The NFL draft is all about value. Getting the best player you possibly can relative to how high your draft pick is. Getting good players with late picks is the goal for every franchise.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are very good at this. They find foundational pieces in the early rounds and key contributors on day three. It’s what makes general manager Jason Licht one of the best in the NFL.
Getting All Pros like Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. outside of the top ten. Getting Chris Godwin, Luke Goedeke, Cody Mauch and Ali Marpet on the second day of the draft. Identifying high end talent and then benefiting once it slides to them.
The Buccaneers could be in that position again this year. One of the draft’s most talented players is coming off a down year after being projected as a top five pick going into the season. Now there’s a chance he could be there at the 15th overall pick when the Buccaneers are on the clock.
That player is Clemson’s defensive tackle Peter Woods. After just 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in 2025, it wasn’t the statistical jump that we were hoping for. Now he could be the next big prospect to take a draft day tumble and this star could slide right into the Buccaneers lap.
How The Fit Works
The Bucs need a replacement for Logan Hall who will likely leave in free agency. That player doesn’t have to be a star level player as they already have perhaps the best defensive tackle duo in the NFL with Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey. So an average level starter playing next to them will only look that much better.
However, if the team was to add a top tier player to that group then the Buccaneers defensive line would be seemingly unstoppable. Woods has the potential to be that top tier player.
Woods is a very good run defender. He is both powerful and athletic, so it is difficult to run at him and he can chase down ball carriers if you try to run away from him. He would only strengthen a run defense that allowed the 5th fewest rushing yards in the NFL.
But what Bucs fans will really care about is what Woods can add to the pass rush. Addressing that is one of the big priorities of the offseason. And even though this wouldn’t be the edge rusher that everyone is clamoring for, it could be a big boost in pass rush.
Woods only had 2.0 sacks last season which obviously isn’t an overly exciting number. However, that isn’t the full picture of how disruptive he was. With more help on the defensive line and more attention taken away from him, there is every reason to believe that those numbers will go up.
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In terms of explosiveness off the line of scrimmage, Woods is very good. He has the physical profile of a penetrating defensive tackle and ability to chase down quarterbacks once he gets into the backfield. It might not come off the edge, but pressuring that passer comes with this type of pick.
Entering the year, this is a pairing that would have seemed unlikely with Woods projected as an early pick and the Bucs expected to pick near the end of the first round. Unfortunately a disappointing year for both might bring them together.
Woods has all the talent and athleticism in the world. He’s a strong run defender and projects to be a good pass rusher. He’s everything the Buccaneers are looking for to improve their defense for 2026.
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