The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have sorely missed the impact of Ryan Jensen at the heart of their offensive line, as a devastating knee injury cut his career short after helping lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl win back in 2020.
Could Tampa Bay spend their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft hoping to find a worthy replacement for what Jensen brought to the team?
That’s the idea behind the latest 2024 NFL mock draft from NFL Network’s Charles Davis, which has the Bucs using the No. 26 pick in he first round on Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson.
“The Rimington Trophy winner (nation’s top center) would step right in for the retired Ryan Jensen as the starting pivot,” Davis said of the pick, pointing out one of Powers-Johnson’s impressive accolades from a stellar 2023 campaign for the Ducks.
Powers-Johnson is the top center prospect in this year’s draft, and absolutely worthy of a first-round selection. He’s a powerful, athletic blocker with the smarts and nastiness to be the perfect successor for Jensen, and an instant upgrade over current starter Robert Hainsey.
Tampa Bay needs upgrades at both center and left guard this offseason, and depending on how the board falls, they should be able to address one of them with that first-round pick. If Powers-Johnson isn’t available, other options like Duke’s Graham Barton, Washington’s Troy Fautanu, and West Virginia’s Zach Frazier could all be potential fallback options if the Bucs still want to address their needs along the interior of the offensive line.
To check out the full mock draft from Davis at NFL.com, click here.