Kayden McDonald And The Bucs
April 5th, 2026
Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald.
Say it isn’t so! The schlockers may be full of schlock?
Regular readers know how “this Joe” is irritated by schlock drafts. Joe strives for and craves accuracy. If one isn’t trying to be accurate, then what’s the point?
Schlock drafts have become the literal definition of clickbait.
Twice in the past month, a couple of clowns for CBS — not prickly Pete Prisco! — had the Bucs drafting an offensive tackle. Igits. Nice research.
A prominent schlocker for BSPN (fittingly) once told Joe at a combine years ago, “If you think I’m concerned about accuracy, you’ve got another thing coming.”
Then why should anyone read his fiction? Why should anyone take him more seriously than Sylvester the Cat analyzing draft prospects?
Talk about irresponsible. Yet people can’t stop reading.
Joe misses the greats who did true mock drafts and cared about their accuracy and had access to the shot-callers around the league to get intel. Man, what kind of cash could Joel Buchsbaum make today?
Over the past week, Joe has been more and more thinking the Bucs may draft a defensive tackle in the first round if Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht can work a trade-down deal.
Currently, a guy Joe does believe cares about accuracy, Daniel Jeremiah, the former Baltimore, Cleveland, and Philadelphia scout, has one defensive tackle going in the first round, Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald at No. 25.
The Bucs pick at No. 15. So selecting McDonald 10 slots higher sure smells like a reach. Generally, reaching general managers get in trouble. So that’s why Joe thinks McDonald could be a trade-down target for Licht.
Former Bears director of scouting feisty Greg Gabriel, however, is a huge fan of McDonald and thinks he’s being undervalued. Gabriel contends McDonald, who measured 6-2 and 325 pounds at the combine at 21 years old, won’t last to No. 25. If he’s accurate, then the Bucs picking at No. 15 really wouldn’t be reaching far for McDonald.
So why would the Bucs want a defensive tackle? It seems Licht saw the defensive softness Joe saw last year. With the addition of lineabacker Alex Anzalone and A’Shawn Robinson, Licht is bringing a hitter and a physical brawler.
McDonald fits that same description.
Bucs defensive tackle Calijah Kancey has almost missed as many games as he has played — 22 of 51 regular-season games in his three Bucs seasons. And Vita Vea and Robinson are 31 in contract years. Licht also signed old man Nacho on Friday.
So the Bucs future at defensive tackle is thinner than you may realize. (It’s almost like the Bucs are fully expecting Kancey to get hurt again.)
McDonald at No. 15 may not be a crazy concept. He may not be much of a pass rusher but he sure is a bully in the trenches.
The only DT that I’d even consider at 25 is McDonald. He doesn’t quite fit the athletic profile DA wants but he’s strong, explosive and a the kind of disruptor that DA wants. Personally, I don’t think he gets to 25. The analysts don’t have him high enough
— Greg Gabriel (@ggabefootball) April 4, 2026
Some Kayden McDonald run game highlights. This is what the late Round 1 NTs look like. pic.twitter.com/GlogfXOJKA
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) February 18, 2026
April 5th, 2026 at 10:34 am
I like Kayden, but not at 15….need a trade down partner
Just hit DT in the 4th with Landon Robinson. I hope we trade back and still land
OG
LB
CB
DT
TE
or flip those last 3, TE Trigg, DT LR, then CB
April 5th, 2026 at 10:43 am
Talk about a self fulfilling prophecy. If th3 Bucs reach 10 picks early, then it won’t be a reach? That there is some high end self evaluation. JL is definitely agile enough to pat his own back, but lacks dexterity when a mid-season pivot is needed at trade deadline. He’s a great head scout, but leadership…meh
April 5th, 2026 at 10:46 am
To go off track here, all the Baker talk got me thinking. So I went back to last year’s late season games against Carolina (Week 15) and the next week against Atlanta.
Sorry to burst your bubble, Baker worshipers, but Munch is right. Baker threw two late interceptions against Carolina and the famed one against Atlanta when we still could have won after the 3rd and 28. And Evans was disgusted.
