NFL Insider Names Player To Watch For Buccaneers In First Round

The Bucs are only a few days away from selecting their future star in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some interesting questions to answer at pick No. 15 in the NFL Draft. Do they stay put and pick a player? Do they pick a need, or go for the best player available? Do they trade back, or in a daring move, trade up?

We're very close to these questions being answered when the NFL Draft kicks off and the Buccaneers and general manager Jason Licht get ready to make their selection. The assumed need for Tampa Bay is defense, but if the team really likes an offensive prospect, it could very well pick one when the time comes.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer put together some players to watch for all 32 NFL teams, and he named some interesting prospects that Bucs fans will want to look out for.

Albert Breer names two players to watch for Buccaneers during draft

Oregon Ducks tight end Kenyon Sadiq (18) catches a touch down during the first half against the Southern California Trojans | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Breer's first player to watch for the Buccaneers is Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq. Sadiq has been frequently mocked to the Buccaneers at No. 15, but that's been a controversial decision due to the fact that the Buccaneers really need a defensive player. Breer acknolwedges this, but mentions that the Buccaneers could use Sadiq regardless.

"Yes, this pick is probably going to be a defensive player," Breer wrote. "That said, Sadiq is a name to watch here, with new OC Zac Robinson having a readymade role for him in how he used Kyle Pitts Jr. in Atlanta last year."

Not only would Sadiq immediately have a role in Tampa Bay in the same vein that Pitts did in Atlanta, but Robinson uses quite a bit of 12 personnel, meaning that he likes to put two tight ends on the field. The Bucs could still use newly re-signed tight end Cade Otton in that case, making Sadiq a red zone threat to replace Mike Evans and Otton available to do the dirty work he's been doing for the past few years.

That being said, Tampa Bay's main needs fall on defense. Breer mentioned another very commonly mocked player to the Buccaneers, Miami's Akheem Mesidor, as a potential target.

"If the Buccaneers do look for defense, edge would loom as the biggest immediate need. And assuming Bain is off the board, along with Bailey and Reese, they might have the dilemma of taking a hard look at Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor," Breer wrote. "Plenty of scouts prefer Mesidor’s tape and physical profile to Bain’s, but his college career was pockmarked by injuries, and he just turned 25. To take him this high, you’d have to really like him as a player. Meanwhile, if you’re looking at corner, the injury risk on McCoy at this stage of the first round may be too great. So would it be too early to look at his teammate Hood?"

Mesidor could be a high-floor prospect for the Buccaneers, but his age and injury history are cause for concern. The Buccaneers may like Mesidor, but whether or not they like him at pick No. 15 remains to be seen, and that could affect their draft strategy.

Licht surprised many last year when he picked wideout Emeka Egbuka at No. 19, and he could do the same thing on Thursday. We'll know for sure come pick No. 15, where the Bucs could either pick a player or trade back.

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