This offseason may go down as the craziest in NFL history. Elite players are switching teams left and right. This past week we saw another All-Pro player find a new home as Tyreek Hill bolted from Kansa City to go to South Beach.
The Bucs have made their contributions to this year's edition of March Madness, of course. The biggest thing that happened was Tom Brady retiring and then un-retiring. However, the Bucs have done a lot of other things to build up the roster ahead of the 2022 season, including being able to retain many of their key free agents, and even bring in some new faces such as Logan Ryan, Shaq Mason and Russell Gage.
The result is that the Bucs may have the opportunity to take the best player available in the first round of the draft for a second year in a row.
According to many of the draft pundits, the best player available to the Bucs at pick 27 will be a difference-maker in the trenches. See the full list of draft predictions below.
NFL.com
- Pick: DT Travis Jones, Connecticut
Comments: The Bucs are losing some key pieces on their defensive front. Jones can start Day 1.
CBS Sports
- Pick: G Zion Johnson, Boston College
Comments: Tampa Bay has lost Alex Cappa and Ali Marpet this off-season. They countered by trading for Shaq Mason but the re-construction will be complete with the selection of Johnson. It is a physical group from left to right with Donovan Smith, Ryan Jensen and Tristan Wirfs joining Mason and Johnson.
- Pick: S Lewis Cine, Georgia
Comments: Cine is the assert-his-will safety the Buccaneers prefer, and they just lost Jordan Whitehead in free agency.
The Draft Network
- Pick: G Zion Johnson, Boston College
Comments: With the loss of Alex Cappa, the Buccaneers have a bit of a hole at right guard. The team traded for Shaq Mason to replace Ali Marrpet and now with the addition of Zion Johnson here in the draft, this offensive line won't skip a beat. Johnson is an athletic and powerful guard who plays with outstanding technique. He is a plug-and-play player inside and will allow Tom Brady time to shred defenses.
- Pick: G Zion Johnson, Boston College
Comments: Tom Brady unretires and the Buccaneers begin their journey to re-tool this offensive line. After the loss of Alex Cappa and Ali Marpet, they traded for a familiar face from the Patriots, Shaq Mason, to handle RG duties. This leaves a hole at LG.
Insert Zion Johnson. Johnson would fit in as a day-one starter to protect the winningest quarterback of all time. His short-area quickness, strong hands, and willingness to clean up for his teammates will ingratiate him with Brady.
Sports Illustrated
- Pick: QB Carson Strong, Nevada
Comments: Thanks to good ball control, he can hit short targets accurately without setting up. Strong possesses very good arm strength and velocity to push the ball to anywhere on the field and fit passes into tight windows against zone coverage.
