No, the Bucs won’t blatantly tank over the remaining 13 games of the 2026 NFL season. But at 0-4 and staring 0-5 in the face with a road primetime game against the Cowboys this Thursday night, it certainly feels like it’s tank time in Tampa Bay.

Todd Bowles’ time as the head coach of the Buccaneers is coming to an end. He’s more than likely going to have a chance to pull his team out of this, given that there aren’t any good in-house answers.

Then there’s the fact that the Glazers have never fired a Tampa Bay head coach during the season. It’s unlikely that they break precedent now, even if they saw Raymond James Stadium turn into a sea of purple in Week 3, heard loud “Go, Pack, Go!” chants throughout the Bucs’ home stadium in Week 4 and will soon see thousands upon thousands of Terrible Towels in Week 6 when the Steelers come to town.

Bucs GM Jason Licht, co-owners Darcie Glazer Kassewitz and Joel Glazer, head coach Todd Bowles and senior football consultant Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But while Bowles certainly won’t be interested in any sort of tank given he won’t even be around to reap the eventual benefits, it’s been clear for a couple of weeks now that the Bucs are a sinking ship. There was a time when it looked like this team might simply have too much talent to truly be a bottom-10 team in the league, much less a bottom-five team. There was a time even a week ago when there was half-hearted talk about still being in the race for the NFC South title given the state of the league’s worst division.

That time has passed, though, and even if Tampa Bay isn’t intentionally gearing toward a tank, it’s become obvious: This isn’t a good team. It’s talented in some areas, sure. But execution is bad. The coaching has often been even worse. And while the Bucs are in one-possession games every week, they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games dating back to last year. Nine of those losses have come by one possession. This group is going nowhere, and it feels like it can’t be long before some of these guys check out.

Many fans already have, which is why it doesn’t even feel all that premature to entertain draft talk despite it being October (welcome back to the decade of darkness in that sense).

Again, it feels like tank time in Tampa Bay. But for who?

Bucs Took Themselves Out Of 2027 QB Sweepstakes A Month Ago

The Bucs signed quarterback Baker Mayfield to a three-year, $165 million extension only a month ago, and even before he dislocated his thumb in the team’s Week 3 loss to the Vikings, the topic of buyer’s remorse came up. The Tampa Bay offense has looked broken under coordinator Zac Robinson, and Mayfield has both been affected by that and played into it with his own mistakes.

Over the first three games, Mayfield – the team’s new $55 million man – completed 63.5% of his passes for 615 yards (an average of just 6.4 yards per attempt) and two touchdowns to two interceptions. He also lost three fumbles – all of which came in Week 1 – and rushed for a touchdown. So, prior to his injury, he had three total touchdowns and five turnovers.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But the Bucs broke the bank and paid Mayfield – even if they didn’t have to. Yes, their quarterback was pissed off with the way negotiations had gone prior to training camp, but after he got everything out and said what he had to say, he was going to play out the 2026 season. He warned Tampa Bay’s front office that the price would go up when he balled out and played well this season.

But there was no hold-out. The situation had been tabled… until the Bucs revisited it.

In doing so, the Bucs locked themselves in with Mayfield for the foreseeable future – likely until 2029. That means even if the team does tank and ends up picking in the top 5 or top 10 of the 2027 NFL Draft, it can’t viably entertain selecting one of the highly sought after quarterbacks in next year’s class. The Glazers, general manager Jason Licht and the rest of the Tampa Bay front office effectively took themselves out of the 2027 quarterback sweepstakes by inking Mayfield to that extension.

That means Texas’ Arch Manning, Miami’s Darian Mensah, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker, Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Oregon’s Dante Moore – whoever your favorite in the 2027 quarterback class might be – are going to be off the table for the Bucs.

Unless the team’s next head coach just isn’t sold on Mayfield and insists on drafting his own QB. But that seems like a pill the Glazers just won’t want to swallow.

