Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2026 NFL Draft Needs, Picks & Depth Chart

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No matter how well they did in free agency, all 32 NFL teams head into the 2026 NFL Draft with holes to fill on the roster.

Leading into the draft, we will identify the top needs for every team and break down the depth chart position by position.

What are the Buccaneers' top positions of need heading into the 2026 NFL draft?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2026

1. Edge Rusher
2. Cornerback
3. Linebacker

Explore all of our 2026 NFL Draft content:

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2026 Draft Capital

The Buccaneers have the 18th-most draft capital according to our Sharp Football Draft Value.

Our Sharp Football Draft Value is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mock Draft Predictions

Find out who our top-rated experts expect the Buccaneers to draft:

• Brendan Donahue's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #2 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
• Ryan McCrystal's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #20 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Quarterback

1. Baker Mayfield
2. Jake Browning
3. Connor Bazelak

The Buccaneers opened the season 6-2 before fading down the stretch, winning two of their final nine games.

That back half of the season overlapped Baker Mayfield playing through a handful of injuries, something Tampa Bay dealt with everywhere last season.

Mayfield dealt with lingering ankle, knee, oblique, and shoulder injuries over the course of the year, but he never outright missed a game.

Before the Week 9 bye, Mayfield had completed 63.9% of his passes for 7.1 yards per pass attempt with 13 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Over the final nine games, he then completed 62.4% of his passes for 6.5 Y/A with 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

His depth of throw went from 8.6 yards downfield to 7.6 air yards per throw over that span, while his inaccurate throw rate rose 1.8% in those weeks.

The late-season collapse led Tampa Bay to move on from offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard after just one season.

Bringing Zac Robinson in for that job in 2026, this will be the 10th different coordinator Mayfield has had in the NFL.

He has bounced around a bit, but only once in his career did Mayfield have the same play-caller in back-to-back NFL seasons.

Mayfield is up for another new contract after this season as his current deal expires in March 2027.

Tampa Bay added Jake Browning to serve as the backup in 2026.

Browning had a gaudy 6.4% interception rate in his four appearances last season with the Bengals before the team traded for Joe Flacco.

Running Back

1. Bucky Irving
2. Kenneth Gainwell
3. Sean Tucker
4. Josh Williams
5. Owen Wright
6. Michael Wiley

This was not a good running game last season.

In 2025, Tampa Bay backs combined for:

• 3.8 yards per attempt (28th)
• 36.9% success rate (25th)
• 7.8% rate of runs for 10 or more yards (29th)
• 18.3% of runs failed to gain yardage (22nd)
• 21.6% of runs resulted in a first down or touchdown (25th)
• 2.55 yards after contact per attempt (32nd)

The offensive line was battered, and so was Bucky Irving.

After a breakout rookie season in which he produced 1,514 total yards and 6.0 yards per touch, Irving only managed 865 yards and 4.3 yards per touch in his second season.

He declined across the board in the run game from his rookie season.

After a 43% success rate (9th), 5.4 YPC (5th), 13% explosive rate (10th), and a league-best 4.03 yards after contact per rush in 2024, Irving posted a 31.2% success rate (47th), 3.4 YPC (49th), 6.4% explosive run rate (45th), and 2.33 yards after contact (49th) last season.

He suffered foot and shoulder injuries in Week 4 that sidelined him for nearly two months.

Returning to the lineup in Week 13, he ended the season averaging 3.8 yards per touch and one touchdown over his final six games.

Irving operated as a between-the-20s banger to end the year, conceding passing-down work to Rachaad White and short-yardage work to Sean Tucker.

Irving had zero touches inside the five-yard line last season and played just 2 snaps in that area of the field.

New OC Robinson may shuffle that rotation this season, but the Bucs have a similar layout with Tucker retained on a restricted tender and Kenneth Gainwell added as a replacement for White, who left in free agency.

Gainwell had his best NFL season in Pittsburgh last year, posting career highs in every significant category.

He ended up with 1,023 yards from scrimmage and 8 touchdowns on 187 touches.

Gainwell rushed 114 times for 537 yards and 5 touchdowns as a complement to Jaylen Warren, but he made a major dent in the passing game, catching 73 passes, fourth at his position.

Tucker only averaged 3.7 yards per rush last year, but he was largely used as a short-yardage maven outside of his monster game against Buffalo.

Tucker led the team with 7 rushing scores, leading the team with 9 touches and 14 snaps inside the five-yard line.

Wide Receiver

1. Emeka Egbuka
2. Chris Godwin
3. Jalen McMillan
4. Tez Johnson
5. David Sills
6. Kameron Johnson
7. Dennis Houston
8. Garrett Greene

The Bucs took some pushback when they selected Emeka Egbuka 19th overall last season, since wide receiver did not appear to be an immediate need, but how much they needed him in year one and moving forward is an example of how fluid things are in the league, and proved to be strong foresight.

