The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off their 2025 draft efforts on Thursday night by selecting Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, a player they believe can help them immediately and also become a long-term fixture in their offense, with the 19th pick of the first round. That marked just the fourth time in 50 seasons that the Buccaneers have used a first-round pick on a receiver, and the first since General Manager Jason Licht began his Tampa Bay tenure by snarking future Hall of Famer Mike Evans with the seventh-overall pick in 2014.
It wasn't exactly a shocker of a pick, as both Licht and Head Coach Todd Bowles had stated rather directly in the weeks leading up to the draft that they wouldn't shy away from adding to one of the NFL's best passing attacks in the draft's early going. Still, the majority of analysts expected the Bucs to address a defense that struggled at times in 2025.
Well, there's still plenty of time for that, beginning on Friday night. On Thursday, Licht agreed with the assessment that he could feel comfortable taking a receiver in the first round with plenty of intriguing defensive talent still available on the second night of the draft.
"Yeah," said Licht. "Obviously, we'll see how that turns out. I just felt like, with him, it was too good to pass up. It was kind of the perfect pick where, like I said before, it helps us now and it really helps us in the future."
The Buccaneers' next action in this draft, barring any trades, comes at the 21st pick in the second round, number 53 overall. As we wait for the draft to resume at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, we can throw a few darts at prospects still on the board who might be available at 53 and of interest to the Buccaneers. Keep in mind also that a trade up is always possible, so if a couple of these players seem like they might be drafted before the Bucs' pick, there's always a chance that Licht can maneuver his team into a spot to make it happen.
For the purposes of this article, we're going to focus on the idea of the Buccaneers switching to defense in Round Two after the opening pick of Egbuka. That's no guarantee of course; maybe Licht will grab a pass-catching move tight end like Oregon's Terrance Ferguson or Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr. and just try to score 35 points a game. Still, there are plenty of places on defense where the Bucs could use a shot of depth, so we'll stick to that side of the ball for now.
Please keep in mind that these are my own musings and are not meant to reflect the opinions of General Manager Jason Licht or any of the team's draft-weekend decision-makers.
- LB Carson Schwesinger, UCLA
The Buccaneers could use a long-term addition at the off-ball linebacker position with the great Lavonte David entering his 14th season and currently playing on a string of one-year contracts. The other starting spot figures to be some combination of third-year player SirVocea Dennis and offseason addition Anthony Walker, but a second-round pick would surely get a serious chance to compete for playing time right away.
Schwesinger (6-2, 242) really only has one season of tape for Buccaneers scouts to scour, but it's very good tape. The former walk-on was a first-team All-American for the Bruins in 2024, combining 136 tackles with 4.0 sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble and four passes defensed. Schwesinger finds the ball and gets to it quickly and he's a very sure tackler when he arrives. He has great instincts, a very competitive demeanor and the tools to be outstanding in coverage, which is something the Buccaneers need at the position.
- DL Darius Alexander, Toledo
Licht is never shy about adding talent to the defensive front. He used the Buccaneers' first pick in the draft on interior linemen in 2018 (Vita Vea), 2022 (Logan Hall) and 2023 (Calijah Kancey). Will Gholston remains an unsigned free agent and Hall is headed into the last year of his contract, so it would make sense to bolster that rotation here on Day Two.
Like Schwesinger, Alexander wasn't heavily recruited as a prep but he made the most of his opportunity at Toledo and had 7.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss over the past two seasons. He moves very fluidly for a 305-pound defender and showed he could handle tougher competition during a dominant week at the Senior Bowl. He has an impressive blend of power, movement skills and length, suggesting he has even more room to grow in the NFL.
- CB Jacob Parrish, Kansas State
After the Buccaneers snagged Egbuka with the 19th pick, two cornerbacks came off the board in the back half of the first round, first Texas's Jahdae Barron to Denver with the very next pick and then Kentucky's Maxwell Hairston to Buffalo at number 30. Given the depth of talent still available at the position heading into Friday night, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a run on cornerbacks develop early. Among those who could be part of that run are Michigan's Will Johnson, Ole Miss's Trey Amos, Florida State's Azareye'h Thomas, East Carolina's Shavon Revel, Cal's Nohl Williams and Kansas State's Parrish. That seems like enough depth for the Bucs to get in on the action, perhaps even with a small trade up.
For that 53rd pick, let's focus on Parrish, who has a trait the Bucs covet highly at the position: speed. The Bucs may have been interested in Hairston after he outran all players at this year's combine with a 4.28-second 40-yard dash; if so, they'd probably also like Parrish, who logged a 4.35-second time. That's Jamel Dean territory. Parrish was a state-champion sprinter in Kansas but he's not just a straight-line runner. He has very quick feet and the type of change-of-direction skills that are essential to the position. He was also productive for the Wildcats, snaring five interceptions with 21 passes defensed over the past two seasons combined.
- S Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
Jordan Whitehead won't be back in 2025, so the Buccaneers need a starter to pair with 2023 All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr. They could definitely turn to second-year man Tykee Smith or third-year player Christian Izien, and the latter actually acquitted himself nicely at that spot last year during a rash of injuries in the secondary. However, both Smith and Izien are versatile defenders who could be deployed in other ways, such as in the slot, if the team added a full-time safety like Watts.
A two-time All-American, Watts snared an incredible 13 interceptions over the past two seasons, demonstrating that he has a nose for the football. Todd Bowles is very eager to add playmakers to the secondary after the Buccaneers only produced seven interceptions all of last season. Watts excels in zone coverage, which the Bucs employed at a very high rate last season. He's also a sure and willing tackler who could play in and around the box while Winfield patrols centerfield.
- EDGE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
During his press conference on Thursday night, Licht said he liked the team's depth at edge rusher, stating that it gives him "comfort." That's after the big offseason acquisition of Haason Reddick, who logged 50.5 sacks over the four-season span from 2020-23. Licht is also anticipating a big step forward from 2024 second-round pick Chris Braswell and continued development from young star Yaya Diaby. Clearly, the Bucs didn't prioritize adding to that rotation on the first night of the draft.
However, there's always room to add more talent to that rotation, and the Bucs might have interested in Scourton, a productive player who had 15 sacks over the past two seasons for the Aggies. He has the sort of nonstop mentality the Buccaneers like in their pass-rushers and he's extremely aggressive, often trying to overpower blockers. There's room for growth in his arsenal of pass-rush moves but he moves smoothly and gives maximum effort against the run.
