The 2024 NFL Draft is just around the corner, ushering in the frenzy of mock drafts across multiple platforms. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched the NFC South for the third-consecutive year and lost to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round at Ford Field. As the Bucs' 2023 slate concluded, pundits begun speculating who the club could take in the first round with pick 26. Here are a list of predictions from a variety of outlets:
NFL.com
- Pick: WR Keon Coleman, Florida State
- Comments: Depending on what happens with pending free agent Mike Evans, the Bucs might need a wide receiver who can complement Chris Godwin. Coleman can't fly, but he has acrobatic receiving skills, can play inside and out and would be a big red-zone target for Baker Mayfield, assuming he's back.
CBS Sports
- Pick: WR Keon Coleman, Florida State
- Comments: Mike Evans will be a free agent next month, and there has been no clear indication that he will return. Tampa Bay has one of the ten highest amounts of salary cap space, but it has several other free agents to address as well.
The Draft Network
- Pick: WR Xavier Legette, South Carolina
- Comments: The Buccaneers were one of the surprise teams of the 2023 NFL season. Hopefully, Baker Mayfield will be back next year and they can look to keep building. They address the WR position here and draft Xavier Legette. Legette is a versatile receiver who, at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, is a physical run-after-the-catch threat.
PFF
- Pick: Edge Laiatu Latu, UCLA
- Comments: The Buccaneers' edge defender unit ranks 20th in sacks, 28th in pressures and 28th in pass-rush win percentage this season. Latu would quickly help change those figures.
Sports Illustrated
- Pick: Edge Chop Robinson, Penn State
- Comments: The Bucs are likely to move on from veteran Shaq Barrett for salary cap reasons, and they're unlikely to pick up the fifth-year option on 2021 first-rounder Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. That means they'll need another explosive pass rusher to pair with rookie sensation YaYa Diaby, and Robinson might have the best first step in this year's class.
