Who Would Bucs Take in Redo of 2017 NFL Draft?

Hindsight can be a painful exercise when it comes to NFL Draft history, especially when your team hasn't won a playoff game in nearly two decades.

But hey, that won't stop us from playing a little "what if" now and then.

That's why The Athletic decided to redraft the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft using their vast network of talented beat writers, and the Bucs opted not the reprise the pick they made nearly three years ago.

The Athletic's Greg Auman lamented that passing up Dalvin Cook (again) and even Leonard Fournette might anger some Tampa Bay fans, but he still opted for the ball-hawking safety, Eddie Jackson:

Man. For so many Bucs fans, if they could go back in time, they wouldn’t save JFK or anything like that, they’d go back to 2017 and take Dalvin Cook here. It’s on my timeline constantly, a parallel universe where all is blissful. This is the very moment they’ve dreamed of. And yet even with Cook and Fournette available (gasp!), knowing the future struggles of the Bucs’ run game, I have to go with Jackson at safety here. That defense needed/needs playmakers. I’m confident there will be a solid value back like a Chris Carson or Mixon around in the second round of this completely hypothetical redraft.

What makes this pick even more painful for Tampa Bay fans is that Jackson lasted all the way until the third round in the 2017 draft, while the Bucs spent their second-round pick on Texas A&M safety Justin Evans. Jackson already has two Pro Bowls and a first-team All-Pro nod under his belt, while Evans has barely seen the field due to multiple injuries.

Tampa Bay's actual pick in that draft, tight end O.J. Howard, has fought injuries of his own, and struggled to make a significant impact as a receiver last season. This has led to rumors he could be on the trading block this offseason, as head coach Bruce Arians traditionally doesn't feature tight ends in the passing game.

To check out the full first-round redraft at The Athletic, click here.