NFL Mock Draft: 3-round Buccaneers 2025 projection to get back to the Super Bowl

The Tampa Bay Bucs are going to spend a whole lot of team wondering "what if?" The team had ample opportunity to take control of their Wild Card Round matchup with the Washington Commanders on Sunday night, but they refused to capitalize on any of them, and eventually Jayden Daniels delivered the dagger in a crushing 23-20 loss that brought a feel-good season to a screeching halt.

A whole lot went right for the Buccaneers this year, from Baker Mayfield taking another step forward to Liam Coen emerging as one of the NFL's better offensive playcallers to draft picks like Jalen McMillan and Bucky Irving blossoming into early contributors. But as Sunday's loss demonstrated, there's still a lot of work to be done for this team to consider itself a true championship contender. Todd Bowles' defense, in particular, left a lot to be desired this year, and GM Jason Licht could look to address that early and often in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Round 1: Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia

The Bucs are in desperate need of pass rush help; the fact that they brought Shaq Barrett back last month is testament enough to that fact, as was watching their playoff loss on Sunday. They could also stand to add at off-ball linebacker, with both Lavonte David and K.J. Britt set to hit free agency in the spring. So why not address both with one first-round pick?

Walker's primary value add is as an edge rusher; his first step is downright electric, and he terrorized quarterbacks in the SEC all year long. But he also would bring a lot of versatility to Tampa Bay's defense, as he lined up all over the place for Kirby Smart in 2024. This is the sort of piece this defense desperately needs.

Round 2: Cobee Bryant, CB, Kansas

Tampa Bay finished 29th in the league in passing defense this season, and their seven interceptions ranked near the bottom as well. This was, to put it bluntly, a porous secondary, especially with Jamel Dean having a hard time staying healthy: Safe to say that Josh Hayes trying to cover Terry McLaurin isn't how Bowles would've liked his team's season to end.

So let's get the Bucs a corner in this draft, preferably one with the size and mean streak to play the sort of sticky man coverage Bowles prefers. Bryant has the sort of tools NFL front offices can dream on, and he used them to make a ton of plays for Kansas over a sterling college career. He has some fine-tuning to do at the professional level, but if it all clicks, he could be a star.

Round 3: Xavier Restrepo, WR, Miami

Outside of whether to bring Bowles back (and whether Liam Coen will bolt for a head coaching job of his own), the biggest question of the Bucs offseason revolves around Chris Godwin, who enters free agency while still recovering from a brutal ankle injury. The emergence of McMillan as a rookie certainly helped fill the void, but with Godwin hitting the market and Mike Evans not getting any younger, Tampa Bay could use an addition in its receiver room.

Bucs fans should be plenty familiar with Restrepo, who became the all-time receptions and receiving yards leader at Miami during a spectacular senior season with the Hurricanes. He's not the biggest or the fastest player on the field, but he just knows how to get open, and he could be an ideal replacement for Godwin in the slot — the sort of player who could make Mayfield's life much, much easier.