NOTE: This article was originally published in April of 2023 and has been updated to include the results of subsequent drafts.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft with six total picks, but none specifically in the sixth round. That pick went to the Detroit Lions a little over a year ago as part of the trade of cornerback Carlton Davis, a deal that also netted the Buccaneers the third-round pick that ended up being rising young wide receiver Jalen McMillan. That could change, however, as draft-weekend trades potentially shuffle the team's deck of selections.
Two years ago, the Bucs picked three times in the sixth round – the first time that had happened in franchise history – and got good returns from their selections. Wide receiver Trey Palmer was the team's primary third receiver as a rookie and continued to contribute in that regard in 2024 while also taking care of punt return duties; cornerback Josh Hayes has been a top special teams contributor the past two years and provided needed depth in the secondary in 2024 after a rash of injuries; outside linebacker Jose Ramirez appeared in four games in 2025 after spending his rookie season on the practice squad. As we'll see below, roughly two-thirds of the sixth-round picks the team has made over the past 48 years have seen some regular-season action for the team, including a handful of eventual starters.
Here are the picks the Bucs currently own in the 2025 NFL Draft:
- Round One, 19th Overall
- Round Two, 53rd Overall
- Round Three, 84th Overall
- Round Four, 121st Overall
- Round Five, 157th Overall
- Round Seven, 235th Overall
When the Buccaneers first joined the league, the draft was 17 rounds long, but it was cut to 12 the next year. It was then shortened to eight rounds in 1993 and then to its current seven-round format in 1994. Below, you will find the full list of every player the Buccaneers have taken in the sixth round in their drafts from 1976 through 2023, followed by some notes about that collection of players.
2024 | Pick No. 220 | Elijah Klein | G | UTEP
2023 | Pick No. 196 | Jose Ramirez | OLB | Eastern Michigan
2023 | Pick No. 191 | Trey Palmer | WR | Nebraska
2023 | Pick No. 181 | Josh Hayes | CB | Kansas State
2022 | Pick No. 218 | Ko Kieft | TE | Minnesota
2020 | Pick No. 194 | Khalil Davis | DT | Nebraska
2019 | Pick No. 208 | Scotty Miller | WR | Bowling Green
2018 | Pick No. 202 | Jack Cichy | LB | Wisconsin
2016 | Pick No. 197 | Danny Vitale | TE | Northwestern
2016 | Pick No. 183 | Devante Bond | LB | Oklahoma
2015 | Pick No. 184 | Kaelin Clay | WR | Utah
2014 | Pick No. 185 | Robert Herron | WR | Wyoming
2013 | Pick No. 189 | Mike James | RB | Miami (FL)
2012 | Pick No. 174 | Keith Tandy | S | West Virginia
2011 | Pick No. 187 | Allen Bradford | RB | USC
2010 | Pick No. 172 | Brent Bowden | P | Virginia Tech
2008 | Pick No. 175 | Geno Hayes | LB | Florida State
2007 | Pick No. 182 | Adam Hayward | LB | Portland State
2006 | Pick No. 202 | T.J. Williams | TE | North Carolina State
2006 | Pick No. 194 | Bruce Gradkowski | QB | Toledo
2005 | Pick No. 178 | Anthony Bryant | DT | Alabama
2004 | Pick No. 181 | Nate Lawrie | TE | Yale
2003 | Pick No. 205 | Torrie Cox | CB | Pittsburgh
2002 | Pick No. 193 | John Stamper | DE | South Carolina
2001 | Pick No. 183 | Ellis Wyms | DE | Mississippi State
2001 | Pick No. 174 | Jameel Cook | FB | Illinois
2000 | Pick No. 193 | David Gibson | S | USC
1999 | Pick No. 195 | Lamarr Glenn | RB | Florida State
1998 | Pick No. 184 | Shevin Smith | S | Florida State
1998 | Pick No. 175 | James Cannida | DT | Nevada
1997 | Pick No. 197 | Nigea Carter | WR | Michigan State
1997 | Pick No. 169 | Al Harris | CB | Texas A&M-Kingsville
1996 | Pick No. 180 | Nilo Silvan | WR | Tennessee
1995 | Pick No. 179 | Wardell Rouse | LB | Clemson
1994 | Pick No. 165 | Bernard Carter | LB | East Carolina
1993 | Pick No. 145 | Chidi Ahanotu | DE | California
1992 | Pick No. 148 | James Malone | LB | UCLA
1991 | Pick No. 147 | Rhett Hall | DT | California
1990 | Pick No. 141 | Derrick Douglas | RB | Louisiana Tech
1989 | Pick No. 154 | Derrick Little | LB | South Carolina
1989 | Pick No. 146 | Chris Mohr | P | Alabama
1988 | Pick No. 163 | Shawn Lee | DT | North Alabama
1987 | Pick No. 143 | Steve Bartalo | RB | Colorado State
1986 | Pick No. 165 | Kevin Walker | S | East Carolina
1984 | Pick No. 142 | Chris Washington | LB | Iowa State
1983 | Pick No. 158 | Ken Kaplan | T | New Hampshire
1983 | Pick No. 148 | Gene Branton | WR | Texas Southern
1982 | Pick No. 158 | Andre Tyler | WR | Stanford
1978 | Pick No. 162 | Elijah Marshall | WR | North Carolina State
1976 | Pick No. 158 | Curtis Jordan | CB | Texas Tech
Notes:
- Of the 50 players the Buccaneers have selected in the sixth round, 37 have gone on to play at least one game for the team and 20 started at least one contest (Elijah Klein could improve those numbers if he sees some starting action in 2025). Ten of those 37 saw action in more than 50 games as a Buccaneer and two – LB Adam Hayward (2007) and DE Chidi Ahanotu (1993) – surpassed 100 games played for Tampa Bay.
