2024 Buccaneers 7-round mock draft: Tampa upgrades at center in first round

Sustained success means different things to different franchises, but as the Bucs prepare to pick 26th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, they continue a Day 1 waiting game the team has never before known in its history.

Barring a major trade, the Bucs will go four years without a top-15 pick, a first in the franchise’s 49 years of drafting. To even go three years without one is something Tampa Bay hasn’t done since 1984.

Picking later in the draft means it’s harder to anticipate picks, and also harder to hit on them and land an elite player. But as Bucs general manager Jason Licht says, it’s a good problem to have.

Before we get to the picks, a little bar-bet trivia for you: Which are the only four NFL teams to go longer than the Bucs without a top-15 draft pick? We’ll include this sentence here just as pure filler, separating the answer from the question as you ponder some options.

The four? The Bills haven’t picked in the top 15 since 2019, the Chiefs haven’t since 2017 and the Rams haven’t since 2016. But the winner is the Vikings, who last picked that high with corner Trae Waynes in 2015. All but seven NFL teams have picked in the top 15 in the past three drafts, and two of those seven (Washington and Minnesota) should do so this month. 

Another streak to make you aware of: The Bucs have used their top draft pick on defense three years in a row, matching the Packers and Chiefs as the only teams to do so. (The longest offensive streaks are the Rams, Steelers and Chargers at four years each).

Will that Bucs streak end this month? If the right pass-rusher or cornerback is there, it’s possible they’ll go defense again. The top two edges — Alabama’s Dallas Turner, Florida State’s Jared Verse — will be gone, and it’s likely that UCLA’s Laiatu Latu will be as well. Corner is possible, though Tampa likes Zyon McCollum, the third-year pro poised to take over for Carlton Davis, who was traded to the Lions. 

That brings us to the most obvious pairing at No. 26 overall: interior offensive line.

First round, No. 26 overall: C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon

The Bucs had a physical leader and tone-setter in their Super Bowl season in veteran Ryan Jensen, and they missed him the past two seasons when he was sidelined by a knee injury that ultimately led to his retirement. Robert Hainsey filled in as a two-year starter, but he was rated as the league’s No. 32 center last year by Pro Football Focus, so it’s a position that would be an important upgrade for Tampa Bay.

[ROB RANG: 2024 NFL Draft interior offensive line rankings: Strong group of guards, centers]

Powers-Johnson is an intriguing prospect, winning the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center in his first year as a full-time starter. He’s only 21 and has bounced around on the line, but he’d be taken as a center. He has good size (6-foot-3, 328 pounds) and strength and is widely regarded as the best center in this class. Will the Bucs slide up a few spots to make sure they get him? 

Another offensive line option often paired with the Bucs is Duke’s Graham Barton, but he hasn’t played center since his freshman year of college.

Second round, No. 57 overall: CB Mike Sainristil, Michigan

The Bucs could field a solid player at every position right now, but there are obviously places where they can invest much more than they have. Tampa Bay had an undrafted rookie as its nickel cornerback last season, and while Christian Izien will continue to develop, that’s a spot where the team can upgrade with a high draft pick.

Sainristil, who had six interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) in helping Michigan win a national title, is the kind of versatile playmaker Todd Bowles loves in the secondary. He’s a converted receiver — as recently as 2021, Sainristil was playing on offense, catching 22 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns, so he knows both sides of the ball and is better for it. He took an official visit with the Bucs and raved about them, so it’s just a matter of whether the Bucs love him as much as he loves them.

[READ MORE: 2024 NFL Draft prospect rankings: Joel Klatt’s top 50 includes 6 QBs]

Third round, No. 89 overall: LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson

The Bucs moved on from Devin White this offseason after five years, and while they like K.J. Britt as a potential replacement, they’ll want competition at the position. Trotter is a good match with Tampa. There’s a versatility to his game: He had two picks in each of his last two years at Clemson, returning one for a score each season, and he also had 12 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss, showing an ability to attack but also hold his own in coverage.

Does the success of Antoine Winfield Jr. give the Bucs confidence to take another player who grew up immersed in the NFL? Trotter’s father was a linebacker and actually overlapped with Licht with the Eagles. The elder Trotter made the Pro Bowl with Philadelphia in 2004-05, and he and Licht went to a Super Bowl together, so there’s familiarity there.

