2025 NFL Draft Grades: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Best Pick: Third-round corner Jacob Parrish should be able to push for time as the nickel corner right away. He played outside in college, but he has the look of a good nickel on the next level.

Worst Pick: I think receiver Emeka Egbuka is a heck of a player. But I might have gone corner or edge in the first. Having said that, I understand the pick because of the age of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin's injury.

The Skinny: It's time Bucs general manager Jason Licht gets the due for being a good drafter. He continues to nail his picks. This draft was no different. Egbuka going in the first was a little odd -- even if he is a good player -- but Licht made up for it the rest of the draft. He got two corners in Benjamin Morrison and Parrish, which they needed. I like seventh-round receiver Tez Johnson. He plays faster than he ran at the combine.

Top needs entering the draft: Edge rusher, cornerback and linebacker

I didn't have wide receiver among the biggest draft needs for the Buccaneers, with Chris Godwin returning and joining Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan. That said, Evans and Godwin both missed time last season, and Evans is going to be a 32-year-old free agent next season. So, the Emeka Egbuka selection makes a lot of sense. I really like his game -- he runs crisp routes and has dependable hands. I had Matthew Golden ranked higher, but I was hearing some first-round buzz on Egbuka, so the value lines up. The Bucs' past six first-round picks have been at either offensive line or the front seven. The last skill position player on Day 1? Tight end O.J. Howard in 2017.

Egbuka is the headliner in a decent draft class for the four-time defending NFC South champs. While I wasn't focusing on WR with my team needs, I had edge rusher and cornerback circled. Tampa Bay used its top picks at the edge in 2021 and 2022, but things haven't panned out. Logan Hall's 5.5 sacks led the Bucs' edge rushers last season. I love David Walker, though. You might not know the name because he played at FCS Central Arkansas, but he proved at the Senior Bowl that he can play with the best of them. He had 31 sacks and 63 tackles for loss over the past three seasons. His tape is filled with explosion, power and a deep variety of pass-rush moves.

The Buccaneers spent Friday night tending to their CB depth chart, landing Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish. Morrison fell on boards after a hip injury ended his 2024 season, but he's great in press coverage and has good ball skills. Parrish was a combine riser for me, and his explosive traits will shine in the slot. The Buccaneers had seven interceptions last season, tied for fourth fewest in the NFL, but these two should help up that number in 2025 and beyond.

The Buccaneers added to a position of strength on Day 1, grabbing one of the highest-floor players in this draft with Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka. He doesn't fill a massive need for Tampa Bay, but he's going to be a reliable and productive pass catcher for this team. The team bolstered its cornerbacks crew with a pair of Day-2 picks, nabbing Notre Dame's Benjamin Morrison and Kansas State's Jacob Parrish. That duo provides excellent depth at the position and both could challenge for starting snaps early in their careers. I liked the value they got in grabbing Central Arkansas edge rusher David Walker in the fourth, and the small-school playmaker brings plenty of juice as a rotational rusher. Adding Oregon receiver Tez Johnson was a nice little kicker in the seventh round. I thought Johnson had third-round talent, but his extremely slight frame (just 154 pounds) obviously pushed him down boards. In any case, Johnson gets corners turned around with his routes, can run after the catch, and has a knack for the big play. He provides valuable depth at the position. Just a solid draft across the board.

Double-dipping was the clear strategy for the Bucs in 2025 with two picks apiece dedicated to receiver, cornerback and edge rusher. The smartest teams draft for the future, anticipating rather than reacting, and that is precisely the strategy GM Jason Licht and the Bucs took in nabbing Emeka Egbuka at No. 19 overall, even with the seemingly ageless Mike Evans and Chris Godwin set to return this year. Egbuka was the second receiver off the board, but I think he's a safer pick than the first one — Tetairoa McMillan (to the NFC South division rival Carolina Panthers) — and a pass-catcher that will keep Baker Mayfield happily firing away. Seventh-round big-play magnet Tez Johnson has the quickness to surprise, as well.

Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish might very well prove Day 2 steals in the secondary, and I'm a fan of both of their new edge rushers, David Walker and Elijah Roberts — each of the prospects complement their respective running mates with different, unique skill sets.

But in a class loaded with talented big men along the line of scrimmage and running backs, Tampa Bay's completely ignoring such spots was surprising.

Here's why: The Emeka Egbuka pick is interesting in terms of his fit with Chris Godwin for the immediate future. There's a lot to like about what the Buccaneers did. Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish are a fun, playmaking cornerback duo to add to the Bucs' secondary, and David Walker has a chance to be a gem as a pass rusher. It's a really nice collection of players, even if Egbuka will be an interesting case to track.

Most interesting pick: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State

Egbuka profiles as a slot wide receiver in the NFL, but is slated to play in the same offense as Chris Godwin — who just signed an extension with the Buccaneers. Mike Evans, Godwin and Egbuka are a talented trio of wide receivers, but it's unclear how they'll all be deployed at this time.

GM Jason Licht is another guy — one who doesn't seem to get deserved credit — who does a heckuva job in the draft-and-develop space. A bit surprising the Bucs went with a wideout — Emeka Egbuka — in Round 1, but he's among this draft's safest players ... and Mike Evans isn't getting any younger (though Egbuka's game more closely resembles Chris Godwin's). The team needed reinforcements at corner, and second-rounder Benjamin Morrison and third-rounder Jacob Parrish should check that box nicely. Might have been nice to see NT Vita Vea get some help on the D-line, though.

The Buccaneers have a logjam at receiver, but selecting Egbuka gives them depth and a potential starter for the future. Tampa Bay nearly missed the playoffs last year after injuries sidelined Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The Bucs are now prepared for another injury wave with a rookie receiver who drew comparisons to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Tampa Bay's best-available approach also gave the team a surplus at cornerback. If Morrison overcomes his injury issues, he could develop into a shutdown cornerback. The Buccaneers could have used one of the higher-rated edge rushers, but they drafted two on Day 3 to go with incoming free agent Haason Reddick.

I crushed the Buccaneers for their first-round selection of Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Not because he's a bad player, he's not, but because the Buccaneers had several defensive needs. They followed up the Egbuka pick by taking both Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish to give themselves a pair of young cornerbacks and also drafted a pair of edge rushers in David Walker and Elijah Roberts. A great way to close out the draft by taking a ton of potential defensive starters after kicking off the draft with a high-level playmaker.