How did Buccaneers' NFC South rivals fair in first round of the NFL Draft?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did the unthinkable on Thursday night when Jason Licht and the rest of the front office and staff decided to take Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick rather than selecting a defensive player in the first round.

Buccaneers fans may still be trying to process the pick after the initial shock, but we have learned to trust the evaluations of Licht, as he has shown over and over again that he knows what he is doing.

Tampa Bay will likely go defense-heavy the rest of the draft, with Rounds 2 and 3 getting underway Friday evening before Day 3 on Saturday.

While we focus on what the Bucs have and will be doing, here is how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' NFC South rivals fared in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Atlanta Falcons

Rd.1 Pick 15 - EDGE Jalon Walker, Georgia

Rd. 1 Pick 26 - EDGE James Pearce Jr., Tennessee

Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker reacts against the Texas Longhorns. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Falcons needed to address their pass rush and head coach Raheem Morris and the front office did just that nabbing two established SEC players who have a nack for getting in opposing offensive backfields in Walker and Pearce Jr.

Walker fell to the Falcons, allowing them to get him at No. 15, and they took a chance on Pearce Jr. despite the negativity surrounding character concerns by trading back into the first round. The Falcons are close to competing for the NFC South crown, and being able to compete against the Buccaneers' offensive line will be a huge stepping stone in the right direction for Atlanta.

Carolina Panthers

Rd. 1 Pick 8 - WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell with Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers finished the 2024 season strong with Bryce Young finally looking like the quarterback they spent a former first overall pick on. The Panthers are a solid team but have lacked in a few areas, including on the offensive side of the ball.

The Panthers addressed an offensive need here by taking perhaps the best wide receiver in the class, Tetairoa McMillan, with the eighth overall pick. Despite Young finding his groove later in the season, Carolina lacked a playmaker on the outside and will now get that with McMillan, pairing him with another young and promising wideout in Xavier Legette to test the NFC South secondaries.

New Orleans Saints

Rd. 1 Pick 9 - OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas

Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. against the Clemson Tigers. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints are at the bottom of the barrel of the NFC South and have a ton of holes to fill if they want to contend for the division. There are clearly quarterback concerns in New Orleans with Derek Carr's injuries and unproven young guys in Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener.

Even with concerns elsewhere and at the quarterback position, it doesn't seem as though the new regime with the Saints is all that worried, as they hunkered down and chose an elite offensive tackle from Texas, Kelvin Banks Jr. Banks Jr. is a solid pickup here for the Saints as he will be tasked with protecting whoever is playing QB for them against some great defensive lines in the South.

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