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What is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' biggest need heading into the 2025 NFL Draft? Is it another wide receiver? Depth on the lines? Or maybe a new linebacker to eventually replace LaVonte David?
Well, in the opinion of head coach Todd Bowles at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, the answer is clear: the Buccaneers need depth at cornerback.
“We don't have a lot of depth. That's crystal clear – we don't have a lot of depth. We hope to address that at some point in the draft, as well,” Bowles said. “We didn't sign many in free agency. We signed (Kindle) Vildor, we signed Bryce (Hall) – he's coming off an injury, and we've got to see what Vildor can do, obviously. We're going to address that in the draft.”
On paper, it makes sense, right? Sure, the Buccaneers have Zyon McCollum, who is a quality player, but after saying goodbye to key players like Carlton Davis over the years, they could use some additional reinforcements to make sure they have quality starters in Week 18, the same as they do in Week 1.
“Like I said, everybody's position is up for grabs,” Bowles said. “I think Zyon is probably 1A, 1B because Zyon stayed healthier during the year. Dean has to get healthy. He comes in and he plays – he can't play half a year, every couple of years. He understands he has to stay healthy, and he's doing everything he can to be healthy, but we have to have some depth there just in case. If somebody comes in and competes with him, he's going to have to compete.”
Sitting pretty with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers likely won't be able to select the top cornerback in this year's class, Travis Hunter, but they could still have their pick of players like Will Johnson, Jahdae Barron, and Maxwell Hairston, who are all in that middle-of-the-first-round mix, depending on how things shake out. And if that's how the draft shakes out, no one will be more excited about it than Bowles, as he'd get to add a high-profile new weapon to his defensive backfield.
