Bucs 2023 Mock Draft Roundup: Narrowing Things Down

The 2023 NFL Draft is less than three weeks away, and the Bucs’ biggest needs are becoming more apparent. After signing former Seahawks safety Ryan Neal to pair with Antoine Winfield Jr. in the back end of the defense, Tampa Bay may have narrowed down the direction it might go with the No. 19 pick.

Then again, maybe not.

Signing Neal doesn’t preclude the Bucs from adding another safety in the early rounds of the draft — perhaps even the first round. Neal is only in on a one-year deal, plus he joins only Winfield and Nolan Turner in the team’s safety group. That’s a position that could still be on the table, but the biggest focus right now appears to be offensive tackle. The Bucs need to replace the recently released Donovan Smith somehow, whether that’s drafting a left tackle or moving Tristan Wirfs to that side and drafting a right tackle.

The fact remains, of course, that the Bucs have a lot of needs. They could even trade down, gather more picks and address those needs with more selections. That may help them get much younger and faster, which is something that should be appealing given the state of the roster.

The point is, general manager Jason Licht and his staff have plenty of routes to potentially take on the last weekend in April. That’s certainly made clear in the latest round of mock drafts. Below are the Bucs’ picks in some of the most recent mocks from around the NFL world.

Mike Renner — Pro Football Focus

Renner released a three-round mock draft on Tuesday, and he has the Bucs going defense in the first two rounds before adding a playmaker in the third round.

Round 1, Pick 19: Iowa State EDGE, Will McDonald IV

“The Bucs will likely have a “business as usual” draft after a couple of years of a Super Bowl window altering things. They need to invest in big swings at valuable positions to replenish this roster with youth, and McDonald is just that.”

Round 2, Pick 50: Miami CB, Tyrique Stevenson

“The Bucs lose one press cornerback in Sean Murphy-Bunting and then add another in Stevenson. He brings slot versatility that he flashed in his time at Georgia.”

Round 3, Pick 82: Oklahoma WR, Marvin Mims

Jeff Risdon — The Draft Wire

In another three-round mock, Risdon has Tampa Bay addressing its biggest need at No. 19 and then making a couple picks that are more curious in rounds two and three.

Round 1, Pick 19: Ohio State OT, Paris Johnson Jr.

Round 2, Pick 50: Ole Miss WR, Jonathan Mingo

Round 3, Pick 82: Wisconsin LB, Nick Herbig 

Chad Reuter — NFL.com

Georgia OT Broderick Jones Photo By: USA Today

Reuter dropped a four-round mock on NFL.com Friday morning, and it includes an interesting mixture of picks for the Bucs. Remember, Tampa Bay currently doesn’t own a fourth-round selection.

Round 1, Pick 19: Georgia OT, Broderick Jones

“Jones gets after defenders as a pass protector and run blocker and fills a major roster hole for the Buccaneers at left tackle.”

Round 2, Pick 50: Illinois S, Sydney Brown

Round 3, Pick 82: LSU EDGE, BJ Ojulari

Adam Rank — NFL.com

Rank released a one-round mock on Thursday afternoon, but with a caveat. He went with selections that the teams should make, not necessarily who he thinks they’ll select.

Round 1, Pick 19: Georgia OT, Broderick Jones 

“Sure, you could take a QB. But from the outside looking in, I think you’re a year away from going down that road. And I just can’t recommend Anthony Richardson or Will Levis here, given the significant uncertainty that surrounds both raw — albeit intriguing — prospects. Donovan Smith’s release left a hole in the tackle department. And moving forward in a rebuild with a bookend duo of Jones and Tristan Wirfs sounds pretty enticing to me.”

Lance Zierlein — NFL.com

Georgia OLB Nolan Smith Photo By: USA Today

Zierlein’s latest mock came out on Tuesday, and he also has the Bucs selecting a former Georgia Bulldog in the first round — just not Broderick Jones.

