History of Buccaneers' First Round Pick in NFL Draft
Picking 27th overall means the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should pick before the calendar flips over to Friday, but not much earlier.
They say good things come to those who wait, and if that's true, then a really good player should be heading to Tampa once they get to use the pick.
But how good, is still a question, and one I used history to estimate an answer for ahead of Thursday night's festivities.
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Last 5 Picks at No. 27
2021: Baltimore Ravens - WR, Rashod Bateman (Minnesota)
2020: Seattle Seahawks - LB, Jordyn Brooks (Texas Tech)
2019: Oakland Raiders - S, Johnathan Abram (Mississippi State)
2018: Seattle Seahawks - RB, Rashaad Penny (San Diego State)
2017: Buffalo Bills - CB, Tre'Davious White (LSU)
A mixed bag in the last five years with Brooks and Bateman still too young to really label as busts or hits while Abram has struggled with injuries throughout his time with the Raiders while being exposed as a box safety with little coverage value.
Meanwhile, Tre'Davious White has carved out a solid career for himself in Buffalo, even if his status as the top cornerback in the NFL has dipped recently.
While the Buccaneers have never selected 27th overall in the past, fans of the team will certainly be familiar with players taken there, especially players like wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins (Houston Texans, 2013), Robert Meachem (New Orleans Saints, 2007) and Roddy White (Atlanta Falcons, 2005).
The best 27th overall pick in NFL Draft history?
That distinction will likely go to quarterback Dan Marino who was taken at that spot in the 1983 draft by the Miami Dolphins after a poor senior season with Pitt and off-field concerns that caused him to slide well past where his talent evaluation would have placed him.
© Katie Stratman | 2021 Dec 26
© Gary A. Vasquez | 2021 Oct 24
© Mark Konezny | 2019 Sep 22
READ MORE: NFL Draft First-Round Projections
Hopkins is my top receiver taken at the pick in all of draft history while the position group also takes my award for the most controversial player taken 27th in the past, even if the controversy didn't come until a couple of years after Colorado wide receiver Rae Carruth was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 1997.
Who will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take and how much success will he have in the NFL?
Those questions can't be answered by history alone, but we can get an idea of the type of talent that can be found, even if we have to wait until almost midnight to get it.
For more on this and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!
