Just a week ago, mock drafts looked very different. The majority of pundits had the Buccaneers taking linebacker Devin White out of LSU. Following the NFL Scouting Combine and a 4.41 40-yard dash time, two of the top experts agree that the Bucs will now be taking defensive end Montez Sweat, instead.
"No prospect has helped himself more since the season ended than Sweat," said Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com about his reasoning behind the pick. "He followed up a great Senior Bowl showing with a huge combine."
View photos of Daniel Jeremiah's 2019 mock draft 2.0.
That huge combine was to the tune of a 36.0-inch vertical (he's already 6-foot-6), a 10'5" broad jump and a 4.29 20-yard shuffle time. He was a 'top performer' in every major category at the combine, which followed a stellar Senior Bowl performance back in January where he impressed against top-tier talent in practice.
"If you set a combine record for the fastest 40-yard dash for a defensive lineman (4.41 seconds at 260 pounds), you're going to make some money," ESPN's Todd McShay said in his latest mock. "Sweat has a ton of upside, and Tampa Bay badly needs difference-makers on defense. But there's also a very real possibility that the Bucs trade back with a team looking for a quarterback, and taking the best available offensive lineman -- perhaps Jawaan Taylor -- makes sense in that scenario."
If you want to read through their full predictions, Jeremiah's is available here and McShay's is available here (if you have ESPN+).
Those shouldn't be the only two drastic shakeups following the combine. Stay tuned for Mock Draft Roundup 6.0 this coming Monday on our site to see how the predictions have changed for the Buccaneers across multiple outlets. You can also see what's changed in the next Buccaneers.com Mock Draft, which will be coming out on Monday, too. For now, here’s 2.0 as a refresher.