Here is How to Make the NFL Draft Better

The NFL Draft is awesome.  Here's how to make the NFL Draft better.  Get to the picks sooner.  What do we mean?  The start time is 8:00PM eastern time.  Let's have the first pick ready to go.  The Chicago Bears know who they are going to pick first.  The entire world knows who they are going to pick.  It will be quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner Celeb Williams from USC.

But, instead, we will get a big TV production as a broadcast introduction.  It will be full of highlights, voiceovers, music and sound effects.  This will last anywhere from 4-8 minutes.  Then the announcers will talk for a few minutes.   All of them.

Every network covering the draft (NFL Network, ESPN, and ABC plus streaming on the ESPN App, the NFL App, NFL+, and NFL.com) will have 4-6 people that want to tell me what I am about to see.  It's too much.  We are all fans.  If we are interested enough in this event, we are probably already educated somewhat regarding the NFL.

Then the Commissioner Roger Goodell will speak and welcome everyone to Detroit for the draft.  At the end of his remarks he will announce that the Chicago Bears are on the clock and they will have, from that point, which is probably 15 minutes into the production, 10 more minutes to announce their draft pick.  A pick, as I mentioned earlier, they already know.

Somewhere between 22-25 minutes after the hour the Bears will announce Caleb Williams will be a Chicago Bear.  Then the clock will start for the Commanders.  We will be lucky to get a 4th pick announced by 9:00PM!  Although, back in the day there used to be 15 minutes between picks!  Yikes!  10 minutes is better.  But let's speed this thing up and get started on time.  That's how to make the NFL Draft Better!

In the meantime, catch our 2024 Mock NFL Draft with Craig Shemon and Company today on ESPN Southwest Florida!

The NFL Draft is difficult to predict. But by looking at Mock Draft's we can see some of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft targets.

This offseason was a fork in the road moment for the Bucs. Franchise cornerstones Mike Evans and Antoine Winfield Jr. both could have left Tampa this offseason. But the team figured out a way to keep them both around and have enough money to resign quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Even though those are the high profile moves that will garner much of the attention from the national media, the team also made other significant moves.

They found their replacement for Shaw Barrett in Randy Gregory who played for Denver and the 49ers last season. They've brought in CB Bryce Hall from the Jets to compete for the CB2 role following the departure of Carlton Davis. They also beefed up their offensive line with 3 signings; Ben Bredeson, Justin Skule, and Sua Opeta. Opeta is penciled in as a starter right now with Bredeson a backup.

The Buccaneers are currently 26th in the 1st round. The Buccaneers hold 7 picks- 1 in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th plus 2 picks in the 3rd round; pick number 89 and 92.

Looking at the current roster construction for the reigning NFC South champions, and there is not a clear position for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft targets. We will look at what different outlets have the Buccaneers taking in the 1st round. But there is not one position that is overwhelming.

It looks like Jason Licht and the Buccaneers are in a position where they can take the best player on the board or trade back if a team wants to get back into the 1st round.

There are some themes when looking at position groups that fit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft targets. Teams have figured out that you can't acquire enough talent on the offensive and defensive lines, and the Bucs are mocked to take their fair share of linemen.

Pro Football Focus mocked the Buccaneers taking pass rusher Jared Verse in the 1st round with their number 26 pick. PFF describes Verse falling to the Buccaneers as a dream scenario saying "There aren’t many better scenarios for the Buccaneers than somehow coming away with Jared Verse at Pick 26." The Buccaneers have invested heavily in their defensive line in recent memory. They've taken Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in the 1st round since 2018. This pick makes perfect sense is Jason Licht has shown he loves taking play makers on the defensive front in the 1st round.

USA Today has the Buccaneers taking another pass rusher. Laiaty Latu out of UCLA is the reigning PAC-12 defensive player of the year and the Lombardi Award and Ted Hendricks Award for the nation's best defensive player. This seems to be the spot in the draft that pass rushers start to show the depth of this year's class. Remember that Jason Licht has taken a ton of defensive players in the 1st round since he took over as GM. And now that the division boasts Kirk Cousins, getting pressure on him should be a huge priority in Tampa.

The Buccaneers are not desperate for an offensive lineman. But if Mims is on the board at 26, this might be my favorite pick for them. This year's tackle class is one of the deeper one's in recent memory with up to 7 potentially taken in the 1st round. Coming out of Georgia leads me to believe that Mims is a ready made pro. Maybe it's Mims, or maybe it's another offensive linemen the Bucs target here, but I like the idea of going offensive line for a team that was middle of the pack in 2023.

Both The Ringer and Tankathon have mocked Barton to the Buccaneers. Barton is described as a good offensive lineman with good feet that allows him to play any of the interior offensive line spots. Some might see Duke and think "no thanks". But remember how good Duke was in 2023 under Mike Elko, who is now at Texas A&M. I like my offensive linemen to be smart and able to work on the fly. Barton should be able to do that with his academic background. Like Mims, an opportunity to get better in front of Baker is a great idea.