Third round, No. 92 overall: WR Ja’Lynn Polk, Washington

This is the pick the Bucs acquired from Detroit in trading Davis, and it’s possible Licht will use it to move up in the first round. But if the Bucs keep it, it would be smart for them to take advantage of the depth this draft has at receiver. There are pass-catchers the new offensive coaches have a personal history with, like Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and Oregon’s Troy Franklin, but I’m not sure the Bucs will see receiver as a priority position over other spots where they lack entrenched starters.

Polk could be the third Washington receiver drafted, behind Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan, but he’s coming off a prolific season, with 69 catches for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns. He runs a 4.52 40 at 203 pounds, boasts a 37-inch vertical and could be a solid WR3 for the Bucs even as a rookie.

Fourth round, No. 125 overall: RB Ray Davis, Kentucky

The Bucs definitely want to improve their running back depth, and Davis spent last year working closely with new Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen at Kentucky. Davis rushed for 1,129 yards and 14 touchdowns, caught another seven scores in the pass game, and could step in as a solid backup to Rachaad White with experience in this offense. He’s a bit short at 5-foot-9, but he’s sturdy at 211 pounds and has good speed, running a 4.52 40.

Davis has been productive everywhere he’s been, which includes three different schools. Before landing at Kentucky, he ran for 1,042 at Vanderbilt in 2022 and 936 as a freshman at Temple in 2019. At 24, he’s older than most prospects, but his backstory — which includes overcoming homelessness as a child — is one of the most compelling in the draft. If he gets close to the Bucs at No. 125, you could see them offering a 2025 late-round pick to move up and get him.

Sixth round, No. 220 overall: Edge Jalyx Hunt, Houston Christian

The Bucs don’t have fifth- or sixth-round picks this year; they dealt the fifth to get receiver Trey Palmer last year, and they sent Detroit their sixth as a pick swap in the Carlton Davis trade. So that means they don’t pick from No. 125 until No. 220, which is a decent chunk of the third day of the draft. So I wonder if they’d package this pick in a deal for, say, a pair of fifth-rounders, where they would get an extra player likely to make their 53.

Considering the Bucs let veteran OLB Shaq Barrett go, you’ll see mock drafts that have them taking an edge much higher. They did sign Randy Gregory in free agency, but pass-rusher is a position that teams constantly pour high picks into, trying to find elite talent. I think they have a solid rotation already in place, and they like young guys like Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez, so when you combine that with a draft that doesn’t have amazing talent at the position, I don’t know that a pass-rusher is a must for the Bucs in the first two days.

Hunt is a fascinating player, a converted safety who played three years at Cornell in the secondary before bulking up to be a pass-rusher at tiny Houston Christian. He was the Southland Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, piling up 13.5 sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles in his two years there. He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 252, but can still add some weight. He shows a quickness and athleticism that are rare for the position, and he seems like the kind of player the Bucs like to develop.

2024 NFL Draft prospect rankings | Top 10 QB prospects | Top 10 RB prospects | Top 10 WR prospects | Top 10 TE prospects | Top 10 OT prospects | Top 10 IOL prospects | Top 10 Edge prospects | Top 10 DT prospects | Joel Klatt’s mock draft

Seventh round, No. 246 overall: OL Giovanni Manu, British Columbia

Manu could easily go higher in the draft, but this massive prospect from Canada — 6-foot-8, 350 pounds — has all kinds of upside as a late-round flier. The Bucs have two solid tackles in Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, but they don’t really have a developmental backup. Manu would be great as a ninth offensive lineman, not even dressing on Sundays but learning and growing.

Licht has had much more success with undrafted rookies than with seventh-rounders. In 10 drafts, he’s had essentially one seventh-rounder, linebacker Grant Stuard in 2021, play even a single season with the team. But such picks are best used on potential, and if they don’t pan out, nobody expected much from the pick in the first place. The Bucs had 13 rookies make their initial 53 last year, so they’ve shown they’re good at identifying prospects from Day 3 and beyond who have a real chance to make the cut.

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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