A Todd Bowles Draft?
April 18th, 2026
Like most NFL teams, the Bucs have many needs and wants. But how are they prioritized?
That’s the mystery every fan and media type tries to decipher before the NFL Draft.
Sometimes, it’s easy, like the Bucs drafting No. 1 overall in 2015. Tampa Bay was in desperate need of a quarterback. But on the flip side was 2014, the Bucs were in desperate need of a quarterback and did not draft one. Instead, team officials chose to torture fans and then tank the final game of the 2014 regular season.
Then there was the 2021 draft, when Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht said he wanted to “stress special teams” rather than make bold moves to make a very special Bucs roster even more dangerous.
Draft strategy is tough to predict. (See 2025.)
Dan Hanzus and Marc Sessler formerly co-hosted the popular Around The NFL show for NFL.com that got blown up by layoffs a couple of years ago. But they still break down all things NFL on the Heed The Call podcast.
It was there this week that Hanzus expressed his surprise that Bucs head coach Todd Bowles still has has job, while Sessler said he thinks the Bucs’ draft strategy next week could reveal how they really feel about Bowles’ future.
“I just gotta believe that if Todd Bowles is your coach, it’s because you want him to orchestrate a defense that takes out opposing quarterbacks,” Sessler said. “And they just feel real light there [on defense]. If you’re Todd Bowles, it’s like, ‘I need defensive help to probably keep my job.’”
Team Glazer is known for a rather hands-off approach on roster decisions. But could Joe envision Team Glazer and Licht deciding months ago that the Bucs would focus on defense in this draft — in part to help Bowles develop and deliver more of his kind of team? Absolutely.
These are the same guys who bet on Bowles in 2026.