It’s on to 2020 now that the Kansas City Chiefs have claimed their stake as the best team in the NFL. After a thrilling come-from-behind win in Super Bowl LIV over the San Francisco 49ers, the Chiefs are the early favorites to repeat next season.
That means between now and the start of the 2020 regular season, every NFL team will do all they can to assemble a team capable of dethroning the Chiefs. One way to go about doing that is through April’s NFL draft, and this year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — who will host Super Bowl LV next year at Raymond James Stadium — hold the 14th pick after a 7-9 finish to the 2019 season.
While most mock drafts seem all over the place right now in terms of who the Bucs will pick at 14, this latest three-round mock from draft analyst Chad Reuter actually has the Bucs making a surprise selection in round two, taking Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor at No. 45.
Why is this surprising?
Because the Bucs used a high second-round pick (No. 38 overall) on running back Ronald Jones back in the 2018 draft. Jones had a solid sophomore season in 2019, finishing the year with 724 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He also logged the first 100-yard rushing game of his career in the Week 17 finale against the Atlanta Falcons, finishing the game with 106 yards on just 11 carries.
While Taylor would certainly be a tempting player to take, the Bucs may want to give Jones another year before deciding what to do at running back. Plus, there’s a lot of value still to be found in the second round. Address other needs.
As for who Reuter thinks the Bucs will take in round one, he has offensive tackle Mekhi Becton from Louisville going at No. 14, and in round three he has Tampa Bay selecting Michigan edge Josh Uche with pick No. 76.
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