A lot of teams had great draft classes (on paper) in 2026, but few put together as impressive of a class as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Even though the Buccaneers didn't have the highest pick in each round or the most draft capital overall, they managed to get great value at seemingly every turn. General manager Jason Licht had already come into the 2026 NFL Draft with an aggressive mentality in NFL Free Agency, adding a ton of players to a roster that needed some fresh blood and upgrades in the depth department.
Franchise legends like Mike Evans and Lavonte David are gone, but the incoming draft class could still be a major catalyst for the Bucs taking back the NFC South and making some noise in 2026.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers cleaned up with 2026 NFL Draft class
The theme of outstanding value started with the Bucs' first pick when they landed Miami pass rusher Rueben Bain, whose fall to the middle of the 1st round was borderline inexplicable. And the only reason we say "borderline" is because there were a lot of folks talking about Bain having very short arms during the pre-draft process, but that never seemed to limit his abilities at Miami, where he was arguably the best pass rusher in the country this past season.
Just because Bain doesn't fit the typical prototype in terms of his body type or length doesn't mean he can't be productive consistently at the next level. And now, the Bucs are getting a player who is going to enter the NFL with a major chip on his shoulder, and another level of focus as he seeks to prove everyone who passed on him wrong.
In the second round, the Buccaneers got a replacement for the retired Lavonte David in the form of Missouri's Josiah Trotter, the son of former NFL linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Sr. Trotter has football in his blood and you can see that in the way he plays.
He's one of the younger prospects in this draft class but physically, you wouldn't be able to tell. He's already got the size of a prototypical thumper at the next level and it wouldn't surprise me to see him step into Todd Bowles's defense and start next to Alex Anzalone on Day 1.
The Bucs continued adding to the defense with fourth-round pick Keionte Scott, who was arguably my favorite steal of this entire draft class. Scott was a slot player at Miami who brings toughness and elite instincts to the defensive backfield.
Although he's not likely going to find a home on the outside or as a permanent safety in the NFL, he's landing in the perfect spot with Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, who will be able to use him as a chess piece all over the formation and let him be a "bat out of hell" with his ability to play fast and create some controlled chaos for the Bucs.
Offensively, Tampa Bay used a 3rd-round pick to fortify their receiver room with Georgia State's Ted Hurst, who was one of the top small-school players in this draft. Hurst is long, he's fast, and he's explosive. He had a whopping 34 catches of 20-plus yards over the last two years, more than anyone else in the FBS.
The Bucs always seem to find strong value in the draft, and maybe that's because they typically seem to align with the "consensus" in the way they pick. Whatever their strategy, it's resulted in one of the most loaded crops of incoming players in the league in terms of value per pick, and I wouldn't be shocked to see these rookies playing huge roles on an eventual division champion team this season.
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