And more to Munch’s point, Baker was not pressured during any of these throws.
You can call injury or bad OL blocking, but not here.
Baker flat out blew it. Watch!
And this isn’t me talking, the tape doesn’t lie.
So stop with the worship, will ya? Baker is an above average QB who has occasional streaks of greatness, the same as all above average QB’s.
I think I’m not alone when I say, “Tom Brady wound NEVER have made those throws.
And that’s the difference between greatness and above average.
And now: cue up the excuse factory …
April 5th, 2026 at 10:47 am
Robinson is a nice player but he’s way too small for the nose. Only 6 ft tall and literally 50 lb less than McDonald. I wouldn’t have a problem. Grabbing McDonald in the first round. As always depends on who’s there.
April 5th, 2026 at 10:51 am
JA, no reason to hijack an article about drafting a defensive tackle with more Baker rhetoric. There are literally dozens of posts where you can do that with the support of your Baker hating compadres. Incidentally, I don’t think anyone, including the Baker lovers excuse those bad. Interceptions. But the reason we needed stellar play in those moments was because of the defense. Didn’t get it at that time unlike earlier in the season. Done and over with.
April 5th, 2026 at 10:54 am
007
Excuse #1 ✔️
April 5th, 2026 at 10:55 am
The Bucs will need to score at least 40 points per game so address the o-line. hahaha
April 5th, 2026 at 10:56 am
I like Georgia big 21 year old 6’4 325 lbs DT Christen Miller
He’s ready to light up the NFL , he’s quick on his feet
And has massive strength, Kirby love him, he’s great
April 5th, 2026 at 11:02 am
If we’re going to reach, at least we’re getting a starter. It won’t be a JTS or Hall. MacDonald will play for years.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:16 am
JA. Not to get off track here. I’m gonna enjoy this beautiful Easter Sunday. So that being said JA. Happy Easter Sunday. Go Bucs.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:20 am
@JA: And that’s the difference between greatness and above average.
And now: cue up the excuse factory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excuse#2
————
Great quarterbacks are soooooooooooo easy to find, I can’t believe Licht didn’t think of that! ……………..DUH!!!!!!
April 5th, 2026 at 11:27 am
I’ve been thinking DT all along. Vea’s getting up there in years and they can’t trust Cancey to stay healthy.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:36 am
J, you did exactly what I said, no excuse. Did you read the rest of my comment? Context counts.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:37 am
Reach, my a$$. Kayden McDonald will be a starter in NFL for years.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:43 am
No DT’s that can’t also participate in a pass rush. Waste of resources. The DT’s in this draft are way below par. Pick the best players.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:46 am
JA. You say we could have still won “after the 3rd &28? Explain to everyone how you can still win a game when the final play of the game was the field goal they kicked. That was Atlanta’s 3rd length of the field drive in the 4th quarter. The Carolina game you speak of we let Carolina drive the length of the field and score with 2 minutes left to take a 3 point lead. The ensuing kickoff, after the 15 yard penalty, we started at our 8 yard line with under 2 minutes and Baker slung us right down the field until Mighty Mike Evans popped the hamstring between his ears. Baker didn’t make any excuses JA. Do you have any excuses for being a liar?
April 5th, 2026 at 11:48 am
If all a guy is going to do is plug up the running lanes he should not be a first round pick. That had to be found in the middle rounds.
It’s a very important skill set but as a dt you have to be able to rush the qb at 15.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:54 am
Been a BUC fan since Tony Dungy‘s days,the Buccaneers has been thought some horrible years with head coaches, including the one we have right now. He’s like lovely Smith; Too stubborn to change his mind.we have been looking for an edge rusher for years and we have one in VITA VEA. Answer this question? Wasn’t he the ONE That Play defensive end in the Super Bowl win against Kansas City? The most important game of the year.!! Why waste his talent playing noise tackle and getting double team every play, instead of letting him have some fun getting after quarterback on the edge Especially at his age ? That’s what good team have, Violent players having fun playing the game of football.With the coach we have he’s NOT going to change no matter who you draft on the defensive side of he team. Meaning we will have to put up a lot of points to win ball games and with the new offense coordinator:Zac Robinson which uses two or three tight ends at a time it would be smart to draft the best tight end in the draft in the first round to make Coach Robinson easier for him and Baker Mayfield. Like Joe always say Rookies normally don’t make that big of an impact their first year, especially on defense..
