The latest 2024 NFL mock draft from NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah is hot off the digital presses, and his pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a strange one.
At the No. 26 overall selection, Jeremiah has the Bucs taking Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson.
Here’s Jeremiah’s reasoning for the pick:
Robinson offers versatility, physicality and athleticism to the Bucs’ front. He would be a great complement to one of the best sleeper picks in last year’s draft, YaYa Diaby.
It’s obviously true that the Bucs need a blue-chip edge defender out of this draft class, considering they’ve released veteran Shaq Barrett and declined the fifth-year option on disappointing 2021 first-rounder Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. That said, Robinson is an odd choice to fill that role.
While he’s listed by many as an edge defender, Robinson’s size and skill set make him an odd fit for Todd Bowles’ defense. At 6-5 and 285 pounds, Robinson projects more as an interior player in Tampa Bay’s scheme, something the Bucs need far less than a true edge defender to line up opposite Diaby.
Robinson’s athleticism and versatility could still be useful to Bowles, obviously, but if the Bucs wanted an edge rusher in this mock, Penn State’s Chop Robinson was still available and would have made far more sense.
To check out Jeremiah’s full first-round mock draft at NFL.com, click here.
[lawrence-related id=85983]