Each day leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft — April 23-25 — TeamFB7 will break down a different team’s biggest draft need and the best selection to address it. Granted, teams will most often use their first-round pick on the best available player/value and not necessarily always their biggest need, so this isn’t going to compile together into a mock draft in the end. It’s more a breakdown of how each team could best address its most paramount priority if it chooses.
When we get to the 2026 NFL Coaches Hot Seat Rankings leading into the season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles will surely be on it.
This sets up as an absolute make-or-break season for Bowles with the Buccaneers.
He’s a perfectly mediocre 35-33 in four years at the helm with one playoff victory and fresh off a massive second-half collapse last season, losing seven of eight games after a 6-2 start before futilely winning the finale but losing the NFC South tiebreaker.
There was clearly a lot going on beyond the scenes for the Bucs.
First, Baker Mayfield was obviously playing hurt as his play dropped off sharply from early-season MVP contender to one of the worst quarterbacks in the league statistically over the second half. He had just 10 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions over the final eight games after posting 16 TDs and 2 INTs over the first nine games.
That’s not Bowles’ fault, of course. But it sure didn’t feel he had a command over the locker room during that late-season freefall as he publicly put the blame squarely on the players (and not he and the coaches).
Also, it’s hard to ignore that wide receiver Mike Evans chose to leave Tampa Bay after 12 years, 866 receptions, 13,052 yards and 108 TDs and continue his likely-Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers rather than be a career Buccaneer — especially when the Bucs revealed they did everything to keep him, including offering the bigger contract.
Meanwhile, fellow Bucs legend linebacker Lavonte David announced his retirement last month after 14 seasons with the team, even though he was still effective last year with 114 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception and 2 forced fumbles. Maybe this is reading too much into it, but it stands to reason if David believed in the Bucs’ potential to truly contend in 2026 he might have kept going another year. But maybe not, only he knows.
Add it all up, though, and this feels like a franchise badly in need of a reset, so it’s surprising Bowles was retained. If he wants to remain Tampa Bay’s coach through and beyond 2026, he’s going to have to have his best season yet.
The Bucs can help that cause next week in the 2026 NFL Draft as they hold the following seven picks: 1st round (15th overall), 2nd (46th), 3rd (77th), 4th (116th), 5th (155th), 6th (195th) and 7th (229th).
For our purposes, we’ll break down the best way Tampa Bay can use that No. 15 overall selection.
Who Should Tampa Bay Buccaneers Take At No. 15 In 2026 NFL Draft?
Tampa Bay has arguably had a net-negative offseason/free agency from a roster standpoint.
– David may be 36 years old, but he was the defensive leader of this team. To replace him, the Bucs signed nine-year veteran Alex Anzalone, formerly of the Lions and Saints, for 2 years and $17 million. Anzalone is a solid NFL linebacker and had 95 tackles, 2.5 sacks and an interception last season for Detroit. PFF ranked him 32nd out of 88 qualifying LBs. David was on the decline, sure, but he had intrinsic value as a future Hall of Famer, franchise icon and defensive leader that isn’t easily replaced. Tampa Bay also brought in former Panthers LB Christian Rozeboom on a cheap 1-year deal.
– The Bucs haven’t replaced Evans yet. Instead, they’re hoping oft-injured veteran Chris Godwin can find his old form at age 30 after two injury-shortened seasons and team atop the depth chart with second-year wideout Emeka Egbuka (63 catches for 938 yards and 6 TDs as a rookie). But Godwin hasn’t been the same since a badly dislocated ankle ended his 2024 season after seven games. He played just nine games last season and wasn’t especially effective even when on the field with 33 catches for 360 yards and 2 TDs. Jalen McMillan (37-461-8 as a rookie in 2024 before being limited to four games last year) and Tez Johnson (28-322-5 as a rookie) will also be counted on to step up.
– The Bucs lost their top cornerback Jamel Dean (ranked 3rd out of 114 qualifying CBs by PFF with 3 INTs, 9 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles and a defensive TD) in free agency to the Steelers and haven’t signed a replacement. The top of the depth chart currently is Zyon McCollum (65 tackles, 1 INT, 6 PDs), Benjamin Morrison (ranked 110th among CBs by PFF but on only 360 snaps in 2025) and emerging nickel Jacob Parrish (ranked 32nd among CBs by PFF as a rookie with 76 tackles, 2 INTs, 7 PDs, 7 TFLs and 2 sacks).
– They lost starting defensive tackle Logan Hall, but invested a 1-year, $10-million contract in free agent A’Shawn Robinson, a solid 10-year veteran most recently with the Panthers, to join stalwart Vita Vea. That’s a strong duo. And they wisely let declining veteran defensive end Haason Reddick become a free agent (still unsigned) while upgrading with free agent Al-Quadin Muhammad (11 sacks for the Lions last season) on a value 1-year, $4-million deal to join incumbent YaYa Diaby (team-high 7 sacks and 13 TFLs).
– And the Bucs let one No. 2 RB (Rachaad White) depart while bringing in former Steeler Kenneth Gainwell, who set career-highs last year with 537 rushing yards and 5 TDs as well as 73 catches for 486 yards and 3 TDs. That’s actually an upgrade and a nice pairing with exciting young starter Bucky Irving. (Hey, we give praise where warranted!)