April 5th, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Go watch McDonald’s highlight tape-He creates turnovers with his big bear paws ripping the ball out. Reminds me a bit of Suh-like this kid.
April 5th, 2026 at 12:11 pm
I rather have a ( Disruptive NT) than a pass rushing NT
We need some enforcers on the D-Line that disrupt, and cause chaos
And let the Linebackers become playmakers, OLB and ILB
April 5th, 2026 at 12:12 pm
Sign some dude who weighs 1100 pounds and wheel him out there next to Vita. The combined gravitational field would be so potent, the QB wouldn’t be able to drop back.
April 5th, 2026 at 12:13 pm
With Vita, Kancey, Robinson, Roberts and Nacho, I think the Bucs are solid at DT. Much bigger needs at Edge, LBer, CB and OL.
If one of the top rated OTs drop, I’m starting to think that’s where the best value might be. After Wirfs and Luke, there is no depth. If the draft a OT that can start at guard and provide depth at OT, that would help should Luke or Wirfs gets hurt and upgrade the guard position.
I think with all these Edge rushers, LBers and Love going in the top 10, a top rated OT falls to 15.
April 5th, 2026 at 12:16 pm
No one else local went to the meeting for the same reason Mike Evans is no longer a Buc.
April 5th, 2026 at 12:20 pm
Like Bucs are sooooo gooooood at drafting Edge…………………….
April 5th, 2026 at 12:22 pm
Joe … ‘McDonald at No. 15 may not be a crazy concept. He may not be much of a pass rusher but he sure is a bully in the trenches.’
And that’s EXACTLY what the Bucs desperately need … a BULLY in the trenches. THAT’s McDonald all the way.
Folks are so worried about not picking him too high that they’ll end up missing out on him altogether. He’s solid, he’s tough as nails, and he can give us 700-plus QUALITY def snaps starting in his rookie season. In short Joe, HE’LL MAKE A MUCH BIGGER DIFFERENCE than any Edge or others folks have been talking about drafting in Rnd 1.
IF he’s there at #15 Jason, grab him and start singing Halleleujah. Because if you don’t, there’s a very good chance that Carolina (Pick #19), Chicago (Pick #25), or Houston (Pick #28) will. McDonald will be drafted in Rnd 1.
April 5th, 2026 at 12:34 pm
007 & Kenton Smith
Excuse for making excuse—sometimes called The Dialectical Fallacy ✔️
April 5th, 2026 at 12:41 pm
Love MacDonald and Lee Hunter as DT picks.
April 5th, 2026 at 12:43 pm
👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆👆
What about Anyhony? He’s stupid too……..No?
April 5th, 2026 at 12:46 pm
All for adding talent up front but I doubt DT is a position they are looking for in the first 2 days.
Call it Jason Licht hopium if you want, I bet they feel they are set there. Could be wrong based on couple guys in contract years.
Vea, Kancey, Robinson, Roberts, Nacho, Simmons, Jones… that’s a lot of big bodies and I bet they hope Roberts and Simmons take a step this offseason.
April 5th, 2026 at 12:55 pm
@JA: Excuse for making excuse—sometimes called The Dialectical Fallacy ✔️
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An excuse for an excuse is a secondary justification, often called a “metaphorical shield.”
April 5th, 2026 at 1:09 pm
I can’t name a player I like better and who will be available at 15.
