NFL Draft Rumors: Buccaneers looking to trade back into first round?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be looking to add two players through the draft tonight.
Every year, multiple teams are rumored to be looking to move up in the first round of the NFL draft. The team with the No. 1 overall pick is usually not among them.
Still, Ed Werder of ESPN reports that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to move into the late first round.
Source tells me #Bucs talking to teams with late No. 1s wanting to move back for TB No. 34 overall pick. Jameis Winston and another tonight?
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) April 30, 2015
Barring some major shock, the Buccaneers will select quarterback Jameis Winston first overall. This report would indicate that they have their eye on another player in the late first round that they feel they can’t get for their No. 34 overall.
Trading a second and third round pick would probably be enough to get Tampa Bay into the mid-20s. The Buccaneers have multiple needs, so it’s difficult to predict who exactly they might be wanting.
Offensive line is among those needs and it would make sense for Tampa Bay to surround a young franchise quarterback with some protection. The likely slide of La’el Collins is going to change a lot of draft boards at the last minute, which could have prompted the Buccaneers to want to move up.
Jake Fisher, D.J. Humphries and T.J. Clemmings are all offensive lineman that Tampa Bay could be interested in. With Collins no longer in play ahead of them, it’s possible that Tampa Bay fears they wont be available at 34.
The Buccaneers have so many needs that just having more picks might be a better strategy. Besides quarterback, Tampa Bay needs upgrades at both tackle and guard, defensive end, middle linebacker and nickelback.
Still, it’s understandable that the Buccaneers would be interested in another first-round pick. Winston, a franchise left tackle and wide receiver Mike Evans is a promising offensive core, particularly if Doug Martin can somehow return to his rookie year levels of production.
Defensively, Tampa Bay already has good building blocks in Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David. While there are a lot of needs, it’s easy to see how the Buccaneers feel they could compete in the NFC South in the not so distant future.
No matter what happens, it’s going to be an exciting evening for the franchise.