The Buccaneers should be one of the more interesting agents in the 2026 NFL Draft as they currently sit at a pivot point that they could really leverage to their gain. For the first time this year, I’ve included trades in a mock because I want to embrace the chaos. Without further ado…
(TRADE) Round 1, Pick 21 — EDGE Malachi Lawrence, UCF
I highlighted some points on this selection in my full seven-round mock earlier in the day, but we’ll expand a little more here.
I need to emphasize that while everyone and their mother has honed in on Miami’s Akheem
Mesidor as Tampa’s pick, I can no longer get there based on everything we know about this team under Jason Licht’s leadership. Please consider the following:
- The Buccaneers run a tight ship (pun intended, go ahead and boo me), and they do not leak picks or even really prospect preferences. Their top 30 visits can vaguely guide how they’re thinking but not always (the Bucs had no reported meetings at all with neither Emeka Egbuka nor Calijah Kancey). Nobody truly knows anything about the inner workings of this team beyond what they willingly share, and if everyone guesses right on Mesidor, it’s simply because it makes sense from a talent-fit perspective.
- Mesidor is very talented at rushing the passer, that is not the issue. The issue is he’s very old (25), which the Bucs do not go for, and he is not a top-tier athlete, which the Bucs very much prefer in Round 1. This isn’t a year or two of samples either, this is an established philosophy galvanized and honed over many drafts.
With that said, I just don’t see what makes Mesidor so special that he’s worth entirely tossing out your established, successful process. It would reek of desperation and show a regime that’s fine with ignoring proven principles over the allure of someone who everyone assumes is going to contribute at a high level right away.
With Malachi Lawrence, he is a long, great athlete (9.90 Relative Athletic Score, a top-25 figure since 1987) and has a deep toolbox to attack the edges with. He’s fairly young (23), has produced at the college level (21 career sacks and 28 tackles for loss), and has tons of juice, and the only real knock is that the run defense needs to improve — but he has the tools to do that.
It’ll be fascinating to see how it shakes out, but I’m going to vouch for the fast-rising Lawrence.
(TRADE) Round 2, Pick 37 — LB C.J. Allen, Georgia
We’re cooking on the hot stove, folks, wear your mittens.
Passing on inside linebacker in Round 1, which feels likely, will again put the Bucs in a pinch draft position-wise. Your two top-of-the-line options are Jacob Rodriguez from Texas Tech and C.J. Allen from Georgia, and I feel fairly confident Rodriguez is going between picks 25-35. Could the Bucs pull off a trade for him? Possibly, but instead we’ll sneak them up 9 spots to 37 to secure Allen.
By giving up their fourth-rounder, which is totally palatable after acquiring the extra third from the Steelers in the proposed Round 1 trade, they can secure a bonafide leader and tone-setter in the middle of their defense. Allen may not be a splash-play machine with crazy athletic potential, but he is very steady and controlled as a true MIKE, and the Bucs desperately need that.
In a mug-and-drop system like Todd Bowles’s, Allen will fit in perfectly with his strong feel for blitzing and ability to quickly close out in coverage drops.
Round 3, Pick 77 — TE Oscar Delp, Georgia
The Bucs put on a Bulldog front during Day 2 by getting some offense in Oscar Delp.
Delp (nearly 6-foot-5, 245 pounds) is extremely athletic for the position, posting a top-25 RAS for a tight end since 1987 (25th). That shows up on the field via straight-line speed, fluidity, and explosiveness, making him a true mismatch weapon against most linebackers.
His lack of production at Georgia is a tad puzzling (only 9 career TDs, never recorded more than 300 receiving yards in a season after four years), but not enough to say he was “bad.” His short arms can make securing catches and trumping sticky coverage difficult, and he still has some headway to make as a blocker.
That said, he’d offer a dimension in the tight end room that the team currently lacks since he offers big-time size as a deep threat down the seam, and he can do more in the short game than Cade Otton can. And though the blocking stands to improve, he’s still a strong, very willing participant whose agility and pop can take defenders by surprise.
