The 2026 NFL Draft is just a week and a half away now, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the final stages of getting their draft board ready.

At pick No. 15 in the first round, the Bucs won’t have a shot to land one of the draft’s premier defenders at a crucial position of need, such as LB Sonny Styles or EDGE David Bailey.

However, there are potential answers for the Bucs’ roster questions throughout at least the draft’s first two days. I took a swing at the first three rounds for Tampa Bay using A to Z Sports’ mock draft simulator, and the results landed Tampa Bay one of the most dominant defenders from the 2025 college football season.

Round 1, pick No. 25: Miami EDGE Akheem Mesidor (TRADE with Chicago for pick No. 15; Tampa Bay adds pick No. 89)

Mesidor might not have gotten the love that teammate Rueben Bain, Jr. has gotten since the start of 2025, but his season was still an elite one. He led the team with 12.5 sacks on the season and posted 17.5 tackles for loss.

While Bain has the edge in physicality and power, Mesidor has the greater pass rushing tool kit right now. Although he’s 25, he’s one of the most NFL-ready defenders in the draft. A readymade contributor is something that Todd Bowles, who’s under fire after a dreadful finish to 2025, desperately needs.

Round 2, pick No. 46 — Texas LB Anthony Hill, Jr.

Hill’s athleticism was too much to pass up here. The Texas linebacker is a sideline-to-sideline terror in run support and he has the coverage skills to be a difference maker on passing downs. He also can get after the quarterback with 17 career sacks over three years, something that Bowles certainly values significantly in his defense.

The Bucs secure their linebacker of the future with Lavonte David having hung up his cleats.

Round 3, pick No. 77 — Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers

Quite the find here still in the third round. A bit of a tweener, Stowers is going to be a problem for defenses in the years to come — in the right situation and system. Bucs OC Zac Robinson greatly increased his 12 personnel usage from 2024 to 2025 and got a lot out of Kyle Pitts last year (88 catches, 928 yards, 5 touchdowns).

The Bucs extended Cade Otton and brought back Ko Kieft, but Stowers could be a mismatch nightmare and a big weapon in the middle of the field and in the red zone for Baker Mayfield. With Mike Evans in San Francisco, Mayfield needs all the help he can get right now. Finding a playmaker in the tight end room would be just that.

Round 3, pick No. 89 — Texas CB Malik Muhammad

I turned the pick I got from the Bears into another Texas Longhorn, and it was a chance to give the Bucs some starting-level competition in their secondary.

Muhammad checked the boxes athletically at the combine with a 4.42 40, 39-inch vertical jump, and 10 foot, 10 inch broad jump. He’s particularly adept in zone coverage, with impressive instincts. Last year at Texas, he allowed a completion percentage of 60% and an opposing passer rating of 57.8.