Round 1, Pick 19: Georgia EDGE, Nolan Smith

“Veteran linebacker Lavonte David could be gone after this year, and the pass rush needs improvement. Why not add a dynamic athlete with elite football character who can play off the ball or rush off the edge?”

Tom Fornelli — CBS Sports

Fornelli’s selection for the Bucs in his latest mock is more “out there” than some others, as Tampa Bay’s other needs outweigh its need for another addition to the competition for the interior offensive line spots.

Round 1, Pick 19: Florida IOL, O’Cyrus Torrence

“Interior offensive linemen may not provide the same kind of draft value in today’s game as tackles do, but Torrence is the best guard in this draft (assuming Skoronski doesn’t kick inside one day). He’d help Tampa’s line tremendously.”

Josh Edwards — CBS Sports

Edwards’ new mock from Friday also has Tampa Bay going with an offensive tackle in the first round, though it’s a different one than listed above.

Round 1, Pick 19: Northwestern OT, Peter Skoronski

“Tampa Bay needs another building block or two on its offensive line and Peter Skoronski has the versatility to play every position. He could even play left tackle for the Buccaneers, just as he did for the Wildcats.”

Chris Trapasso — CBS Sports

Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker – Photo by: USA Today

Trapasso’s mock from Friday morning may be the wild card of the week as far as the Bucs are concerned, as he has the team drafting a quarterback with its first selection.

Round 1, Pick 19: Tennessee QB, Hendon Hooker

“The Buccaneers are the club that makes Hooker a first-round pick. Tampa Bay has long-term needs at the quarterback spot.”

Walter Football

This week’s five-round mock from Walter Football includes another Tennessee Volunteer other than Hooker being the Bucs’ pick at No. 19, as well as a seemingly unnecessary shot at Brandon Walton. There’s a mixture of good and bad throughout the rest of the mock, too.

Round 1, Pick 19: Tennessee OT, Darnell Wright

“The Buccaneers have a huge hole at left tackle after cutting Donovan Smith. Their current left tackle is someone named Brandon Walton, so something must be done about this. Darnell Wright didn’t allow a single sack to Hendon Hooker last year.”

Round 2, Pick 50: Stanford QB, Tanner McKee

“The Buccaneers need a replacement for Tom Brady, as Kyle Trask has not shown any signs of being a franchise quarterback. Tanner McKee has a strong arm. He excited some evaluators with his play this year.”

Round 3, Pick 82: Northwestern DL, Adetomiwa Adebawore

“The Buccaneers tried Akiem Hicks as a replacement for Ndamukong Suh, but it didn’t work. Here’s a long-term possibility. Adetomiwa Adebawore has some solid ability, but is a tweener. He posted Mario Williams- and J.J. Watt-type numbers at the combine.”

Round 5, Pick 153: USC IOL, Andrew Vorhees 

“Here’s another offensive lineman for the Buccaneers, whose blocking was awful last year. Andrew Vorhees is a tough and smart lineman who has shown nice versatility.”

Round 5, Pick 175: Coastal Carolina CB, Lance Boykin

“The Buccaneers don’t have much depth at cornerback, so they’ll have to draft at least one at some point.Lance Boykin is a huge cornerback. He may have to move to safety.”

Nick Baumgardner — The Athletic

Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer Photo By: USA Today

In a three-round mock from Friday (subscription required), Baumgardner has the Bucs going offense-heavy with their first three picks.

Round 1, Pick 19: Notre Dame TE, Michael Mayer

Round 2, Pick 50: North Dakota State OL, Cody Mauch

Round 3, Pick 82: Auburn RB, Tank Bigsby

“I thought about packaging a deal for Tampa Bay to move up for Will Levis, and that might be the move if the Kentucky QB starts to slide. If not, well, Mayer catches everything and should be able to adjust to Baker Mayfield or whichever signal caller the Buccaneers go with in 2023.”

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