Tampa Bay wide receiver 2023 NFL draft targets

If there is any position the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are largely set, it’s at wide receiver. Nevertheless, the draft is all about adding the best possible talent, even if that means making a strong receiver group even better.

Between Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage, it will be tough for any other Bucs wide receiver to see many snaps in 2023. Last year, no other receiver outside these top three played more than 30% of Tampa’s offensive snaps.

The only problem is that the next three wide receivers with the most 2022 snaps are no longer on the roster. Julio Jones and Breshad Perriman are still unsigned, and Scotty Miller is an Atlanta Falcon.

Tampa’s wide receiver room is currently very top heavy, both itself and in relation to the rest of the roster. The receivers will count $38.5 million against the 2023 cap according to Spotrac, second-most among the Bucs positional groups and most per player.

The Bucs simply have too much invested in the wide receiver room already to spend a premium draft pick on another, especially not in one of the weaker wide receiver draft classes in recent memory.

With five draft picks between rounds five and six, the Bucs could certainly take a flyer on a developmental receiver like they did with Scotty Miller in the 2018 draft. The Bucs don’t need a starter or even an immediate contributor—just an insurance policy.

Here are the wide receiver prospects the Bucs could target in the 2023 draft:

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Stanford WR Michael Wilson might have been a more heralded prospect if he had been able to stay on the field. Wilson has only played in 14 games in the past three years, but he looked like a legitimate NFL prospect in those games.

Unlike many of the top receiving prospects in this draft, Wilson actually has size and knows how to use it. His 6’1″, 213-pound frame is well used by Wilson, particularly when running routes and leaping for contested catches.

Wilson’s injury history is going to scare off many teams from taking him early, despite his desirable athleticism. A mid-round investment by the Bucs could be well spent.

USA TODAY Network

Parker Washington is one of the more underrated receiver prospects in this draft. Though an injured ankle robbed him of his final few games at Penn State and much of the draft process, Washington has the quickness and tenacity from the slot to make an impact on an NFL field.

Washington is short but dense at…