BSPN Rates Bucs’ Best Draft Picks
April 30th, 2026
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Fans are still jumping up and down about Rueben Bain, the Bucs’ first-round draft pick last week. Now the real test is here: Can Bain overcome Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ indifference about an edge rush?
If you read BSPN, Bucs fans should be jumping up and down about a different player the team drafted. In selecting the 100 best picks, Matt Miller has new Bucs nickel cornerback Keionte Scott as his No. 23 best player picked in last week’s draft (Round 4). The heralded Bain, Miller has at No. 26.
BSPN tied the rankings to a player’s talent, scheme fit and the probability of how the player will be used by his new team.
Miller also has Ted Hurst, the wide receiver out of Georgia State, taken by the Bucs in Round 3, as his No. 44 best player.
So in Miller’s top-100 best picks, the Bucs have three players in Miller’s top-44.
At least on paper, that’s a damn good draft for Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
April 30th, 2026 at 12:27 am
If you stand on other people’s shoulders, are you allowed to call yourself tall???
What needs to be done is some hard core sports journalism holding the power structure accountable.
Every year since this regime took power in 2022 we get a non stop wave of boot licking and Pom Pom waiving.
Perhaps trying something different is in order.
April 30th, 2026 at 1:23 am
I’m rooting for Licht and Bowles, although I’m not very confident in Bowles. I’m finding myself very resentful of Mike Evans. I’m not rooting for him. I’m rooting for the rest of his career to suck.
April 30th, 2026 at 2:15 am
Of course, this is just the opinion of Matt Miller which I am not knocking.
With, thirty-two teams, 3 in the top 100 is not really special.
The fact that all of ours are in the top 50 with a mean rank of 33 when the average team’s mean rank should be 50, that’s nice.
It’s too bad Miller found no love for our second round pick.
He gave the 15 spot to CJ Allen who went to CJ the Colts for pick 2-21.
He awarded the 24 spot to Anthony Hill, Jr. who went to the Titans for pick 2-28.
He awarded top 100 spots to five other ILBs taken after the Bucs second round pick, but he found no special value in our guy.
Oh well, another year of mediocrity at ILB.
6 decent picks out of 7 ain’t bad, but poor ILB play year after year is getting old, and failing to aggressively address a glaring need for a coverage linebacker – in a draft where we pick a linebacker with very good do-it-all coverage linebackers on the board – well, damn!
April 30th, 2026 at 2:46 am
toopanca, we have 3 in the top 45.
Two in the top 26.
It’s actually not that bad. I do agree Bain and Scott should be as closely ranked as they are, as they are partners on the field. They key off one another. Opponents will have their double team their side and Vita, and it probably won’t work. Plus it will free up YaYa on the other side.
April 30th, 2026 at 3:43 am
I can’t make heads or tails of Miller’s top 100. Its not just homerism that has me comfortably putting Bain in the top five picks of this draft. Licht filled the need for sacks and disruption with a ringer and pairing him with Keonte Scott is so phenomenal that it should be illegal. The Dolphins getting Kyle Louis to join Jacob Rodriguez is another fantastic pick to create dynamic duo of rookie defenders that seem almost unfair to deploy.
Ted Hurst after the tradeback is also an absolute steal. True X receivers that can stretch the field with size and ball skills are a rare and powerful weapon. I expect to see a lot of him from the go in 2026 and for him to put on a little weight and blossom into something truly special in 2027 and beyond. He and Scott are top twenty additions.
Would not trading with Green Bay and taking DT Chris McClellen and his big bear paws at 84 like the Packers did have been nice? Heck yeah, but Capeheart is no bum and Schrauth is a nice tight fit as a back-up guard who could push his way to starting.
Pregnon was also available and he isn’t a huge step down from Ioane. The Jags landing him was the only good move they made and also top 5 in the draft in my book.
Thats the good. The big bad is the Bowles bad- Trotter in round two. I imagine this had to be a fight in the war room and Bowles pulled some “I’m the one about to get keel-holed” spit and got his coverage-challenged ILB. Licht going WR the Bucs didn’t need in the following round might have been some sort of bargain between them. Hill Jr isn’t violent but he is a heck of a football player. I guess he didn’t have the pop the Bucs were looking for.
