Perfect Picks: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With the NFL Draft approaching we will be looking at each team and evaluating where they need to improve. In this particular series we will run a seven round mock using the Pro Football Network Mock Draft Simulator and find the ‘Perfect Picks’ for each franchise.

We will highlight four players that could help each team. This will feature picks 1 and 2, a mid round gem and a late round sleeper. 

Round 1 - Zion Johnson, OG, Boston College

Getting Ryan Jensen re-signed at center was huge for Tom Brady. That said, the rest of his interior protection effectively disappeared. Alex Cappa signed with the Bengals and Ali Marpet chose early retirement. The Bucs took advantage of some bizarre Belichick decision-making by acquiring Shaq Mason via trade but left guard remains a question mark. Zion Johnson is a dominant interior lineman who has impressed throughout the pre-draft process. He would step straight in to this rebuilt group.

Round 2 - Logan Hall, DL, Houston

Outside of offensive guard, defensive tackle appears to be the biggest need for the Bucs. Both positions have steep drop offs after the first round, which will make it a tough choice on which direction to go. In this scenario they supplement the Johnson pick with Logan Hall from Houston. Ndamukong Suh could return, but if not you can pair Hall with nose tackle Vita Vea and you have two productive tackles who can rush the passer. Hall has inside/outside versatility but looks best as a bull rushing 3-tech, something the Bucs could make use of.

Mid Round Gem - James Cook, RB, Georgia

The Bucs could finish free agency with a very barren running back room. Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones remain on the market, and even if one returns further reinforcements are needed. James Cook would provide a younger version of what Gio Bernard excels at. Slightly undersized to be a primary back, Cook makes up for it with his receiving ability. A true dual-threat back who also has the explosion to get big plays as a runner. He would start life as a third down option but it won’t be long until he becomes a reliable threat for someone at the next level.

Late Round Sleeper - Bamidele Olaseni, OT, Utah

The Bucs have one of the best offensive tackle pairings in the league but are short on depth. We give them English-born Bamidele Olaseni to help that. The Utah tackle lacks high level experience and therefore would need time to develop in the NFL but he has the 6’8 frame and long arms offensive line coaches dream of. He is a nasty finisher in the run game and although his pass blocking needs work, he didn’t concede a sack on his 852 snaps for the Utes in 2021.

Draft In Full:

27. Zion Johnson, OG, Boston College

60. Logan Hall, DT, Houston

91. James Cook, RB, Georgia

133. Ellis Brooks, LB, Penn State

248. Bamidele Olaseni, OT, Utah

261. Eric Johnson, DT, Missouri State

Mock Draft

Rory-Joe Daniels

Cfb contributor

formerly writing for the inside zone, rory will be breaking down college tape and keeping you up-to-date with all things CFB for the touchdown. an avid bengals fan, you can also find some of rory’s work at stripehype.com.

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