– Meanwhile, the team re-signed tight end Cade Otton and right guard Dan Feeney (to return a full starting offensive line).
Overall, we’d give the Bucs’ offseason a C so far.
But the draft can change that.
Buccaneers’ Biggest Draft Needs
So what should the Bucs do with that No. 15 overall pick?
These would be the biggest needs in order:
Edge Rusher: Muhammad was an intriguing addition, but that’s assuming his breakout last year was a sign of more to come. Before notching those 11 sacks, he had just 15 in his first seven NFL seasons. Diaby has 19 sacks in three seasons and is a good rotation contributor, but he’s just a piece of a larger puzzle. Ditto for Calijah Kancey, who was limited to just three games by injury last year but had 7.5 sacks in 2024. The rest of the depth chart doesn’t move the needle.
Cornerback: As covered, the Bucs haven’t replaced losing Dean and look to be short a starter as is.
Linebacker: Losing David to retirement and swapping in Anzalone is what it is. But SirVocea Dennis and new addition Rozeboom were among the lower-rated LBs in the league by PFF. Dennis, a fifth-round pick in 2023, became a starter for the first time last year and posted 101 tackles, 10 TFLs, 3 sacks and an INT, but PFF graded him 72nd out of 88 qualifying LBs as a major liability in pass coverage. Rozeboom (122 tackles, 7 TFLs and an INT) was ranked 75th out of 88 LBs by PFF with low marks in both run defense and coverage and the Panthers prioritized upgrading his spot. None of those three is the future anchor of the defense for Tampa Bay.
Wide Receiver/Tight End: Yes, the Bucs just gave Otton a 3-year, $30-million extension. He had 59 catches for 572 yards and a TD last season — as an offensive playmaker, he’s a dependable league-average tight end. At receiver, there’s no guarantee Godwin ever returns to top form after two lost seasons, it’s too soon to know if Egbuka is a true No. 1 WR (his production tailed off after a strong start but coincided with Mayfield’s struggles) and McMillan, Johnson, etc., are fine supporting pieces. But Evans’ departure will be felt here.
Who Should Tampa Bay Buccaneers Take At No. 15 In 2026 NFL Draft?
So who do we recommend the Bucs take?
We’re not going to overcomplicate this.
After giving up trying to make sense of the wide range of projections for where Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. will go in this draft, we’re just going to assume he’s off the board by this point. (Teams have to weigh his incredible impact on the Hurricanes’ run to the national championship game, with his arms measuring in shorter than desired at the NFL Scouting Combine and now the fresh report this week of his involvement in a 2024 car accident that was fatal for one of his passengers but with Bain ultimately facing no charges or other legal challenges from it.) But the bottom line is he’s one of the top three edge rushers in this draft and shouldn’t be around at No. 15 with so many teams needing help at the position.
The Bucs could instead take his Miami teammate Akheem Mesidor, who was equally impactful for the Hurricanes but is 25 years old already, and that would be a solid pick but perhaps with a lower ceiling. We’ve recommended him as the safest choice among the second tier of EDGEs, but every team’s situation and needs for 2026 vs. the future are different.
There is no inside linebacker that makes sense at No. 15.
The top cornerback in the draft — LSU’s Mansoor Delane — will also be gone by this point of the draft. Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy makes for a fine pick if the team is confident in the medical reports about his surgically repaired knee after missing the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL and other damage.
And the top three wide receivers — Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, USC’s Makai Lemon and Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson — should also be gone by this point. Again, the Bucs could reach to the next tier as Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr.’s pre-draft buzz is growing, but that indeed feels like a reach to us and no guarantee he’s anything more than the team’s No. 3 WR in 2026.
So this is the first time in this draft series where we’re truly having best overall player/value supersede top priority needs.
If the Bucs can’t get a top-tier EDGE, LB, CB without any medical questions or WR, we’re going to recommend they take the one consensus top prospect at a position of fit remaining — Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
He should still be available at this point in the round but not for much longer.
Yes, the Bucs have Otton, but he’s not anywhere near the athletic talent that Sadiq is and there’s plenty of room for two TEs in any offense regardless.
The 6-foot-3, 241-pound Sadiq led Oregon’s CFP team with 51 receptions and 8 TDs while ranking second with 560 receiving yards. But that’s just scratching the surface of his potential.
Sadiq ran the fastest 40-yard dash time by a tight end at the NFL Scouting Combine on record (going back to 2003) at 4.39 seconds, breaking Vernon Davis’ record (4.40) from 2006. Sadiq also had the second-best vertical jump by a TE at the combine in that time (43.5 inches) and third-best broad jump (11’1”).
The only team the Bucs probably have to worry about scooping up Sadiq before their pick is the Ravens one spot earlier at No. 14, but that’s not our expectation.
If Sadiq is gone, then the Bucs can choose between Mesidor and McCoy.
If he’s on the board, Tampa Bay doesn’t get a direct replacement for what Evans brought to the offense but the next-best thing possible — a truly elite physical talent to strain opposing defenses in a different way.
