The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2026 NFL offseason with some very glaring needs that can be summed up in one word: linebacker.

At both inside and outside linebacker, they have needs off the edge with pass rushers and at off-ball linebacker, where they might need to find a couple of starting-caliber players this offseason.

The Bucs’ pass rush off the edge flat-out cost the team in 2025. Yaya Diaby was serviceable with seven sacks, but no one else made much of an impact. Inside, Lavonte David might not be back, and even if he is, Tampa Bay needs to find either the heir apparent, or a contingency plan of David has lost another step once the season is in full swing.

My colleagues at A to Z Sports put out a three-round mock draft on Thursday, and while I respect where they went with their picks, there were a couple of moments where I would strongly have gone in a different direction to address some dire roster needs with intriguing players.

Bucs land two defensive players in 3-round mock draft, but pass on a pair of potential steals at huge positions of need

Tampa Bay goes with Oregon S Dillon Thieneman with pick No. 15. To the credit of Adam Holt, our A to Z Sports Saints writer and draft analyst, he did acknowledge the need with the pick:

“Linebacker is a massive defensive need for Tampa Bay, but I do not prefer the remaining options in the top fifteen. Accordingly, I went with a safety who has versatility in the box and in coverage in Thieneman. His game could balance out Antoine Winfield Jr. impressively at the next level, and he plays with phenomenal instincts. This fit makes sense given how the board played out.” – Adam Holt, A to Z Sports New Orleans

I think 15 is probably a bit high for Thieneman here, and Tykee Smith is still a solid player alongside Antoine Winfield, Jr. with two years left on his rookie contract. Perhaps a player like his Oregon teammate, TE Kenyon Sadiq, could be a fit here. The Bucs just missed on a notable edge in Clemson’s TJ Parker, who went to Baltimore at No. 14, but if he was still on the board in April, he would make sense.

But it was in Rounds 2 and 3 of the latest mock that stung a bit more for me.

At No. 46, the Bucs took Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor. However, Oklahoma EDGE R Mason Thomas was still on the board and went one pick later.

Thomas would be a very intriguing option for Tampa Bay in that spot. While he may lack ideal size (6-2, 249 pounds) and arm length, his explosiveness and pass rushing ability makes him, at minimum, a situational pass rushing weapon for the Bucs to start off his career with the ceiling for a three-down role.

In the third round, Tampa Bay took Arkansas CB Julian Neal with pick No. 77. With pick No. 78, Pittsburgh LB Kyle Louis went off the board, and that’s someone who should be well on the Bucs’ radar.

Louis has been getting knocked a bit for his size at 6-foot, 224 pounds, but his speed, agility, and pass coverage skills would be a boon for a unit that has struggled massively in defending the pass. Louis was also a standout last month in Mobile at the Senior Bowl.

If he can put up a solid day in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine, he could cement himself as a Day Two draft pick. He certainly should be on Jason Licht’s board come April.

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