{"id":851725,"date":"2026-04-03T18:19:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851725\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T18:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T18:19:18","slug":"buccaneers-are-gearing-up-for-a-fight-in-round-1-of-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851725\/","title":{"rendered":"Buccaneers are gearing up for a fight in Round 1 of 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Buccaneers filled a few holes during free agency, but the EDGE position is still one of their top draft targets. Experts believe Round 1 is about to be as busy as it gets.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"The
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOct 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Trevor Goosby (74) blocks Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman R Mason Thomas (32) during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to follow the Tampa Bay Buccaneers closely to know pass rush continues to be one of the team\u2019s top draft targets<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Sure, the Buccaneers added Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency, but he shouldn\u2019t be the end-all-be-all. Yes, he recorded a career-high 11.0 sacks last year. On the flip side, he played opposite Aidan Hutchinson and recorded just 15.0 sacks from 2017-2024.<\/p>\n

In other words: It\u2019s unsure if Muhammad is the true answer.<\/p>\n

When stepping back and looking at the current state of the roster, it\u2019s easy to say EDGE is the Buccaneers\u2019 No. 1 draft target. Well, Jason Licht better get ready for an all-out battle when it comes to sifting through guys in the first round.<\/p>\n

Buccaneers and the rest of the NFL view EDGE as one of the top Round 1 draft targets <\/p>\n

ESPN released it\u2019s latest batch of draft intel and below is what Miller said<\/a> about pass rushers in Round 1:<\/p>\n

\u201cFive, maybe six (will go in the first round) if you classify Ohio State\u2019s Arvell Reese as an edge rusher. I believe Reese, David Bailey (Texas Tech), Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami) and Keldric Faulk (Auburn) are locks. Then, Akheem Mesidor (Miami) and Cashius Howell (Texas A&M) are likely to go in the first round, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut would it be a surprise to see as many as nine edge rushers? Not with this class. There is a lack of top prospects at other premium positions and a need for rotational pass rushers in the NFL, especially from playoff teams selecting in the back end of the round. R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma), Zion Young (Missouri) and T.J. Parker (Clemson) could all sneak in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Miller<\/p>\n

ESPN Draft Analyst<\/p>\n

I agree with him. I\u2019d bet we see the 5-6 he mentions go in Round 1, for sure. It\u2019s worth betting on R Mason Thomas and even Zion Young sneaking into the back of the first 32 picks, as well.<\/p>\n

All of these guys fit the mold of the current prototypical pass rusher and all of them have logical homes in Round 1. That\u2019s something Miller doesn\u2019t mention \u2013 the fact multiple teams are considered fits for a variety of these prospects.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one aspect where this could affect the Buccaneers in a negative way, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (3) celebrates after a sack against the Indiana Hoosiers in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Run on pass rushers could force Buccaneers to stay pat at No. 15<\/p>\n

The best-case scenario for the Buccaneers is to trade back a few spots<\/a> and nab a pass rusher. However, if guys are flying off the board, trading back may be too big a risk.<\/p>\n

Trading back from, let\u2019s say, 15 to 17 isn\u2019t going to warrant much in draft capital return, either. The Buccaneers would likely get something akin to a mid-to-late fourth-rounder and while that could be useful, it\u2019s not really worth risking a guy like Akheem Mesidor, Cashius Howell, or even R Mason Thomas.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s yet another layer Jason Licht and Co. will have to navigate, but if anyone can figure it out, it\u2019s them.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Texas\t\t<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Buccaneers News<\/p>\n

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to nail the 2026 NFL Draft, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Well, they do just in A to Z Sport\u2019s brand new mock draft simulator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Buccaneers filled a few holes during free agency, but the EDGE position is still one of their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,116548,7,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-851725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-buccaneers-draft","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-tampa-bay","13":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","14":"tag-tampabay","15":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116342162532045229","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}