Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Point-Counterpoint: Bucs' First-Round Position Target

The Buccaneers are set to pick 19th in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and Brianna Dix and Scott Smith are here to argue which position the team would best be served to target with that selection

Feb 17, 2025 at 10:14 AM

Scott Smith

Senior Writer/Editor

It's still early in mock draft season, so the predictions are all over the board, including those regarding who the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take with the 19th-overall pick in April. As we get past the NFL Scouting Combine and the college Pro Days, and as the more plugged-in analysts gather behind-the-scenes information, some predictions will start to coalesce.

Right now, however, these mock drafts still have the ability to surprise. Last Monday, well-respected draft analyst Chad Reuter of NFL.com made a prediction for the 19th pick that I definitely wasn't expecting: Missouri tackle Armand Membou. Wait, I thought, don't the Buccaneers have a pretty darn good tackle duo in Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, both of whom are still very much in their prime?

To Reuter's credit, his explanation of the pick made sense. First, Membou has a "guard build" and the Buccaneers could be needing a new left guard if pending free agent Ben Bredeson is not re-signed. Second, Goedeke is going into the last year of his rookie deal and Membou could be his replacement if he leaves in free agency.

So yeah, I get it. But also, nah. While it's true that Jason Licht clearly likes spending high draft picks on the men in the trenches, I just don't see a second straight first-round pick going to the O-Line. Four of the five starters are under contract for 2025 and I'm of the opinion that the Bucs and Goedeke will work out an extension. Maybe Bredeson comes back, maybe the Bucs find another solution at left guard in free agency or with somebody like Elijah Klein.

(By the way, Chad is out here posting a three-round mock draft in early February. Much respect. And I very much like his picks for the Bucs in the second and third rounds; check it out.)

So what position or positions do I think are more likely than offensive tackle for the Bucs to target in the first round this year. Or, more to the point, what position do I want them to target? Well, that happens to be this week's topic of debate.

As Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix and I continue our weekly offseason-beginning series of Point/Counterpoint debates, we are going to turn our attention to the draft, specifically: What position would each of us like to see the Bucs target in the opening round on Thursday, April 24?

Brianna and I have lined up six topics we will be debating over the course of a month and a half, one to begin each week. Here's the whole schedule:

Tuesday, January 21: What was your most pleasant surprise regarding the Buccaneers' 2024 season?

Monday, January 27: Who is your most intriguing under-the-radar player on the 2025 roster?

Monday, February 3: What is the most pressing roster need the Bucs' need to address in the offseason?

Monday, February 10: If the Buccaneers were to make a big free agency splurge, who would you want?

Monday, February 17: What position would you like to see Tampa Bay target in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft?

Monday, February 24: Give us one specific statistical prediction for the Bucs' 2025 season?

We're not going to be making specific player predictions. Frankly, I doubt either of us would have much luck guessing that here in the middle of February. Since we alternate the order of our picks from week to week because we aren't duplicating picks and therefore who goes first could matter – Brianna is back at the top of the list.

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ORLANDO, FL - February 02, 2025 - Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the Space Coast Vipers before the 2025 Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium. Photo By Tori Richman/Tampa Bay Buccaneers