The Tampa Bay Buccaneers address a key need in this first mock draft from Daniel Jeremiah.
have quite a few needs in the 2026 NFL Draft. Depth has been scarce on both sides of the ball in 2025, but most Bucs fans and natural pundits would likely agree there's one side of the ball that needs a lot of help — defense.
The Bucs did a defense-heavy draft in 2025, using four of their six picks that year on defense. That being said, Tampa Bay still has a lot of need on that side of the ball, with the defensive line, edge rushing room and linebacker corps all looking for added pieces to make the defense more effective. The NFL's Daniel Jeremiah, a noted draft expert, released his first mock draft of the year for the 2026 NFL Draft, and he has the Bucs taking a vaunted edge rushing prospect from Texas A&M.Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell reacts during first half of the first round game of the CFP National Playoff | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images"One of my favorite players to study, Howell plays 100 mph at all times and has the production to back it up ," Texas A&M has been known to field a lot of edge rushers with raw athleticism and not a lot of production, like Shemar Stewart or Nic Scourton from last year's draft class. Howell isn't like that, as he's been incredibly productive during his tenure with the Aggies — initially with Bowling Green before going to Texas A&M, Howell has netted 27 sacks in five seasons and finished his 2025 campaign with 11.5. The Bucs could certainly use an edge rusher with the Haason Reddick experiment failing and rotational depth struggling to get pressure, and Howell could be an answer to that. The Bucs have had some trouble drafting and developing edge rushers, but Yaya Diaby had seven sacks in 2025 and could do even better with less attention focused on him, and the best way to do that would be to add another dynamic edge rusher on the other side. Tampa Bay could address this need in free agency, too, but edge rusher is arguably the second-most important position in football behind the quarterback. If Jason Licht could get a great one in the draft, the Bucs' defense could be much improved in 2026.River Wells is a sports journalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, who has covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2023. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter @riverhwells. NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds: Tetairoa McMillan, Tyler Shough Rise After TreVeyon Henderson Injury
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