Why moving down in the draft may not be the worst idea for Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers second straight 5-11 season earned them the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
In 2018 the Bucs moved down from their original seventh overall selection in a trade with the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo found their franchise quarterback Josh Allen. As for the Bucs, they used the Bills 12th overall selection to select defensive tackle Vita Vea.
In 2019 Tampa should not be afraid to make the same type of trade.
The Bucs currently have a defense that needs a major makeover. With the 2019 draft being one of the best defensive drafts in recent memory the Bucs should want as many picks as possible.
As of today, Tampa only holds six draft picks. With needs all over the defense, offensive line and even at running back this is not enough.
Thus, the best way for the Bucs to best to fill the holes on their roster would be to move down from the 5th overall selection. This would allow them to obtain not only a later first round pick but some mid-round selections.
When moving down it is usually the quarterback-needy teams most willing to trade up.
When taking a look at the current draft order quarterback-needy teams such as the Jaguars, Broncos, Dolphins, and Redskins will likely need to get ahead of the New York Giants. The Giants will likely take Eli Manning’s predecessor with the sixth pick overall pick. Thus, in order to get the top quarterback available teams will want to move ahead of New York.
Thus, Tampa should look to trade with one of these teams. None of the teams listed have first-round picks that would set Tampa Bay too far back in the first round.
The Jags pick at seven, Broncos 10, Dolphins 13 and Redskins 15. By moving down, the Bucs would still get a big-time defensive talent at any of the picks.
When looking at which team would have the most to offer it’s the Washington Redskins. Washington holds nine selections in the upcoming draft including a pair of third and fifth round selections.
If the Bucs were to make a trade with the Redskins it would likely look something like this:
Redskins Get: 5th overall pick
Bucs Get: 15th overall pick, 2019 3rd round pick (77th overall), 2019 5th round pick (154th overall).
This trade would provide the Bucs with eight draft picks to work with rather than six.
In a draft where in many years players that will be picked in the 15-20 overall range would go in the top five in other years, moving down ten spots would not be too big of a drop.
The Bucs would likely get a choice of either cornerbacks Byron Murphy or Deandre Baker or pass-rushers such as Jachai Polite or Brian Burns.
Tampa could even take an offensive tackle such as Jawaan Taylor or Greg Little as they would have more picks to work with later in the draft to use on defensive talent.
A team that has several holes to fill like the Bucs needs as many draft picks as possible.
By trading down in the first round, the Bucs would not only obtain more picks but still end up with a great talent to add to their roster for years to come.
