15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Cashius Howell, EDGE, Texas A&M
The Buccaneers collapsed in epic fashion in the second half of the 2025 season. Despite the horrendous collapse, they decided not to throw their name into the ring of needing a new head coach, and are giving Todd Bowles another shot to get the job done.
Since the Bucs are deciding to run it back, the one non-negotiable for this franchise is to upgrade the pass rush. YaYa Diaby looks like a player, and the Bucs have invested in the interior of the defensive line (Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey), but the edge group needs help.
The team tried to bring in veteran Haason Reddick this past offseason, and they ended up getting so desperate for help off the edge that they called Shaq Barrett out of retirement. Cashius Howell would be a gift from the football gods for this roster.
16. New York Jets (from Colts): Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee
The Indianapolis Colts sent this pick to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner, and the Jets might look to replace him.
This isn’t considered the best cornerback class we’ve seen in recent memory, but the Tennessee program has a couple of guys who should be instant impact players at the next level. Although Jermod McCoy gets most of the fanfare, he didn’t play this past season. It was Colton Hood out there playing the CB1 role for the Vols program, and he was awesome in it.
The Jets need as many building blocks as they can get, and Hood gives them a top-tier talent at a premium position here. If he tests well, he could solidify top-20 status in this class.