After having picks No. 155 and No. 160 in quick succession in the fifth round of the 2026 Draft, the Bucs just couldn’t wait all the way until their pick in the middle of the sixth round (No. 195) to make another selection. So, general manager Jason Licht called up his friend and former right-hand man John Spytek, the general manager for the Las Vegas Raiders, to swing a trade.

Tampa Bay sent its sixth-round pick (No. 195) and seventh-round pick (No. 229) to Las Vegas in order to move up 10 spots. And with the No. 185 selection, the Bucs went with LSU tight end Bauer Sharp.

Sharp, a 6-foot-5, 249-pound tight end who turns 23 years old next week, grew up in Southern Alabama and was originally a zero-star recruit out of high school as a quarterback. He had just one FCS offer, and it was from Southeastern Louisiana. He began his collegiate career there, redshirting in 2021 before transitioning from quarterback to tight end in 2022. That year, he caught 11 passes for 78 yards (7.1 avg.) and a touchdown over 13 games (two starts).

Then, in 2023, he played 11 games and started eight, bringing in 29 passes for 288 (9.9 avg.) and three touchdowns while also serving as a wildcat quarterback for the Lions. From there, Sharp transferred to Oklahoma and led the team in receiving with 42 catches for 324 yards (7.7 avg.) and two touchdowns. Then, he transferred again and played his final season of college football at LSU.

In 13 games (all starts) for LSU in 2025, Sharp hauled in 24 passes for 252 yards (10.5 avg.) and two touchdowns. He was invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl to begin the pre-draft process. In Frisco, he was clocked as the fastest player on Day 1 at 21.19 MPH.

LSU TE Bauer Sharp – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Stephen Lew

While he didn’t have any carries in his one season in Baton Rouge and had two carries for -8 yards in his lone year in Norman, he did run 10 times for 83 yards (8.3 avg.) at Southeastern Louisiana in 2022 and carried the ball 25 times for 133 yards (5.3 avg.) and five touchdowns in 2023.

Sharp primarily lined up inline and in the slot. One NFL scout was quoted by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler saying that with the big tight end, “There is some insanity to the way he plays.” You can see that in the violence he blocks with, and there’s also quickness and agility to his game. He moves cleanly on underneath routes to give his quarterback a solid target to work with, which isn’t hard to imagine given his massive size.

Now, this isn’t your TE1, and he might not even be your TE2. But with alignment versatility and special teams experience, he could carve out a role on the roster. The Bucs obviously like his upside, having brought him in for an official 30 visit earlier this month before trading up and taking him in the sixth round, ahead of his seventh-round projection.

Sharp is the eighth LSU product drafted by the Bucs in their history and the first since outside linebacker Andre Anthony in the 2020 Draft. The young tight end will join running back Josh Williams, a 2025 undrafted free agent, as the only former Tigers on the Tampa Bay roster.

Bauer Sharp Will Now Look To Shake Up The Bucs’ TE Room

Coming into the 2026 offseason, it was thought that tight end would probably be the Bucs’ biggest need on the offensive side of the ball. Cade Otton was a pending free agent, and the only other options in the room for Tampa Bay were Payne Durham, Devin Culp and Ko Kieft.

The team wound up re-signing Otton, though, and didn’t address the position otherwise outside of also re-signing Kieft, a blocking tight end and special teams contributor. That left many thinking the Bucs could opt to add a tight end in the 2026 Draft, perhaps as early as Day 1 or Day 2. But they went heavy on defense over the first two days and began Day 3 by upgrading the trenches.

That left the sixth or seventh round for the tight end spot, and the pick was ultimately Bauer Sharp.

LSU TE Bauer Sharp – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Scott Clause

So, as it stands, Otton is firmly entrenched as the Bucs’ top tight end. Durham would seemingly have a decently firm grip on a roster spot, too, but after that? There’s no way to say Culp is a lock to make the roster given the fact that, despite showing flashes, he has struggled to catch on over his first two years. Kieft may or may not make the roster himself, though he feels like he’s carved out a role for himself.

But with Sharp in the mix, there’s now another young tight end with some upside as a quick, playmaking target and as a blocker. He has special teams value, too. So if he catches on quickly in Tampa Bay, perhaps he might serve as a blend of what Culp and Kieft bring to the offense. If that’s the case, one or both of those players could be expendable.