April 5th, 2026 at 1:17 pm
The biggest reason teams might want to trade UP to our #15 is Ty Simpson. Steelers at #21 for instance
April 5th, 2026 at 1:34 pm
Agreed JA. Baker has played inconsistent. Deff lost us some games and won us some games. I don’t want the Bucs to extend him until he can show consistency. When he’s on his A-game he’s deff a top 10 even a top 5 QB but when he’s not man he’s makes some Winston type of throws lol
April 5th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
No team is trading up to 15
There’s no value there, that’s a (Reach) spot in the draft
Not many teams will trade up to reach
Licht will be stuck with the pick
April 5th, 2026 at 2:26 pm
But can he defend a WR?
April 5th, 2026 at 2:44 pm
At 15, we should be getting Warren Sapp. This guy ain’t Sapp. Or anything like him. He’s like a younger Vea which is nice, but DT’s like that are pretty common. And this guy is not as good or B-I-G as Vea. If we had a young Sapp now he’d be a huge difference maker on this D. Our biggest problem is we cannot find a pass rush. We need it from our DT’s until we find it elsewhere…
He does have room to grow.
April 5th, 2026 at 2:49 pm
Also, excuses are reasons why something happened. And the excuse is simple. No guards completely throws off the rhythm of the offense forcing Baker to play out of the pocket, off schedule, and without timing. There WAS NO POCKET. EVER. Our offense was completely 1 dimensional. Running and short wide passes trying to avoid the interior rush. And rollouts both of which make it easier to jump pass patterns.
April 5th, 2026 at 2:51 pm
Anyhony, let’s draft Ty Simpson cause Baker’s the worst.
Ty will fix all our problems, who cares about a Charmin soft defense.
🙄
April 5th, 2026 at 2:51 pm
👍👍👍👆👆👆👆👍👍👍
April 5th, 2026 at 3:23 pm
Best Front Four wins games. I’d be on board with this in a heart beat. We have no elite talent on the defensive front. Vita stayed healthy for the most part last season but don’t count on that continuing – 32 and a life in the NFL trenches. This may be his last season. Kancey plying more than 10 game would be a surprise, but he’s probabnly better as a rotational guy. Everybody else is old. Roberts showed some promise but we need more.
April 5th, 2026 at 4:59 pm
You’ll never hear me complain about drafting a DT at 15. We really are paper thin there, Joe laid it out.
April 5th, 2026 at 7:37 pm
The eyes! And, the effort!
Kayden McDonald will be going full tilt stonewalling the center and a guard, and his eyes are still on the ball, and then he makes that devastating lunge to lay a powerful mitt on the ball carrier or to shove one of the blockers into the path of the ball carrier.
But, he doesn’t stop there! McDaniel keeps bulling his way through the battle until the ball carrier is on the ground.
Line up Robinson, McDonald, and Vea together and there will be no inside run, but there will be inside pressure!
Line up Diaby and Nelson at OLB on early downs to shutdown the outside run. And, on passing downs, swap Muhammad for Nelson to bring outside pressure.
This is the kind of front five the Bucs need to get three and outs.
Back up this front five with ILB’s Anzalone and second round ILB Anthony Hill Junior; the run will not get around the edge, and tight coverage short will make the quarterback hold the ball and give the rushers time to get to pressure the QB. Pressure on the QB reduces the exposure time for the DB’s in coverage and gives them opportunities to create turnovers.
April 5th, 2026 at 8:44 pm
Reminds me of booger
April 5th, 2026 at 9:10 pm
+1 for Christian Miller
April 5th, 2026 at 9:55 pm
Why do those who do want DT to be the pick at #15 in the 2026 draft continue to be insistent despite there being none, zero-zilch 0 or 1i talent? McDonald can’t command 2 blockers let alone a chipper or tie-up every now and again. Stop seeing what you want to see and see what is, please. There is no DT that changes the math for the opposing OC but there are many other ways to improve the defense besides go with the league fashion and become a fashion-victim. Don’t get me started on how bad these top 100 DTs outside of Christen Miller are from a practical standpoint.
