The Tampa Bay Buccaneers own the 19th overall pick in the NFL Draft this year, and while the Buccaneers could certainly stand to improve defensively, they don’t have any glaring needs that would require them to absolutely stay at their current draft slot.
Taking that into consideration, it stands to reason that Tampa Bay could trade down in the first round, and that is exactly what Chad Reuter of NFL.com is expecting the Bucs to attempt.
Ellis has proposed that the Buccaneers swing a big trade with the Green Bay Packers, where Tampa Bay would send No. 19 and a fifth-round pick to the Packers in exchange for the 23rd overall selection and a third-rounder.
“Tampa Bay could stay put and take one of those pass-rush options. But it’d be hard for the Bucs to pass up an opportunity to convert one of their three Day 3 selections into a Day 2 pick, especially considering they’d likely still have a shot at one of those edge defenders or a new star for the secondary at Pick 23,” Reuter wrote.
Cameron Ellis of The Pewter Plank added that this deal would be a “no-brainer” for the Bucs, noting that moving down four spots in the first round would absolutely be worth turning a fifth-rounder into a third.
Of course, whether or not the Packers—a typically conservative franchise—would actually do this is debatable. Reuter’s reasoning is that Green Bay may want to slide up in the draft order to ensure it can nab Texas Longhorns cornerback Jahdae Barron, but Barron may also still be there at No. 23. It may simply come down to just how desperate the Packers would be to land Barron.
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Regardless, this would be a terrific trade for the Buccaneers, who have enjoyed a pretty solid offseason thus far.
