With the first wave of free agency behind them, the Bucs’ needs have changed some since Pewter Report’s 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft 3.0. The team has been able to retain their highest priority internal free agents in cornerback Jamel Dean, linebacker Lavonte David, guard Nick Leverett, offensive guard Aaron Stinnie and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson. They also let go of longtime stalwarts, such as offensive tackle Donovan Smith and tight end Cam Brate along with lesser tenured Bucs running back Leonard Fournette and guard Shaq Mason.

In addition, the Bucs have added a couple of external players to supplement their roster in defensive tackle Greg Gaines, running back Chase Edmonds and a little-known quarterback (sarcasm) named Baker Mayfield. With these additions and subtractions let’s take a look at the Bucs updated personnel needs before deciding which players head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht might target in the 2023 NFL Draft next month.

Bucs’ Personnel Needs

Safety

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

While other position groups have been addressed the Bucs have been conspicuously quiet on the safety front. Antoine Winfield Jr. and Nolan Turner continue to be the only rostered options. While Winfield Jr. is written into the starting lineup in pen, Turner has been nothing more than a bubble/ practice squad player to this point in his career. Safety is one of Bowles’ favorite positions and there are a number of talented options available after Day 1 of the draft.

Defensive Tackle

At this point the Bucs have definitively lost last year’s rotational energy man Rakeem Nunez-Roches to the Giants. Other free agents from last year’s team, such as Will Gholston, Akiem Hicks and Deadrin Senat, all remain free agents. The interior defensive line market has exploded this free agency period and the Bucs may have been priced out of the market on potential targets. Tampa Bay was able to add Greg Gaines, who is Vita Vea’s best friend from their college days at Washington.

Offensive Tackle

With the release of long-time left tackle Donovan Smith, the Bucs now have a glaring hole at tackle. They may trust All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs to move to the blind side, but even if they do, they will just be shifting that hole in the opposite direction. Beyond the starting positions, last year’s swing tackle, Josh Wells, is a free agent and still months away from recovering from a significant injury.

Outside Linebacker

While the Bucs have their starters set in pencil. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka lacked finishing skills in 2022, which relegated him to just four sacks again, instead of the eight to 10 he should have registered. Shaq Barrett is coming off of a torn Achilles that will no doubt require some time – if not the entire year – to return to form. And to boot he will turn 31 in November. Anthony Nelson and Cam Gill return to fill depth roles, although Gill is not a lock to make the team. Adding another edge rusher for insurance and to eventually replace Barrett makes sense.

Tight End

Production for Tampa Bay fell off in 2022 as they lost future Hall-of-Famer Rob Gronkowski, and Cam Brate’s abilities continued their three-year slide. The Bucs have since released Brate and now have just two players entering their second season manning the position. While Cade Otton showed some promise in spurts last year, his blocking was inconsistent. And Ko Kieft, while a fan-favorite due to his every-man attitude, is extremely limited athletically and really should never be more than a third-string option.

Offensive Guard

I debated putting this one in. On one hand the Bucs traded guard Shaq Mason in a pick swap moving up from the seventh round to the sixth. On the other hand, the Bucs have plenty of options to fill that void. Nick Leverett filled in competently at left guard last year. Robert Hainsey was a league average center in place of Ryan Jensen last year, and he could transition to guard. Aaron Stinnie is back after filling in admirably in 2020 and 2021 in spots and suffering a season-ending injury last year. Luke Goedeke, a second-round pick, is still an option for guard spot, as well as right tackle.

But none of these options can be said to be a lock for certainty. Hainsey has never played guard at the collegiate or pro level. Leverett was an upgrade over Goedeke last year but was far from an above-average player. Goedeke was terrible in his short time at guard last year. And Stinnie has never had the starting role for any significant amount of time and is coming off of a severe injury.

Bucs’ 2023 NFL Draft Picks

The Bucs currently have nine picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. They traded their fourth-round pick to the to Jacksonville last year in order to move up and select cornerback Zyon McCollum in the fifth round. The team received a seventh rounder as part of the 2020 trade for defensive tackle Steve McLendon. Last year they turned a seventh rounder into a sixth rounder by sending linebacker Grant Stuard to the Colts just before the regular season last year.

The Bucs received compensatory picks for the loss of free agents O.J. Howard (seventh round) and Jordan Whitehead (fifth round) in 2022. And finally, they turned one of their seventh rounders into a sixth rounder in the Shaq Mason trade earlier this week.