Most tank efforts are for a franchise-altering quarterback, right? So, now what if you’re Tampa Bay?

There’s A Player Who Could Quickly Reenergize Bucs Fans In 2027…

So, with the quarterback class ultimately out of the question, who is a realistic target if the Bucs were to tank far enough to pick in the top 3-5 of the draft next April? It’s a guy who plenty of Buccaneer fans have already begun to daydream about. There are already edits out there of this guy (AI slop or not) in red, white and pewter.

It’s Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

Former Ohio State/current Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith and former Ohio State QB Will Howard Photo by: USA Today

Smith, a teammate of Bucs receiver Emeka Egbuka at Ohio State, has been a star for years. He was a 17-year-old phenom for the Buckeyes when they won the national championship two seasons ago, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards (17.3 avg.) and 15 touchdowns as a freshman. 

As a sophomore in 2025, Smith caught 87 passes for 1,243 yards (14.3 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. And through only five games as a junior this year, he’s up to 44 receptions for 823 yards (18.7 avg.) and nine touchdowns. Just this past Saturday, he caught 11 passes for 206 yards (18.7 avg.) and two touchdowns in a 31-14 win at No. 14 Iowa.

Smith is still only 20 years old. The 6-foot-4, 222-pound receiver is being talked about as the No. 1 overall pick in 2027. A wide receiver hasn’t been selected with the top pick since the Jets took Keyshawn Johnson No. 1 in 1996, but Smith very well could break that 30-year streak.

Of course, it depends on who ultimately lands that selection, as a quarterback-needy team is likely to take advantage of having their pick of the quarterback class. But if the Bucs want to be in the Jeremiah Smith sweepstakes, they’ll likely have to tank hard and land a top-two or top-three pick, if not the No. 1 overall selection. Right now, Tampa Bay has the No. 3 overall pick.

The Bucs are one of five winless teams right now, joined by the Texans, Titans, Chargers and Dolphins. The Texans and Chargers aren’t likely to be in the quarterback market, so while it’s early, those could be the main challengers in the Smith Sweepstakes.

But wow, can you imagine? Given the recent run with Todd Bowles, the Bucs would likely eye an offensive-minded head coach to take over in 2027. They have the guy who, for better or worse, they’ve paid to be their franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Is there a better scenario than handing your new offensive guru head coach, whoever that may be, and your franchise quarterback an elite weapon like Jeremiah Smith? Can you imagine adding Smith to a young receiver room that includes his former teammate in Egbuka as well as 2026 third-round pick Ted Hurst III?

It seems unlikely, yes. But dare to dream for now, right?

The 2026 Season Is Rough, But The Bucs May Benefit In The Long Run

No Bucs fan can possibly be enjoying themselves right now. There were plenty who thought this season was dead on arrival, while others may have believed a rebound and return to the playoffs is in order. But the team is 0-4, likely to be 0-5 in four days and could very well hit 0-6 with the Steelers in town the week after that.

So, this all sucks, doesn’t it? But it doesn’t have to last forever. The Buccaneers faithful may be in for it over the next three-plus months. But landing a premium pick in this 2027 NFL Draft? That could be the launching point for a quick turnaround under a new head coach in 2027.

Bucs Flags Photo by: USA Today

It’s not going to be a quarterback. Maybe it won’t even be Jeremiah Smith. But a high pick in this draft could land you a premier player, or it could give you all sorts of opportunities to capitalize on the quarterback class in another way.

There are always teams looking to land their franchise signal-caller. If Tampa Bay is up near the top of the 2027 NFL Draft, it would have quite the trade piece to dangle in front of one of those teams. And if that’s the case, maybe it’s not that you’re getting a franchise-altering player from the draft – you could get one who is already established as part of a haul for that prized pick.

The possibilities are plentiful, and dreaming about them is far more entertaining than watching the 2026 Bucs play football, unfortunately. So, as bad as it may feel…

Maybe it’s tank time in Tampa Bay.