“Todd, will you be OK with me drafting two linebackers Friday night?”

When the 2026 NFL draft kicks off tomorrow night — tomorrow night! — Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has made it clear: He wants to trade down.

Seeing/reading/hearing so many other teams say they want to trade down as well gave Joe the impression this won’t be an easy task.

Albert Breer thinks the opposite. In fact, Breer, the long-time NFL columnist for SI.com, put fingers to keyboard to explain the Bucs might be a prime trade-up target and since there may be more than one suitor for the Bucs to dance with, Licht just may be able to pull off a sweet deal.

It seems, per Breer, several teams picking right behind the Bucs are hunting for a tackle. And the Bucs, of course, have zero need to draft a tackle at No. 15, or draft a tackle at all this weekend.

Mark the Buccaneers down as another team looking to move down on Thursday night, from their perch at No. 15. And I think they’re positioned to pull it off.

Behind them, you have the Lions at 17, Panthers at 19, Steelers at 21, Eagles at 23, Browns at 24 and Bears at 25 as teams that might need tackle help. And with a run on the position potentially looming over that alley of picks, the Bucs could give someone the opportunity to jump the line. Which, I think, is something to keep an eye on as we draw closer.

Now this is some really good research of the chessboard. Joe never thought of that (or gave it a whole lot of thought either). But if there are more than one team that talks turkey with Licht tomorrow night, wouldn’t it be awesome if Licht could also squeeze a second-round pick out of another team?

That way Licht could trade down, draft Kayden McDonald in the first, Jacob Rodriguez in the second and maybe Jake Golday or Kyle Louis, too?

That would be a helluva haul to start the draft.

Jake Golday (6’4 237) Cincinnati

+ Ideal size for the position
+ Effective shedding blockers
+ Coverage upside with his length and athleticism (77.5 grade)
+ Blitz timing and pursuit speed
+ Open field tackling
+ 90.6 run defense grade in 2025
+ Work ethic to go from a 190… pic.twitter.com/oBXq8kyfCN

— Bengals & Brews (@BengalsBrews) January 24, 2026