The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be remiss to make this choice once they get on the clock for the 2026 NFL Draft.
in this year's NFL Draft. The general consensus among fans and pundits, however, is that almost all of those needs come on the defensive side of the ball — Tampa Bay has a lack of depth everywhere, and general manager Jason Licht will have some work to do in filling those gaps during the draft.
Despite that, though, quite a few mock drafts have had the Buccaneers going with offense at Pick No. 15, and that trend has continued with Pro Football Focus' newest mock. Writer Jordan Plocher has the Buccaneers taking Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, who would be the best player available at that pick if he were to make it.Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq hauls in a touchdown catch as the Oregon Ducks | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images "A pass rusher was also a solid consideration here, but Kenyon Sadiq’s athleticism is just too good for the Buccaneers to pass up. At the NFL Combine, Sadiq displayed incredible speed and explosive leaping ability at 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds. "Sadiq uses his speed to beat defenses deep. His five touchdowns on deep passes in 2025 led all tight ends. Over his career at Oregon, Sadiq lined up in the slot on 53.4% of pass snaps, inline on 30.5% and out wide on 12.8%, so the Buccaneers can use him all over the field."at No. 15, but simply put, the Buccaneers cannot afford to pick the best player available with how many needs are on defense. The team did something similar in 2025 when they picked Emeka Egbuka, and as a result, their defense lost them football games down the most crucial stretch of the season. Sadiq is a very good football player, but he'd also come to a team that just re-signed Cade Otton to a three-year, $30 million deal. He'd be a target in the red zone where wideout Mike Evans no longer is, but Tampa Bay's need for edge rusher is far more pressing than its need for a tight end, so the Bucs should stay away from Sadiq even if he does fall to them at No. 15. Finally, tight end is bad positional value for the first round, and those picked in the first round are rarely worth the capital. An edge rusher would be a much more valuable pick, and it's also Tampa Bay's biggest need on top of that.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.Bucs’ Jason Licht Says He Does Not Feel Betrayed by Mike Evans Move to 49ers
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