He offers a much higher ceiling for a TE2 than Payne Durham with potential TE1 upside.
(TRADE) Round 3, Pick 85 — DL Tyler Onyedim, Texas A&M
A sneaky name during the process, which can likely be attributed to a lackluster overall defensive tackle class and an absolutely stacked Aggies defense, Onyedim will play for awhile at the professional level.
He’s not a pass-rushing savant, but Onyedim is long (over 34” arms with 10 1/8” hands) and explosive while carrying good bulk (6-foot-3, 290 pounds), and he used those traits to compile 9.5 tackles for loss last season, which was second on the team only to Cashius Howell. He’s a gap-sound bloodhound who quickly locates ball carriers and drops them, and he’s a very reliable tackler.
In a single-gap scheme like Bowles’s, Onyedim will have his movement skills put to good use as a run defender with some pass-rush upside if he can develop better counters. He would make for a reliable rotational piece who can play 3-technique or 4i.
Round 5, Pick 155 — OL Beau Stephens, Iowa
After hypothetically giving up their fourth-rounder to move up in the second round, the Bucs need to wait until the fifth to address their interior offensive line depth.
Stephens is another repeat entry here, as he was my pick in my post-free agency mock a few weeks ago. I’m sticking with it here given the Bucs’ familiarity with the Iowa program and his potential fit with new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson’s zone-centric scheme.
He’s a very average athlete, but he’s smart, refined, and offers much-needed stability for interior offensive line depth.
Round 6, Picks 195 — CB Thaddeus Dixon, North Carolina
The Bucs signed some little-known veterans for depth in the corner room, but they really should explore more young depth as well. This could easily come earlier, depending on how the board falls, but even a 6th-round pick is better than nothing.
A Washington transfer, Dixon has good size (nearly 6-foot-1, 195 pounds with 31 1/8” arms) with smooth movement skills, and he offers inside-outside versatility. He even garnered praise from the great Bill Belichick himself. “[Dixon] could probably play any position in the secondary,” he said.
He is not fast nor particularly instinctual (only 2 career interceptions), but he’s reactive, physical, and stays attached to his man for the most part. He seems pretty close to his ceiling as a 24-year-old, but you’re not going to find much in the way of eye-popping traits just south of Pick 200.
(TRADE) Round 7, 224 — WR Caleb Douglas, Texas Tech
Get your darts out and start throwing at the board, we are firmly in total crapshoot territory now.
To diversify the Bucs’ receiving room, Douglas adds size (6-foot-3 1/2 with 10 1/8” hands) and deep-play ability — he recorded 29 catches of 20-plus yards over the past two seasons with the Red Raiders. You need someone who offers those traits, preferably with a little more youthfulness to them than David Sills IV.
Douglas is tall and deceptively quick with a good knack for extension catches, but he’s basically a go-ball merchant who struggles with drops and needs to add more mass / get more physical. Those are correctable issues, but it is undoubtedly a projection. He has played special teams at Texas Tech, which should help with his chances.
Round 7, Pick 229 — LB Xavian Sorey Jr., Arkansas
Your final pick might as well be special teams related, and that’s exactly what Sorey Jr. is going to be drafted to do.
Sorey is a good athlete who plays with a surplus of effort and violence, much-needed on kickoffs and punt returns. He also has some wiggle and change to direction ability to him, which is good to see from someone who hopes to get snaps on defense one day, and he has some pass-rushing chops too.
However, any snaps on defense will come only after he fine-tunes his undisciplined, overly aggressive approach. The missed tackles and overall lack of consistency are just not good enough right now. However, by harnessing that nature and diluting it to more simple assignments on kick coverage, those issues are correctable and could serve as a foundation to be a backup.
There you go, Bucs Nation. Love it or hate it, you’re free to let me know. Enjoy watching this weekend!