Pewter Report’s 2023 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft 4.0 is presented by CELSIUS, the official energy drink of Pewter Report. Try the new Fantasy Vibe flavor, which is a refreshing mix of mandarin orange and marshmallow, and the new crisp Lemon Lime. To find CELSIUS near you, visit CELSIUS.com and click on the store locator. To purchase CELSIUS online visit Amazon.com and click on the subscribe and save feature to save money and have CELSIUS shipped right to your door.

2023 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft 4.0

Round 1: Tennessee OT Darnell Wright
Senior • 6-5, 333

With the release of Donovan Smith and no heir apparent on the roster, perhaps the most glaring need for the Bucs is that of a starting tackle because they are extremely hard to find. There is a good chance the Bucs will look to address this need right out of the gate in the draft considering tackle is one of the deeper first-round positions. Enter Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright, who could play right tackle and possibly allow the Bucs to move Tristan Wirfs to left tackle.

Tennessee RT Darnell Wright – Photo by: USA Today

Wright may not get the same hype as that of other projected first-round tackles like Paris Johnson Jr. or Broderick Jones, but he may have the best single resume bullet of the three from the 2022 season. Wright went toe-to-toe with Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. and kept him quiet for an entire game. It’s that kind of good-on-good matchup that allows draft evaluators to feel good about projecting a prospect’s ceiling at the NFL level. He also did the same thing against LSU’s B.J. Ojulari.

Wright combines an ideal frame and arm length with strong athletic testing (ranking in the 90th percentile for 40-yard dash, 61st percentile for vertical jump and 94th percentile for broad jump). To top it all off he was battle tested at the highest level of competition with over 2,700 snaps as an SEC lineman.

Wright’s calling card is his ability in pass protection where he uses his arm length, technique, tape study and athleticism all in concert to shut down opposing edge rushers. Per Pro Football Focus Wright capped off his final year at Tennessee by cutting his pressures allowed in half to just eight on the year.

While he provides a strong foundation for NFL offensive line coaches to work with, Wright is far from a finished product. Despite his athleticism he is still very deliberate and clunky working in space as a run blocker, with very limited opportunities to show what he can do in a wide zone scheme. These will be areas he will have to develop at the next level. But they are areas that most offensive coordinators would be willing to develop if it meant they could rest easy knowing Wright can keep their quarterbacks clean.

Round 2: Auburn OLB Derick Hall
Senior • 6-3, 254

With Shaq Barrett returning from a significant Achilles injury and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka failing to cash in on his solid pressure numbers with sacks, the Bucs would be wise to continue to reinforce their outside linebacker room. Behind those two currently is Anthony Nelson, who had 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles and Cam Gill, who is not a lock to make the roster. Derick Hall out of Auburn would provide a great compliment to Nelson as a rotational rusher.

While Hall may be a bit undersized, he makes up for it with arm length, power and leverage. He uses those three traits in concert to wreak havoc on opposing tackles. Hall has a unique ability to overwhelm his opponent with his speed (1.59 second 10-yard split) while maintaining his own composure. This allows him to react mid-rush and take advantage of his opposition’s mistakes. He converts speed to power with ease and will push through offensive tackles shoulders to both the outside and the inside.

HALL’S CAREER DEFENSIVE STATS
2019: 13 tackles, 1.5 TFLs
2020: 21 tackles, 4 TFLs, 4 sacks, FF
2021: 52 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 9 sacks, 2 FFs
2022: 60 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, 2 FFs, FR, INT

Hall buoys all of this pass rush potential with strong run defense, showing an ability to maintain gap control, stack and shed blocks and finish by taking down ball carriers. His developmental upside is there as he has the opportunity to develop a more refined and robust pass rush arsenal to go along with his long arm and hand swipe. And his frame and developmental upside/time frame make him the perfect successor to Barrett. Hall finished his Tigers career with 19.5 sacks and five forced fumbles as a three-year starter.

Additionally, Hall has the potential to be a contributor on special teams. He logged 277 snaps on teams over his career at Auburn, including 106 this past season. Most of those snaps came as a part of the field goal block unit although he has experience in all five of the six teams areas (with the lone exception being field goals).

Round 3: Illinois S Sydney Brown
Senior • 5-10, 211

With Mike Edwards signing with the Chiefs and both Keanu Neal and Logan Ryan unsigned as of this writing, the Bucs are as thin at safety as pastrami cut in a New York deli. If the season were to start today the Bucs would be starting undrafted free agent Nolan Turner opposite Antoine Winfield Jr.

Illinois’ Sydney Brown could help bolster the depth in the safety room and log significant reps in his rookie year. The best description I have found for Brown’s play style is a bowling ball run amok in a fine China shop. If drafted, Brown would become an instantaneous fan favorite. Much like his twin brother, Chase, who was a running back for the Illini, he is ripped with seemingly zero body fat on his 5-foot-10 frame. This means just about all 200 pounds of him is pure muscle. And while that does leave him a tad-bit stiff hipped, his willingness to go max-effort on every play with his high effort and motor naturally evoke the NFL euphemism that he plays with his hair on fire.