Egbuka was thrown immediately into a large role due to injuries, leading the team with 127 targets while catching 63 passes for 938 yards and 6 touchdowns.

He opened the season on fire.

Over the opening five games, Egbuka was fourth in the NFL with 445 receiving yards, catching 25 passes with 5 touchdowns.

He then suffered a hamstring injury in Week 6.

After that injury, the Bucs spiraled as an offense (see above with Mayfield), and Mike Evans was in and out of the lineup.

From Week 7 on, Egbuka had 469 receiving yards (34th among wide receivers), catching 36 passes with 1 touchdown over his final 11 games.

Over the first six weeks of the season, Egbuka only had an 11.9% off-target rate.

He then had a 26.8% inaccurate target rate for the remainder of the year.

No wide receiver had a higher inaccurate target rate with as many overall targets as Egbuka over that span.

Egbuka ended the season on a down note compared to his blistering start, but this is a first-round pick who had top-down success as a rookie and is still in line for significant target opportunities.

With Evans now gone via free agency, Egbuka should contend with being the feature target in this offense in 2026.

With Evans on the field last season (152 routes), Egbuka was targeted on 18.4% of his routes (1.34 yards per route run).

With Evans off the field (378 routes), Egbuka was targeted on 26.2% of his routes (1.94 yards per route).

Chris Godwin never got on track last season, coming back from a devastating lower-leg injury in 2024.

Godwin played in nine games, catching 33 passes for 360 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He only averaged 10.9 yards per catch (the 2nd-lowest rate of his career) with a career-low 7.1 yards per target.

He only played 80% of the offensive snaps in two games, with only one game over 80.6%.

Godwin has a fresh start this season.

Turning 30 this past February, this could be the end of the ride for Godwin in Tampa Bay, however.

He has a $33.6 million cap hit in 2026, and the team has a club option they can pick up in 2027 at $29.9 million.

Declining that option can save the Bucs $13.7 million in cap space.

2025 was also close to a lost season for Jalen McMillan.

McMillan suffered a severe neck injury last preseason and was on injured reserve until Week 15.

He returned for the final four games, catching 12 passes for 178 yards.

McMillan flashed as a rookie (37 catches for 461 yards and 8 touchdowns), so he is also getting a fresh start in this new offense with two more seasons remaining on his rookie contract.

Tez Johnson was a seventh-round pick last year and contributed throughout all of the moving parts in this offense.

Johnson ended up playing 47% of the offensive snaps, catching 28 of 44 targets for 322 yards and 5 touchdowns.

They also added David Sills, who coincidentally happened to have the best game of his career against Tampa Bay last season in Week 15, catching 6 of 10 targets for 78 yards.

WR1-WR4, the Bucs have a solid unit for 2026.

This is not an immediate need again on paper, but they still could explore adding more weapons on Day 2 or Day 3, given Godwin’s contract situation and the development of so many young pass catchers.

They have already used pre-draft visits on Caleb Douglas and De’Zhaun Stribling.

Tight End

1. Cade Otton
2. Payne Durham
3. Ko Kieft
4. Devin Culp

Cade Otton returned to the Bucs this offseason on a three-year deal worth up to $30 million.

Otton caught 59 passes for 572 yards and 1 touchdown last season.

Otton did not stack crazy counting stats over his rookie contract, but he was a reliable player in the offense who produced when the Bucs were missing multiple pass catchers over the past two seasons.

Otton has played over 90% of the offensive snaps in three consecutive seasons.

The only other tight end on the roster signed beyond 2026 is Devin Culp, who has played 97 offensive snaps through two years in the NFL.

Offensive Line

LT: Tristan Wirfs, Benjamin Chukwuma, Marshall Foerner
LG: Ben Bredeson, Dan Feeney
C: Graham Barton, Elijah Klein
RG: Cody Mauch, Luke Haggard
RT: Luke Goedeke, Justin Skule

The Tampa Bay offensive line was beaten up for most of 2025.

Tristan Wirfs (12 games played), Luke Goedeke (11), and Ben Bredeson (11) all missed five or more games.

Cody Mauch suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2.

The only Bucs starter to play in every game was center Graham Barton.

The Bucs relied heavily on reserves like Charlie Heck, who allowed a team-high 11.1% pressure rate that ranked 233rd out of 239 offensive linemen who played 100-plus snaps last season.

Tampa Bay can have improvement up front in 2026 through better fortune in the injury department.

All of their starting linemen are signed for multiple seasons, except for Mauch, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

The Bucs should be looking to add contractual depth here with potential insulation for losing Mauch after 2026.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Defensive Line

1. Vita Vea
2. Calijah Kancey
3. A’Shawn Robinson
4. Rakeem Nunez-Roches
5. Elijah Roberts
6. Elijah Simmons
7. Haggai Ndubuisi
8. Jayson Jones
9. Nash Hutmacher

The Bucs were only 19th in yards per carry allowed to running backs last season (4.3), but they led the league in the rate of negative runs forced.

