After returning every major contributor from one of the NFL's most explosive offenses but struggling at times with consistency and depth on defense in 2024, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were expected to spend much of their 2025 draft focusing on the latter side of the ball. And that did happen, but not before one very major exception.

The Buccaneers began their draft by using the 19th overall pick on Emeka Egbuka, the do-everything wide receiver from Ohio State who profiles much like Chris Godwin and simply offered too much value at a premium position to pass up despite the team already having Godwin, Mike Evans and 2024 rookie breakout Jalen McMillan. The Buccaneers also used their final pick, number 235 overall in the seventh round, on Oregon's electric wide receiver/punt returner Tez Johnson, but in between they focused on enhancing their pass rush and finding ball-hawking defensive backs who could take advantage of that pressure.

"I think we're going to be a better team pressuring the quarterback and a better team probably taking the ball away, too," said Buccaneers Assistant General Manager Rob McCartney. "I think that's always the goal. We've got to get pressure with four and have corners that make it really hard no matter if they're off or in press, or man or zone, just to disrupt the catch point. I think we now have guys that can take the ball away and two guys that can really run, too. I think if we can get pressure with four that will allow us to be a lot more versatile and hopefully press a lot more in coverage."

That goal was chased with the Day Two additions of cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish and the Day Three selections of front-line pass rushers David Walker and Elijah Roberts. The Bucs were widely expected to hit one of those needs in Round One but surprised many by going with Egbuka, a clear sign that they were sticking to the best values on their draft board despite the apparent imbalance in their offensive and defensive needs.

"Every team says the same thing over and over [about best player available]," said Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Biehl. "I do think that people are crazy if they don't admit that need factors into it a little bit. If a quarterback was there and he was the best player on the board, I don't think we would have taken him yesterday. I do think that when you have the best player available and it kind of matches up with the need, that's kind of when you hit home runs. We've been very fortunate and successful around here recently doing stuff like that. To your point, yeah, Emeka was just a guy that we felt so strongly about that it really didn't matter what position – he just was a really good football player."

The Buccaneers have won four straight NFC South division titles and have their sets higher in 2025, chasing another championship after their victory in Super Bowl LV after the 2020 season. They've remained top contenders since that Super Bowl win in large part due to repeated successes in the draft; in just the last two years, the team has landed such instant starters as Graham Barton, Tykee Smith, Bucky Irving, Jalen McMillan, Calijah Kancey, Cody Mauch and Yaya Diaby. They hope their 2025 draft haul will have a similar impact and help get the team over the top, but even before that happens the process of putting together this most recent draft class was an enjoyable one.

"We're jacked upstairs," said McCartney at the end of Round Seven. "I think the theme of this is that we got to draft a lot of the guys that really brought joy to us in the process, were fun to watch. Throughout the whole entire process I think there's been a lot of energy. There was definitely a point of emphasis there."

The Bucs made a total of six picks in this year's seven rounds. Here is Tampa Bay's full 2025 draft class:

For the second year in a row, the Buccaneers did not pull off any trades during the draft itself, though they had previously given up their own sixth-rounder in the deal that sent Carlton Davis to Detroit in 2024. That wasn't necessarily a goal – General Manager Jason Licht had made at least one deal in each of his first 10 drafts – but it happened for the second year in a row.

"We're always fielding calls and you consider them all," said Biehl. "We're just trying to do the best we can to help the Bucs get better. We definitely fielded calls both ways, but at the end of the day, when you start getting close to your pick and the guys are there that you feel really strongly about, we just decided to stay put and make the selection."

And in the end the Bucs think they put together a class than can make a difference in 2025 and beyond.

"I think Emeka is going to have a big impact for us," said McCartney. "I think both corners are going to play a lot, and I think we're excited about trying to find Walker a way to get on the field. I think it's probably going to be third downs come early. We do feel good about that room with Yaya [Diaby], Haason [Reddick], Nelly (Anthony Nelson), Bras (Chris Braswell), so he's going to have to really prove himself but I think he has the ability to do it. And I think the D-Line, too, [Roberts] is going to be able to get into the rotation pretty quickly, and again also on the third-down stuff. I think Elijah's going to have a chance to help us, too."

After the selection of Egbuka, the Buccaneers doubled down at the cornerback position on Day Two, addressing what was probably the team's biggest depth chart concern heading into 2025. That put the pass rush on the back burner, but the Bucs had a plan and it worked out well.

"There were guys there that were in consideration in the first round when we took Emeka and there were some guys [Friday] that were in the conversation, too," said Biehl at the end of the second day of the draft. "At the end of the day, we just follow the board. There [are] still some really good pass rushers left and we're hoping we can pick some of those up tomorrow."

If the Bucs prove to be right about Walker and Roberts, than that approach could be a home run. At the end of Day Three, the team even had room to make another addition on offense, nabbing Johnson, who had 169 catches and 20 touchdowns in a high-powered Oregon offense over the past two seasons. Johnson was available late in the draft because of his slight frame (5-10, 154 pounds) and a 40-yard dash time that, while good at 4.51 seconds, didn't completely allay the worries about his size. The Buccaneers think they landed a big-time playmaker late in the proceedings.

"He doesn't play 4.5; he plays a lot faster," said McCartney. "There are a lot of instances when he's the fastest player on the field. There's multiple games when he was the best player on the field, too. He plays the game the same kind of way [as Irving], so that really excited us. At the Combine he was one of our formal interviews and he just lights up the room. I think he'll be a great impact in the locker room, and then on the field with the ball in his hands."

The Buccaneers have a lot of reasons to feel confident about their draft efforts over the weekend, given their recent history. It will likely take years to know if they have assembled another top-notch class, but a foundation has been set in Tampa and there is optimism about how much this year's class can add to what is already in place.

"We have a lot of experience upstairs in our personnel staff," said Biehl. "With experience, you take a lot of lumps and you learn from your mistakes and things like that. I just think that we've gotten to the point now where we all understand what we're looking for in a player. I think there's a lot of people out there that can evaluate talent, but it takes a little bit more to evaluate the person and the character. I think we've gotten to a good point as a staff where we can kind of determine what kind of guys we want in this building. Our scouts have done an unbelievable job and we've coached them up and they've [gone] out and ran with it. I think you can see the fruits of those labors on the field and in our locker room."