Bucs land Mike Evans' successor in latest NFL.com mock draft
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit gold in the first round in 2014 when they landed wide receiver Mike Evans. Without question, it will go down as one of the franchise's best draft picks of all time. One NFL.com draft pundit sees general manager Jason Licht making another big first round swing at a potential difference […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit gold in the first round in 2014 when they landed wide receiver Mike Evans. Without question, it will go down as one of the franchise's best draft picks of all time.
One NFL.com draft pundit sees general manager Jason Licht making another big first round swing at a potential difference maker at the position in his most recent mock draft.
Daniel Jeremiah has the Bucs taking Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan at 19 overall.
This is what Jeremiah had to say about the pick:
McMillan could go earlier in Round 1, but Tampa Bay would be a perfect landing spot. Chris Godwin is due to become a free agent, and Mike Evans can’t play forever, can he?
McMillan is a big and fast target at 6'5", 212 pounds. He's considered by most pundits as the top WR prospect in this class. He would provide the size and playmaking ability on the perimeter to potentially succeed Evans in the coming years.
Him dropping to 19 is pretty much an outlier among many mock drafts. The majority seem to have him in the top half, with a good number inside the top 10. The Saints have been a relatively popular landing spot for the big wideout, and it's a logical connection, as New Orleans needs help beyond Chris Olave at WR.
However, here, McMillan falls to 19, and the Bucs snag him. That would indeed be an intriguing pickup, and something that should realistically be on the table if Licht ultimately doesn't end up re-signing Chris Godwin next month in free agency.
Adding Tetairoa McMillan would allow Jalen McMillan – who had a terrific rookie season for Tampa Bay last year – to move to the slot and give the Bucs two big and talented targets on the outside in 2025 in Tetairoa and Evans.
That would certainly be a cheaper option than paying Chris Godwin north of $20 million while signing a rookie on a five-year deal for far less. However, it's impossible to deny just how talented and productive Godwin is and would very likely still be.
We'll see what happens with Godwin, but landing a gamebreaker on offense is something that any GM would be hard pressed to pass on. Tampa Bay would have to hope that a majority of the league's GM did so.
ESPN analyst makes prediction that would only heighten the Bucs—Liam Coen feud
The Bucs hope to avoid seeing more fuel to the intrastate fire