The other bad is Licht being a fashion victim and spending two picks that could have been a combination of DL Rayshawn Benny, DT Jordan Van den Berg, DL Skylar Gill-Howard, DL Landon Robinson, CB Avery Smith, OG Armaj Reed-Adams and/or I/0LB Harold Perkins Jr. on Bauer friggin’ Sharpe. With all the talent Licht left on the board this kid better play like Sterling Sharpe. I hate this pick so much I’m not even giving his highlights a glance, if he has any.
The Cardinals punished their fans the harshest of all by making the worst pick in the draft taking Carson Beck and his blown arm at the top of round three.
April 30th, 2026 at 8:19 am
Well, I get that Allen and Hill had lots of people wanting us to pick them, I would point out that another ILB, Jake Golday, was picked before either of them.
Trotter is a scheme pick. He will be the MIKE linebacker and Anzalone willl be the Will, Lavontes’ old role. Trotter is perfect for a MIKE, and he sheds blocks like noone else and can diagnose a run play quickly. Won’tbe asked to cover much, and he will improve.
As with all picks, we shall see in the coming months.
April 30th, 2026 at 8:35 am
Hope1Hand has valid point on packaging our last two picks to move up in 6th rounds with plenty of potential left on board. Other names could be added to list to pile on point – but it’s moot now.
Should treat every pick like it’s your only selection in the world. Seek every advantage at all times – like an actual battle/fight (ex. extra roster slot for international program player; stashing sliding QB prospect to bank for trading/ surplus draft capital.
Perhaps it is nitpicking because the overall draft was terrific [on paper]…just nagging thought that consistency is the difference between the perennial champions vs also-rans.
April 30th, 2026 at 8:46 am
Looks promising, but we won’t know until after the Bucs bye week. The first several games will have coaches making lots of player adjustments. That will give us an indication of what’s to come. Hopefully greatness from Bain Jr.
April 30th, 2026 at 8:59 am
Cleanhouse Says:
April 30th, 2026 at 1:23 am
I’m rooting for Licht and Bowles, although I’m not very confident in Bowles. I’m finding myself very resentful of Mike Evans. I’m not rooting for him. I’m rooting for the rest of his career to suck
Couldn’t agree more!!!! Efff that Guy, could have been a Buc for life, He will Not win a SB with the SF injur9ers.
April 30th, 2026 at 9:05 am
Trotter is a scheme pick. He will be the MIKE linebacker and Anzalone willl be the Will, Lavontes’ old role. Trotter is perfect for a MIKE, and he sheds blocks like noone else and can diagnose a run play quickly. Won’tbe asked to cover much, and he will improve.
BINGO!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 30th, 2026 at 9:31 am
813… are you thinking Bowles might shift to more of a 4-3 base with his current roster?
April 30th, 2026 at 10:52 am
Hate to say this Joe but less than five minutes ago, while reading your suggestion of bringing in Bosa as a situational guy, I had the same exact thought. Bowles would just ignore him.
When is Bowles gonna come off this scheming sacks with rotating safeties, dropping OLBs, and stunts stuff and just let guys go do what they are good at? If they are not good? Find someone who is!
I have no problems with throwing some well timed blitzes in there but dang!
Kiffin was a master at it BTW.
Go Bucs!
Go Bucs!
April 30th, 2026 at 11:14 am
William Walls Says:
April 30th, 2026 at 9:31 am
813… are you thinking Bowles might shift to more of a 4-3 base with his current roster?
I think he’ll go back to the 4 DL front that we had in 2020 with shaq, vita, suh and JPP…it was more of a hybrid look…
1st and 2nd down all four DL had their hand in the dirt….3rd down Shaq and JPP would stand up with LVD and/or White showing pressure at the LOS…we showed 6 but brought 5 or vice versa
dont think we had the players/depth to do that in the past but Bowles has it now…no excuses for him
GO BUCS!!!!
April 30th, 2026 at 3:03 pm
Ahhhh, the post-draft run of emotions by fans everywhere. We don’t like some picks and love others. The more we talk about picks, the greater the emotions become. I’m always full of HOPE that we have some good players coming in, but the coaching well…….
Of course, the media are desperate to say something and they are all experts??? Let’s listen to draft grades before the players even hit worthless preseason games. I do like how Joe gets to OTA’s and camp for reports to us. Get out the sunscreen Joe!
April 30th, 2026 at 4:40 pm
Trotter would be a great pick if it was 1976.
Since the scheme has proven to suck, he’ll be perfect in 2026.