The Tampa Bay Buccaneers only draft three different positions.
We conclude our review of the drafts that the rest of the NFC South had. The Falcons look like they’ve improved their team on paper, while the Saints made a lot of questionable decisions. The Bucs seem to have been a little bit closer to the former than the latter.
The picks:
- 19: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
- 53: Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
- 84: Jacob Parrish, CB, Kansas State
- 121: David Walker, Edge, Central Arkansas
- 157: Elijah Roberts, Edge, SMU
- 235: Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon
If there’s one position the Buccaneers seemingly didn’t need, it’s wide receiver. Mike Evans is still one of the best in the business, Chris Godwin is arguably the league’s best number two and should be ready for Week 1, and Jalen McMillan was an impressive rookie. Still, the Bucs went with the top player on their board and added even more talent to that wide receiver room. He creates a lot of redundancy, but that also means there’s a lot of depth, and even more weapons for Baker Mayfield. They went out and added Tez Johnson late, but the rail thin wideout seems more likely to contribute as a returner than a wideout.
Tampa Bay used the middle rounds to bolster their relatively poor defense. Their offense is going to force a lot of teams to throw the ball to keep pace, so they went all in on bolstering the pass defense. Morrison was a highly regarded corner who fell due to injury, and Parrish is okay in his own right. They added a couple of productive edge defenders in the middle rounds who at the very least will add to a deep rotation that is lacking in start power.
The Buccaneers were best team in the NFC South last season, so naturally their roster doesn’t have some of the glaring holes that the rest of the NFC South does. Being in that spot gives them more leeway to get the guys they like regardless of position. None of their rookies are going to be relied on out of the gate unless they play well enough to push out one of the incumbents. That only makes the Bucs more dangerous going into the 2025 season. They have the depth to withstand the attrition of the season and have a few shots of getting guys that will upgrade some of the positions that are already strengths.