The 2020 NFL draft is just around the corner, and despite the fact that the event will be fully virtual this year in light of the coronavirus pandemic, we can be grateful that mock drafts are still being turned out.
While we’ve had several iterations from analysts and draft experts in the last few months, Adam Rank over at NFL.com released his first mock draft this week, and put a twist on it. Rank didn’t set out to predict which player teams will pick. Instead, he told teams who they should take, draft boards be damned. Rank pointed out at the beginning of his piece that had the Bucs listened to him in 2018, Chargers strong safety Derwin James would be in Tampa Bay instead of Vita Vea (not sure how Bucs fans feel about that).
Fortunately, in his 2020 mock, Rank says the Bucs should look to protect their newest asset, quarterback Tom Brady, by selecting offensive tackle Andrew Thomas out of Georgia, a player whose name keeps popping up more and more for the Bucs in recent mock drafts. In his reasoning, Rank not only gives love to Tampa Bay’s new unis, but also to their pirate ship of all things.
Per Rank:
“First off, love the new uniforms. Those look amazing. Second, you need a running back. But I don’t recommend that you take one here. Address that in the second round, when your options at No. 45 could include J.K. Dobbins, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and maybe even a surprise slider like Jonathan Taylor. Take Thomas to protect your most important asset for the team, Tom Brady. Well, second-most next to that huge pirate ship that Kevin Owens didn’t get to jump off for WrestleMania. And having that tackle will help you run the ball, too.”
The Bucs used the majority of their picks in last year’s NFL draft to fix their problems on defense, adding guys like Devin White, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean in the early rounds. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they focused on offense in the early stages of this year’s draft. Getting Brady protection up front and in the backfield would help make Tampa Bay’s passing attack even more explosive.
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