Vita Vea played his usual role in that number, recording 9 run stuffs, and he contributed 4.5 sacks.

Vea is probably not as impactful as he once was as he heads into his age-31 season, but he is still a rock for Tampa’s line.

He is scheduled to be a free agent after this season, though, giving the Bucs a choice to make long term.

With Logan Hall leaving in free agency, the Bucs brought in both A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches this offseason.

Robinson will not contribute much more as a pass rusher than Vea, but he has recorded a tackle on 19.1% of his run defense snaps in his career.

Like Vea, he is also older and scheduled to be a free agent next offseason.

Tampa really needs to get more from 2023 first-round pick Calijah Kancey, who played three games last year and has just 29 appearances through three seasons.

Kancey has been a factor in the offensive backfield when on the field.

He just needs to stay healthy.

2025 fifth-round pick Elijah Roberts played a large role as a rookie, but he did not stand out.

The Bucs have talent along the defensive line, and if things fall right, this could be a good unit.

“Things going right” also relies on Kancey staying healthy, and there are long-term questions throughout the depth chart.

Edge Defenders

1. Yaya Diaby
2. Al-Quadin Muhammad
3. David Walker
4. Chris Braswell
5. Anthony Nelson
6. Mohamed Kamara
7. Benton Whitley

Tampa ranked 11th in pressure rate (38.7%) last year and recorded 37 sacks (18th).

Yaya Diaby led the pass rush, getting 7 sacks but posting a very good 14.4% pressure rate.

The Bucs moved on from Haason Reddick, bringing in Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency.

Muhammad is coming off a career year, finishing 12th among qualified pass rushers in pressure rate and logging 11 sacks.

He had not been that kind of pass-rush threat prior to joining the Lions in 2024, though, so it remains to be seen what the Bucs will get out of him.

A fourth-round pick last year, David Walker missed his rookie season with a torn ACL, and 2024 second-round pick Chris Braswell has 2.5 sacks through two seasons.

Anthony Nelson has a career 9.6% pressure rate as a rotational option, though he has posted his best rates in the last two years.

Diaby is solid atop the depth chart, and the Bucs have options behind him.

Even so, this is a position the Bucs should target early in the draft.

Linebacker

1. Alex Anzalone
2. SirVocea Dennis
3. Christian Rozeboom
4. Nick Jackson

Following Lavonte David’s retirement, the Bucs are entering a new era at linebacker.

Tampa made two additions in free agency, signing Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom.

Anzalone should step in as an immediate starter following five quality seasons in Detroit, but he is an older addition (32 in September) who is only under contract for two years.

Rozeboom made plays in the running game for the Panthers last season, but he ranked 99th in yards allowed per coverage snap in coverage among qualified linebackers.

A fifth-round pick in 2023, SirVocea Dennis got his first extended run of action on defense last season, playing 910 snaps.

He also struggled in coverage, and both he and Rozeboom will be free agents after this season.

Looking at this group, the Bucs do not have a trusted starter next to Anzalone, and they don’t have long-term contractual depth.

That makes linebacker a need, though positional value suggests the Bucs will focus on other parts of the front seven early in the draft.

Cornerback

1. Zyon McCollum
2. Benjamin Morrison
3. Jacob Parrish
4. Damarion Williams
5. Josh Hayes
6. Chase Lucas
7. Kemon Hall

The Bucs struggled against the pass last year, finishing 27th in yards per attempt allowed, 23rd in touchdown rate allowed, and 23rd in explosive throw rate allowed.

The pass defense did perform better with Jamel Dean on the field last year, but he left in free agency.

The Bucs did prepare for the future in the draft last year, selecting Benjamin Morrison in the second round and Jacob Parrish in the third.

Morrison missed multiple games due to injury as a rookie, and he struggled in coverage when on the field.

Parrish was able to stay on the field, but he also did not have the easiest time in coverage.

The Bucs will hope for better from both in year two.

Zyon McCollum will lead the cornerback group with Dean gone.

He allowed just 7.1 yards per target in coverage last season, but he did allow 6 touchdowns and a 100.9 quarterback rating.

Given the lack of depth and the state of the pass defense last season, adding a cornerback early in the draft makes sense.

Safety

1. Antoine Winfield Jr.
2. Tykee Smith
3. Miles Killebrew
4. J.J. Roberts
5. Rashad Wisdom
6. Marcus Banks

The Bucs are in a good spot at safety with Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith atop the depth chart, though neither stood out in coverage last season.

Winfield finished 49th among qualified safeties in yards allowed per coverage snap, and Smith was 92nd.

They need better from both in 2026, but their starting duo is set.

They probably could use a No. 3 option behind those two.

Miles Killebrew was added in free agency, but he has primarily been a special teamer throughout his career.

J.J. Roberts was getting good buzz as an undrafted rookie last year, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.

This is not a primary need by any means, but the Bucs would benefit from another addition at safety.

2026 Depth Chart Analysis & Team Needs for All 32 NFL Teams