let’s get started with the first edition of my mock draft series for the 2026 NFL Draft.
1st Round, Pick 15: Caleb Banks, IDL, Florida
Caleb Banks is one of the more polarizing pics of this first round.
He has all the athletic ability and talent to warrant this pick or even higher.
However, injury concerns are a massive part of why he could potentially fall this low to the Buccaneers.
This is probably a scary thing to hear about after the injury was that the Buccaneers have faced with Calijah Kancey.
But Banks is probably one of the better if not the best pass rushers at the interior defensive line spot.
At 6’6 330 size is not an issue, and lining up next to Kancey(hopefully)/Roberts and Vea (plus Hendrickson/Diaby?) would turn a weakness from last year into a potential strength.
Todd Bowles would no longer have to get super creative with blitzes in order to generate pressure.
Line up those guys and let them go to work and see just how dominant this Buccaneers defense can be.
2nd Round, Pick 46: R Mason Thomas, EDGE, Oklahoma
Going along with the Banks pick, Thomas is another uber athletic player who will provide even more depth for a Buccaneers defensive line that was a bit shallow at times last year.
Thomas has a great get off, motor and first step, and has the strength to be a contributor in run defense as well.
Unfortunately, his short arms and health are a concern, otherwise someone as productive as Thomas at a high prestige school like Oklahoma would be going much higher than the second round.
Regardless, he would be a welcome addition to the past rush rotation, especially as more of a long-term solution to that group if the Buccaneers sign Hendrickson to a more short term deal.
The last time the Buccaneers selected an edge rusher in the second round it didn’t exactly go great, as Chris Braswell hasn’t been as good as fans would hope, but that shouldn’t deter the team from trying again.
3rd Round, Pick 77: Anthony Hill, Jr., ILB, Texas
Unfortunately, Hill, Jr. will be similar to SVD and LVD from this past season and that he’s not great in coverage as currently constructed.
And maybe that’s reason enough for the Buccaneers to pass on this pick, understandably so.
But Hill, Jr. Is a monster against the run and possesses enough size and athletic upside to hope that he can improve against the pass.
Plus, assuming the Buccaneers bring back David or bring in outside help via free agency for the interior linebacker spot, Hill, Jr. Would be a fine second linebacker.
Jacob Rodriguez would also be an excellent choice here and I will probably include him in later mock drafts, but Hill, Jr. possesses more athletic upside and that is the theme for this draft class, so I’m going with him.
4th Round, Pick 116: Kaytron Allen, RB, Penn State
This might be a bit early for a running back, even though the Buccaneers are moving on from Rachaad White and potentially Sean Tucker, but I am a massive fan of Allen.
He’s a powerful success rate type of running back, a perfect ying to Bucky Irving‘s yang.
He’ll be very between the tackles and won’t exactly light anything up in terms of explosiveness, but he is a very take what you can get type of running back.
And frankly, with how much the buccaneer rushing attack struggled last year, they could use some more consistency.
5th Round, Pick 153: Harold Perkins, Jr., ILB, LSU
You know I couldn’t go a whole mock draft without selecting a guy out of LSU.
And while Perkins might not have a solidified position, as he’s probably a bit too small to be a pass rusher, and inconsistent as a linebacker versus the run and in coverage, he has enough versatility and athletic ability to be an incredibly intriguing prospect.
He managed to be very productive early on in his time with the Tigers, but fell off quite a bit as the coaching staff changed and failed to properly utilize his talents.
He can be valuable finding pass rush lanes and exploding through them, and is athletic enough to be able to hold his own sometimes in coverage if utilized properly.
I like to view a style of pick like this in day three as either drafting a guy who you know can contribute on special teams or a project player who has massive upside, but also incredibly low floor.
Perkins falls into that second category, but his athletic ability could warrant some use on special teams as well.
6th Round, Pick 194: Parker Brailsford, C, Bama
Brailsford is another in a long line of solid interior offensive lineman from the University of Alabama.
He possesses a lot of twitch and athletic ability for an interior offensive lineman.
He played a bit of right guard but was mostly a center at Bama.
Unfortunately he’s a bit undersized and is probably going to be limited to mostly being a center at the NFL level.
That lack of versatility is what drops him in this draft as he’s not nearly good enough to be a surefire starting center.
But the Buccaneers could still very much use a back up even just at the center spot, even if it’s just to fill out their practice squad.
And using a round six pick on a guy like that is never the worst thing in the world.
7th Round, Pick 229: Diego Pavia, QB, Vandy
Much has already been said about Pavia, so I won’t get too far into his abilities and upside as a quarterback.
But the Buccaneers have a need at the back up spot, and Pavia seems to possess that same chip on his shoulder that Baker has.
At the very least he would provide for some entertaining quotes and preseason action, even if he doesn’t end up making the team and the Buccaneers go with a more solid solidified and prove an option to back up Mayfield.
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