The NFL will stage a virtual draft this year for the first time as the world works to combat the coronavirus pandemic. General managers, including Bucs GM Jason Licht, will be making the picks from their homes. Gone are the draft war rooms filled with coaches and scouts pouring over data together. It’ll certainly be an adjustment for teams in terms of how they convey the pick to the league, but a team’s needs heading into the draft shouldn’t be affected.
For the Bucs, who hold the 14th pick in round one, the top need is to find help up front for quarterback Tom Brady, who will be 43 when the season kicks off. A majority of post-free agency mock drafts have had the Bucs taking Georgia OT Andrew Thomas. But, in Patrik Walker’s one and only mock draft over at CBS Sports, he has Thomas going all the way at No. 4 to the New York Giants.
So, where does that leave the Bucs at 14? Well, in Walker’s mock draft, the Bucs actually swap picks with the Dallas Cowboys, going from 14 to 17. Walker has the Cowboys trading up to take cornerback CJ Henderson out of Florida. Meanwhile, the Bucs end up with OT Mekhi Becton out of Louisville.
Per Walker:
“Tom Brady is no spring chicken, so protecting him is job numero uno for Tampa. They’ll find Becton gets that job done fairly handily. And considering he would’ve been their pick at No. 14, they landed their guy and an extra pick from the Cowboys, because chess.”
Again, offensive linemen have been all over the place in mock drafts. Thomas has routinely fallen to the Bucs at 14, while Becton has found himself going in the top five in several mocks. Maybe the lack of Pro Day visits and in-person interviews has made it difficult to peg which player best fits each team. Regardless, it’ll be an interesting and important draft for the Buccaneers now that they have Brady under center.
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