2019 NFL Draft: Final complete 7-round mock draft as Kyler Murray still goes No. 1
By Randy Gurzi
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
Another player who seemed destined for the top overall pick at one point this season was Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver. He no longer seems like an option there but this has more to do with the players taken before him than anything he has done.
Oliver, who was misused at Houston, is projected to be a force as an interior defensive lineman but his arrival could spell the end for one of their biggest stars in Gerald McCoy — which was touched on by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times who tried to pick the Bucs brains in terms of what they will be thinking when they’re on the clock at No. 5.
"Gerald McCoy is most likely not going to return for 2019, not at $13-million. He’s 31, so it’s soon going to be time to replace him. Vita Vea would be a perfect nose tackle in the Bucs’ 3-4 defense. But the Bucs could use a disruptive penetrator next to him. If Nick Bosa, Quinnen Williams and Josh Allen are gone before the Bucs pick No. 5 overall and Oliver is available, it would be a discussion whether to take him or linebacker Devin White because of the value of the position."
Oliver is undersized for his position but he’s also incredibly athletic. In his piece, Stroud even discussed the possibility of Oliver playing some linebacker at the next level — and Oliver was fine with such a task.
While linebacker is also a big need for Tampa Bay, Oliver’s potential is simply too great to pass on at this point.