April 5th, 2026 at 10:09 pm
McDonald “can” tie up a double team but he doesn’t have the movement skills like Vea to demand it and he never will. Drafting him is like trading the Bucs #15 for a third rounder.
Chris McClellan and his bear hands or RayShawn Benny would be assets but they will go too high as well. No DTs before day 3 despite the fact that the key to the Seahawks success was being able to line up in nickel or dime 93% of the time. DTs were a part of that, a big box that can line up at LB or across from a slot WR or TE is another.
Jordan Van Der Berg from Georgia Tech is the only ST worth drafting. Look him up and figure out why. He was a combine snub but check out his size, production and Sonny Styles pro day numbers.
April 5th, 2026 at 10:12 pm
DT not ST. He put up WR and CB type number to go with his 36 bench reps. I laid out a full scouting report but it got censored.
April 5th, 2026 at 10:15 pm
Maybe a QB-desperate team will trade up with Licht so they can pick Ty Simpson! Licht can get the CB McCoy and DT McDonald in late rd1 or early rd2. We can call it the Mac draft.
Too bad Licht won’t be drafting an edge who can actually rush the passer. Will the Bucs actually find an Edge who doesn’t need coaching?
April 5th, 2026 at 10:21 pm
I don’t see a DT at 15 worth drafting
I like Christen Miller in the 2nd if Licht can get a trade down
I think CB and ILB has more value in the 2nd rd than DT
But if we can’t get a trade down, and get a extra pick
Then I’m good with Mesidor at 15, Hill, Rodriguez, Allen in 2nd
April 5th, 2026 at 10:28 pm
Mesidor can rush the passer, he has some pass rushing techniques
April 5th, 2026 at 10:39 pm
If not DT then G.. need up the trenches. The best dt or guard should be there.
April 5th, 2026 at 10:43 pm
McDonald hub-bub follows a trend I abide. He will be a sure second contract water-logged trash can who will never make 10 sacks total in his long career. Mark it. Not worth a third in my eyes.
Not when Jordan Van Der Berk from Georgia Tech is available late, like round 6 or 7. He is a combine snub but check this out: 6’3” 310 official lbs/ 36 bench reps/ 35” vertical/ 9’11” broad/ 4.94 40 with a 1.61 ten yard split and a 4.19 short shuttle.
The best CB and S in this draft tied at 4.18 for the best short shuttle time. 4.19 from a 310 lb DT ain’t bad. Combine that with his 1.61 ten yard split which is elite TE movement/guaranteed starter number and I think we have a DT who can cover. Hate the realities of today’s NFL as much as you must but Mike McDonald deploys DTs into coverage two at a time and credits his Super Bowl win to being able to run nickel and dime 93% of the time. Loud commenters need to do their research.
April 5th, 2026 at 10:52 pm
There’s some value at Guard with the 15th pick
April 5th, 2026 at 10:58 pm
Stats aren’t everything for DTs but Van Der Berg has more sacks (6.5) than missed tackles (6) in his time between Penn St and Georgia Tech. Check out that ratio versus his competitors.
Drafting is about prospect performance, scheme fit, positional value and scarcity. Everyone makes an equation out of those four things to make their picks but I see the scarcity and positional value aspects skewing perceptions.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:02 pm
I agree Van Der Berg is a good pass rushing DT
April 5th, 2026 at 11:27 pm
Let’s keep this Van Dee Berg intel between us. He is solidly under the radar. The kid’s deepest dream is to be a power 5 DC. I kinda need Licht to make him a Buc.
April 5th, 2026 at 11:28 pm
Yeah Ok
I know he didn’t compete at the combine
April 6th, 2026 at 12:01 am
Protections need to be in place to keep some knobs from breeding. Good night nurse.
April 6th, 2026 at 3:36 am
Good more offense.
April 6th, 2026 at 7:16 am
he’s probably ultra safe can’t really miss. I will say If I was a GM I would draft Ohio St players left and right. They always seem to be elite pros.
April 6th, 2026 at 2:08 pm
Go get Hunter in the 2nd