Tampa Bay Buccaneers' draft position is set after playoff loss to Washington Commanders
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 23-20 loss to the Washington Commanders ended the former's season and has Bucs fans changing their focus from playoff possibilities to roster improvement and mock drafts. For those wondering where Tampa Bay will draft in April, the loss locked in the Bucs' position in the first round. The Bucs will pick […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 23-20 loss to the Washington Commanders ended the former's season and has Bucs fans changing their focus from playoff possibilities to roster improvement and mock drafts.
For those wondering where Tampa Bay will draft in April, the loss locked in the Bucs' position in the first round.
The Bucs will pick at #19.
According to NFL.com, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold the 19th pick of the draft.
With the NFL expanding to 14 playoff teams in 2021, that makes picks 19-32 set up for playoff teams. That means the Bucs end up with the best pick among all playoff teams. Not something to be excited about, but not a terrible consolation prize.
The Bucs ended up with the 19th pick by virtue of a unique situation over two other playoff teams. The Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers also ended their seasons over the weekend after having matching 10-7 records. Oddly enough, both teams matched the Bucs in the primary tiebreaker category of strength of schedule at .502. According to NFL.com, based on the tiebreakers down the line beyond strength of schedule (since the teams aren't all from the same conference, head to head, record in common games, etc. would be used), the Bucs won that over the Broncos and Steelers to pick ahead of them.
The Los Angeles Rams still play on Monday night with the same 10-7 record as the rest of the group. However, with a .505 strength of schedule, they'll finish behind the Bucs regardless of what they do against the Minnesota Vikings.
As such, Bucs fans can begin to look at those mock drafts and dream of who might be available to help Tampa Bay get over the hump in 2025.
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