It’s only been a week since Tom Brady signed his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but already the buzz is building around this team and their potential Super Bowl run.
With Brady now joining an offense that averaged 28.6 points per game last year, tied with the Saints for third-most in the NFL, the priority becomes protecting the six-time Super Bowl champion, who will turn 43 before the season starts. Former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston was sacked 47 times last season, while Brady was sacked only 27 times with the Patriots.
Now that Brady is a Buccaneer, most mock drafts predict the Bucs will select an offensive tackle with the 14th pick in round one to help shore up the porous O-line. Chad Reuter’s new four-round mock draft over at NFL.com seems to be one of the exceptions, however. Reuter has the Bucs taking Auburn senior defensive tackle Derrick Brown at No. 14.
Per Reuter:
“The Bucs can find a right tackle later in the draft — in fact, they might draft two outside linemen this year. Getting a stud like Brown with the 14th pick is too rich to pass up, even with Ndamukong Suh returning to the Bucs on a one-year deal.”
With Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett all returning next season, you’d think the Bucs would prioritize the O-line early on. In Round 2, Reuter has the Bucs passing on an OT again, instead opting to use the 45th pick on Georgia running back D’Andre Swift. Getting Swift in that spot would be a huge get for the Bucs and their backfield. Several mock drafts even had Swift going to the Bucs in round one.
Reuter has Tampa Bay finally picking up an offensive tackle in the third round in the form of Matt Peart from Connecticut. In round four, he predicts the Bucs take safety Geno Stone out of Iowa.
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