The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a lot of needs heading into the 2023 NFL Draft, but they'll be hard-pressed to fill all of them with impact players thanks to having just three picks in the first 152 selections.

Typically, one would automatically assume the lack of picks means the Bucs aren't in a feasible position to trade up in the first couple of rounds. Moving up in those rounds requires draft capital Jason Licht and co. don't really have right now – inf this year's draft, at least. 

But, there is one position the Buccaneers could be willing to trade up for in the first round of the draft: offensive tackle.

ESPN's draft expert, Jordan Reid, wrote the following in a recent column for ESPN.com:

If the Bucs do indeed move up, I'm told the position they could target is offensive tackle. – ESPN's Jordan Reid

Trading up to take an offensive tackle is a good idea, honestly

For starters, building the offensive line is paramount to Licht. He's drafted eight offensive linemen over the course of nine drafts and six of those eight players were drafted in Round 3 or higher. Licht also made Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen the highest-paid center not once, but twice, since Jensen joined the team in 2018.

The Bucs offensive line was also a major (and underrated) factor in both their 2020 Super Bowl run and when they tied for the NFL's best regular season record in 2021. That year-and-a-half easily featured the best offensive line play in franchise history and it's easy to see why Licht would want to get the team back to that caliber of play.

The key with trading up in this scenario is the Buccaneers would target the left tackle position. This is big for two reasons: If the Bucs draft a left tackle, Tristan Wirfs would definitely remain at right tackle, where he is an elite player and, drafting a Day 1 starter at left tackle would immediately give the Bucs a sound offensive line that features four of the five starting positions figured out (both tackle spots, center, and one guard position).

It's a better scenario than drafting a right tackle at 19 and hoping Wirfs can become a solid contributor at left tackle. If Wirfs can even reach a solid level of play at LT, then the move would be considered a win, for the most part. But, there is zero guarantee of transitive success with a move from one tackle position to another, so why not go the more risk-averse route? 

The downside with this, obviously, is moving up to snag Johnson Jr. or even Jones means Licht will have to part ways with at least a third-rounder. The Bucs are going to have to move up into at least the top-13 to guarantee a shot at getting one of those guys. The New England Patriots could easily use a quality tackle and there's a good chance they nab one of the top guys if the board falls a certain way.

A trade up to 13 with the New York Jets means they'll require pick No. 82, at minimum. Rich Hill's draft pick chart shows a -58 difference between the 19th overall pick and the 13th overall pick and the No. 82 pick is worth 54 points. The Bucs are probably going to have to include one of their fifth-rounders in this hypothetical trade.

And that's fine. The Bucs have two fifth-rounders, but they will certainly miss that third round pick. And it's hard to see them finding a way to make up the loss with their current slate of draft picks. They'd have to get really creative in order to do that.

Either way, trading up to land one of the draft's top tackles honestly wouldn't be a bad idea. And it could set the Bucs offensive line up for success not just in 2023, but in the years to come, as well.