Brown has NFL instincts and is not above any assignment, which helped him show off high-level ball skills culminating in six interceptions in his senior season. The high motor and elite instincts, combined with his pursuit skills, lead Brown to constantly be around the play. He has the versatility to play up close to the line of scrimmage as a box safety/slot defender or deep. His slightly below average arm length can leave him at a disadvantage when competing at the catch point, and he has a tendency to overrun gaps in the run game which can lead him into some trouble.

BROWN’S CAREER DEFENSIVE STATS
2018: 55 tackles, 2 TFLs, 5 PBUs, INT
2019: 88 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1 PBU, 3 INTs, TD
2020: 36 tackles, 0.5 TFL, FF
2021: 81 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 3 PBUs, 1 sack, 2 FFs
2022: 60 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 7 PBUs, 6 INTs, 1 sack, FF, FR, 2 TDs

Brown’s skill set could pair perfectly with that of Winfield. Brown could play the traditional strong safety role in the box where his 4.47 40 speed would allow him to cover seam routes better than the team has in recent years. It also would allow Winfield to return to the center field role that had him ascending to one of the best safeties in the game through the first two years in his career. Brown could also provide some special teams versatility with his experience on punt coverage and field goal block units.

Round 5: Nebraska WR Trey Palmer
Junior • 6-0, 192

After three years at LSU backing up the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, Palmer transferred to Nebraska for his senior year and took full advantage of his starting opportunity with the Cornhuskers. Palmer stresses defenses with his 4.33 speed and superb ball tracking skills. This makes him a big-play machine catching 12 passes of 20+ air yards in 2022. These 12 catches accounted for almost half of his yards and seven of his nine touchdowns as a senior. Palmer added to these plusses with a slipperiness that allowed him to rack up yards after catch.

While Palmer’s speed makes him ideal for fades, streaks, posts and deep digs, he still works off of a limited route tree. He also was underwhelming in his contested catch opportunities, catching just 13 of his 33 chances over his career. Palmer also has not proved to be able to work well off of press coverage, which is part of why he spent almost 65% of his snaps in the slot.

PALMER’S CAREER RECEIVING STATS
2019: 1 catch, 6 yards (6.0 avg.) (LSU)
2020: 10 catches, 108 yards (10.8 avg.) (LSU)
2021: 30 catches, 344 yards (11.5 avg.), 3 TDs (LSU)
2022: 71 catches, 1,043 yards (14.7 avg.), 9 TDs (Nebraska)

Palmer would give the Bucs the game-changing speed they just lost in Scotty Miller, who was not re-signed in free agency. He would be able to stretch the field providing more underneath opportunities for Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage. He could also be deployed as a gadget player on screens and end-arounds. Palmer could also give Deven Thompkins competition for the Bucs returner job, as he has 680 yards and two touchdowns as a returner in college.

Round 5: Cincinnati TE Josh Whyle
Senior • 6-6, 248

With a 6-foot-6 frame and a 4.69 40-yard dash time, Whyle provides a rare athletic blend for a Day 3 prospect. Despite limited opportunities (only 125 targets over the past three years) Whyle proved to be a consistent play-maker during his time in Cincinnati. He provides a reliable pair of hands, evidenced by his six drops for his career per PFF. And to boot, Whyle has shown himself to not only be a willing blocker, but an above average one at that.

Despite these positives it is fair to wonder which ones will translate to the next level and how well. His blocking will most likely take a step back due to a lack of mass on his long frame and his extremely below-average arm length (31.5 inches). And while he posted good YAC in college, he isn’t a smooth mover. That may limit those plays in the pros. Still the upside is there with Whyle and he should be worth the flyer.

WHYLE’S CAREER RECEIVING STATS
2019: 2 catches, 51 yards (25.5 avg.)
2020: 28 catches, 353 yards (12.6 avg.), 6 TDs
2021: 36 catches, 332 yards (12.8 avg.), 6 TDs
2022: 32 catches, 326 yards (10.2 avg.), 3 TDs

Whyle’s play-making ability would make him a boon to a Bucs tight end room. He would be a solid addition to Cade Otton and Ko Kieft giving new offensive coordinator Dave Canales enough to work with to create a semblance of what he had in Seattle where the Seahawks ran more 13 personnel than any other team in the league. Whyle had limited special teams snaps in 2021 and 2022 but played almost 270 teams snaps the two seasons prior.

