Tampa Bay Buccaneers: EDGE rusher
The Buccaneers ranked dead last in the NFL in sacks in 2017, which makes finding an edge rusher priority number one entering the 2018 draft.
Tampa brought in Vinny Curry from the Eagles in free agency on a three-year deal, but more work will need to be done to give the Bucs a consistent pass rush next season. Noah Spence has battled injury early in his NFL career, but Tampa should have plenty of intriguing options with the seventh overall pick in the first round.
Much of the team’s draft fits figure to depend on how many quarterbacks go ahead of them, but it’s possible that they could land with a player like NC State’s Bradley Chubb or UTSA’s Marcus Davenport. Chubb, along with Vinny Curry and Gerald McCoy, would immediately transform the Bucs’ defensive line into one of the most formidable in the NFL, a necessary improvement in what figures to be the toughest division in football next season.
Following the departure of running back Doug Martin in free agency, the team could also look at running backs in a deep class, or potentially safety, where names like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James would help to vastly improve the Bucs secondary. Because of the depth of both of the aforementioned positions, however, it’s more likely that Tampa holds off on addressing them until the later rounds.
Tampa has invested plenty of resources on the offensive side of the ball in the last couple years, and will likely turn to re-stocking the defense in order to compete in the ultra-competitive NFC South next season.