Buccaneers' Top 2024 NFL Draft Targets
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to add to their young defensive core in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.
A handful of mock drafts are in agreement that the Bucs should go after Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson with the No. 26 overall selection.
Tampa Bay is not guaranteed to have its preferred prospect available when it hits the clock, though.
Robinson and a few other players the Bucs love could land within the top 25 and leave the franchise going after its second-or-third-favored option.
Defensive line will be one of the Bucs' top targets regardless of who is available, but they could wait until Day 2 to fill that need if they go after the best overall player on their draft board.
Chop Robinson
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Bleacher Report's NFL scouting department, ESPN.com's Jordan Reid and ESPN.com's Field Yates all projected Robinson to the Bucs at No. 26.
Robinson would be the ideal replacement for Shaq Barrett on the defensive line.
B/R's scouting department noted that Robinson has "the quickest first step of any defensive line prospect in this year's class" and that he is "lightning off the edge."
Tampa Bay needs that type of player to complement last year's first-round pick Calijah Kancey to form a defensive duo that could terrorize opposing offensive lines for years to come.
But the Bucs have to be prepared to select someone else at No. 26 because Reid noted that other teams above the Bucs are interested in the Penn State product.
"There's a real chance that Robinson isn't still on the board at No. 26, as scouts tell me he's getting mid-Round 1 love," Reid wrote.
Darius Robinson
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Another Robinson could be available to the Bucs at No. 26 if Chop Robinson is off the board.
Missouri's Darius Robinson has been projected between the late first round and early second round in most mocks and is the best option after the Penn State product on the defensive line.
ESPN.com's Mel Kiper Jr. predicted Robinson would be the No. 29 pick in his latest mock with Yates.
"Robinson was unblockable at Senior Bowl practices in early February. He is a bit of a tweener, and he might be better as a 3-technique tackle," Kiper wrote.
B/R's scouting department had Robinson off the board at No. 38 as the third defensive lineman chosen after Chop Robinson in its mock draft.
The Missouri product would be a good alternative for the Bucs, but they could also wait until Day 2 to address that need.
Nate Wiggins
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Tampa Bay could have a cornerback on its radar at No. 26 as well.
Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry will likely be chosen in the same range as Tampa Bay is slated to select.
B/R's scouting department landed McKinstry with the Green Bay Packers at No. 25, one pick before the Bucs.
The run on cornerbacks could happen fast, though, as a handful of teams in front of the Bucs have a need at the position.
If McKinstry falls to the Bucs, or they trade up a few spots for him, he would provide more security on the back line of the secondary, where Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum are the current projected starters.
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