While the Buccaneers have repeatedly used Day Two draft assets to land offensive linemen, the opposite is true at wide receiver. Licht hit a home run in the third round with Chris Godwin in 2017 but otherwise has not used another second or third-rounder on a receiver in his other nine drafts. (Licht’s very first draft pick, of course, was a grand slam at wide receiver, as Mike Evans came off the board seventh overall in 2014.)
This could be a good year to reverse that trend. The 2024 receiver class is extremely top-heavy, with Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze all likely coming off the board in the top 10, but there is plenty of depth beyond that. LSU’s Brian Thomas is also widely regarded as a first-round pick, and others that could slip into the back end on Thursday night include Georgia’s Ladd McConkey, Florida State’s Keon Coleman and the Texas duo of Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy.
Even if all those pass-catchers are selected well out of the Bucs’ range, the cupboard will be far from bare for their picks between numbers 57 and 92. And it may be time to take a shot at reloading the receiver room. The team happily got another deal done with future Hall of Famer Mike Evans in March to potentially make him a Buccaneer for life. Evans and Godwin make up one of the better starting receiver duos in the NFL, but it’s worth noting that the former is going into his 11th season and the latter currently is only under contract for one more year. Even if those two stay together in Tampa beyond 2024, the NFL is increasingly a pass-happy team and talented depth at the position is essential. In fact, that was one of the best qualities of the Buccaneers teams that won a Super Bowl in 2020 and tied for the NFL’s best record in 2021.
Beyond the names mentioned above, other potential Day Two picks who could get into the Bucs’ range include South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, Florida’s Ricky Pearsall, Oregon’s Troy Franklin, Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk, Michigan’s Roman Wilson and Western Kentucky’s Malachi Corley.
Legette only had one year of big production at South Carolina, but it was very big production (71-1,255-7) and he’s the biggest and most physical prospect of this group. His style of play has been compared to that of the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel. Pearsall is adept at creating separation, can make defenders miss after the catch and is stronger than his size would suggest. Franklin is intriguing due to his speed; he’s got…
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