Round 6: Oregon C-G Alex Forsyth
Senior • 6-4, 303

Forsyth brings an player with positional flexibility and a wealth of experience from a power-five conference. He has a high football IQ and displays above average awareness, passing off and picking up stunts and twists well. Forsyth plays with a wide base and plus footwork. This makes it difficult for opponents to knock him off balance.

While his athletic testing was sub-par, Forsyth’s tape showed that he was a good mover. He works well in space and rarely misses a target while on the move. Forsyth will probably never be a plus starter in the NFL due to his below-average anchor, but he can be a good pinch fill-in at both guard spots as well as center.

Round 6: Maryland K Chad Ryland
Senior • 6-0, 190

Most draft analysts list Michigan kicker Jake Moody as the top kicker in this year’s crop. But the Bucs may target Ryland due to his more extensive work from beyond 50 yards. That was an area that Todd Bowles highlighted as an area the team had to improve upon in 2023. For his career in college Ryland was 9-of-15 from beyond 50 with at least one make in each season. And since 2020, Ryland has hit over 91% of his attempts inside the 50.

RYLAND’S CAREER KICKING STATS
2018: 12-of-20 FGs (60%), 41-of-41 PATs (100%)
2019: 14-of-19 FGs (73.7%), 35-of-38 PATs (92.1%)
2020: 11-of-13 FGs (84.6%), 18-of-19 PATs (94.7%)
2021: 19-of-22 FGs (86.4%), 47-of-47 PATs (100%)
2022: 19-of-23 FGs (82.6%), 39-of-40 PATs (97.5%)

With the recent release of Super Bowl winner Ryan Succop, the Bucs only have unproven kicker Jake Verity on their roster. General manager Jason Licht has eschewed NFL norms and shown a willingness to use real draft assets on specialists in the past (see: Aguyao, Roberto; Gay, Matt; Camarda, Jake). He might draft his third kicker again this season.

Round 6: Louisiana Tech CB Myles Brooks
Senior • 6-1, 201

Brooks brings a solid blend of size and speed to the position. He works primarily, and is at his best, in a press man scheme where he can get his hands on receivers and disrupt their routes at the line of scrimmage. This has been an archetype the Bucs have coveted and pursued in the past. There are a lot of red flags with Brooks though. His arm length is below average, negating some of his size advantage. Additionally, he has a propensity to get his hips out of position in zone, leaving him vulnerable to double moves and leaving him out of position in general.

Due to his press-man technique and his average-at-best speed (4.51 40), Brooks can get grabby if he misses with his punch at the line of scrimmage. This has led to him drawing his fair share of flags. Brooks’ best developmental course is to get a few seasons on a practice squad honing his craft and becoming more comfortable in zone coverage. He’ll also need to become more committed to being a better, more aggressive tackler.

BROOKS’ CAREER DEFENSIVE STATS
2019: 23 tackles, 6 PBUs, INT (Stephen F. Austin)
2020: 17 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 5 PBUs, INT (Stephen F. Austin)
2021: 25 tackles, 6 PBUs, 4 INTs (Stephen F. Austin)
2022: 29 tackles, 3 TFLs, 8 PBUs, 3 INTs, FF (Louisiana Tech)

Brooks has very limited experience outside of the field goal block unit on special teams. He would have to make the 53-man roster or the practice squad by showing up in a big way on coverage units as a rookie.

Round 7: Pittsburgh S Brandon Hill
Junior • 5-10, 193

Given the aforementioned scarcity the Bucs have at safety don’t be surprised if they double-dip at the position as they have shown a tendency to do in years prior. Hill is a smaller safety in the mold of what head coach Todd Bowles looks for. His frame is not dissimilar to that of former strong safety Jordan Whitehead, who also played at Pittsburgh.

Like Whitehead, Hill is best suited for a box role. His 4.43 speed can also allow his instincts to play up in a centerfield role. He also tries to leverage that speed to turn himself into a missile so he can hit with authority. Hill plays fast and downhill which makes him a weapon as a run defender. He has shown an ability to surprise quarterbacks getting to the flats in sky coverage more quickly than they anticipate, taking away check down options.

Hill’s play leaves something to be desired. He is an inconsistent tackler. This is partly due to his small frame and short arms and partly due to his wreckless tackling style.

HILL’S CAREER DEFENSIVE STATS
2020: 24 tackles, PBU, INT, 2 FFs, TD
2021: 71 tackles, TFL, 5 PBUs, 2 INTs, FF, FR
2022: 67 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 PBUs, FR, TD

While Hill has not played much special teams in recent years, his physical profile suggest he can return to that role to provide additional value. With just two safeties on the roster, the Bucs could come away with two safeties in the draft in Illinois’ Sydney Brown and Hill.