The 2024 NFL Draft looms, garnering a plethora of mocks across the internet on various platforms. Prospects continue to rise and fall based on free agency moves for all 32 clubs. Trades and predictions have gathered steam as the spectacle in April nears. In an offensive tackle and receiver-heavy first round, here is a rundown of predictions from a variety of outlets on who the Buccaneers could select in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft:
NFL.com
Pick: C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Comments: The Rimington Trophy winner (nation's top center) would step right in for the retired Ryan Jensen as the starting pivot.
CBS Sports
Pick: OL Graham Barton, Duke
Comments: The team has moved on from Matt Feiler and Aaron Stinnie, and while they've signed Ben Bredeson and Sua Opeta, Graham Barton has Day 1-starter potential. He played left tackle at Duke but his NFL future will be inside.
The Draft Network
Pick: Edge Laiatu Latu, UCLA
Comments: Laiatu Latu may not be everyone's perfect prospect, but for me, he's just a flat-out stud of a football player. One of the most nuanced pass rushers to enter the league in some time, Latu's hands, flexibility, and twitch will give opposing tackles nightmares for years. I wouldn't be surprised if he teases with 10-plus sacks a year for a decade. This is a little lower than I expect Latu to go, but team needs moved the board around a tad up top.
PFF
Pick: Edge Jared Verse, Florida State
Comments: There aren't many better scenarios for the Buccaneers than somehow coming away with Jared Verse at Pick 26. The Florida State product is talented enough to go much higher than this, but after free agency, I can now see him and Laiatu Latu falling a bit. That doesn't make them any worse as players, though. Verse would be an immediate starter in Tampa Bay.
Sports Illustrated
Pick: OL Graham Barton, Duke
Comments: There are multiple pressing needs on defense (edge rusher, linebacker, corner), but the Bucs need upgrades at both left guard and center if they want to be more effective on offense in 2024 and beyond. Barton can play all five positions up front, making him the ideal fit for whichever spot Tampa Bay isn't able to fill in free agency.