- Ahanotu, a high sixth-round pick in 1993, was originally listed as a defensive tackle during the draft process but spent most of his long Buccaneer career playing left defensive end. Among the 49 players the Buccaneers have drafted in the sixth-round, he is the leader in both games played (121) and starts (109). Ahanotu is tied with Ring of Honor members Lee Roy Selmon and Jimmie Giles at 21st on the franchise's all-time games played list. He ranks eighth in team history with 34.5 career sacks. Ahanotu had the franchise tag applied to him in 1999.
- After Ahanotu, the sixth-round pick with the most starts for Tampa Bay is LB Chris Washington, a 1984 selection who went on to open 52 of the 76 games in which he played for the Buccaneers. Another linebacker, 2008 selection Geno Hayes, is next with 42 starts among his 56 games played.
- Two of the Bucs' sixth-round picks, DE Ellis Wyms and FB Jameel Cook (both selected in the 2001 draft), played for the team in Super Bowl XXXVII at the end of the 2002 season. Wyms notched one of the Bucs' five sacks of QB Rich Gannon. S David Gibson was on the roster to begin the 2002 campaign but was later traded to the Indianapolis Colts during the season.
- WR Scotty Miller (2019) was the only player drafted by the Bucs in the sixth round to play in Super Bowl LV after the 2020 season. DT Khalil Davis (2020) was on the roster but inactive for the game. LB Jack Cichy (2018) was on injured reserve at the time. Miller turned in one of the biggest plays of the Bucs' four-game postseason run to the title in 2020, catching a 39-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady just before time expired in the first half of the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay. Miller, who signed with the Falcons as an unrestricted free agent in 2023, played in 50 games with eight starts for Tampa Bay, recording 74 catches for 924 yards and four touchdowns.
- Chris Mohr, one of only two punters the Buccaneers have drafted in the sixth round, played just a single season in Tampa after being drafted in the sixth round in 1989, but went on to a 15-year NFL career that saw him play in 239 regular-season games plus three Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills.
- CB Al Harris, a sixth-round pick in 1997, landed on injured reserve as a rookie and then failed to make the active roster in 1998. He too went on to a very long NFL career, playing 14 seasons, primarily for the Eagles and Packers, making two Pro Bowls and winning a Super Bowl with Green Bay. In a 2003 Wild Card game, he returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown in overtime, creating the first playoff game ever won by an overtime defensive score.
- S Keith Tandy, a sixth-round choice out of West Virginia in 2012, is currently a defensive/special teams assistant on the Buccaneers' coaching staff. He also played six of his seven NFL seasons for Tampa Bay, appearing in 84 games with 15 starts. In 2016, he recorded four interceptions despite starting only five games.
- Toledo's Bruce Gradkowski is the only quarterback the Buccaneers have ever drafted in the sixth round. He started 11 games as a rookie in 2006, finishing with a 3-8 record. He went on to play eight seasons in the NFL, also getting starts in Cleveland and Oakland.
- The most common positions the Buccaneers have targeted in the sixth round are linebacker and wide receiver, with a total of nine selections each. The Bucs have never used a sixth-round pick on a kicker.
- The college that has produced the most sixth-round picks in Buccaneer history is Florida State, with three (FB Lamarr Glenn, LB Geno Hayes and S Shevin Smith). Tampa Bay has made two sixth-round picks each from Alabama, California, East Carolina, Nebraska, North Carolina State, South Carolina and USC.
