If there is any position the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are largely set, it’s at wide receiver. Nevertheless, the draft is all about adding the best possible talent, even if that means making a strong receiver group even better.
Between Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage, it will be tough for any other Bucs wide receiver to see many snaps in 2023. Last year, no other receiver outside these top three played more than 30% of Tampa’s offensive snaps.
The only problem is that the next three wide receivers with the most 2022 snaps are no longer on the roster. Julio Jones and Breshad Perriman are still unsigned, and Scotty Miller is an Atlanta Falcon.
Tampa’s wide receiver room is currently very top heavy, both itself and in relation to the rest of the roster. The receivers will count $38.5 million against the 2023 cap according to Spotrac, second-most among the Bucs positional groups and most per player.
The Bucs simply have too much invested in the wide receiver room already to spend a premium draft pick on another, especially not in one of the weaker wide receiver draft classes in recent memory.
With five draft picks between rounds five and six, the Bucs could certainly take a flyer on a developmental receiver like they did with Scotty Miller in the 2018 draft. The Bucs don’t need a starter or even an immediate contributor—just an insurance policy.
Here are the wide receiver prospects the Bucs could target in the 2023 draft: