As the 2025 NFL Draft looms, draft boards are being finalized for each NFL club. The Buccaneers are expected to have a heavy defensive draft but who will the team take in the first round with the 19th overall pick? Here is what analysts are saying

Brianna Dix

The pre-draft process has nearly commenced as we move towards the three-day spectacle in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As the proceedings near, final mock drafts monopolize social platforms as pundits try to predict how the first round of the draft on April 24 will shake out. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers own the 19th pick in the first round and many players have been linked to the Florida club. Here are recent predictions from outlets around the sports landscape on who the Bucs will take in Round One:

NFL.com

Gennaro Filice, NFL.com (Apr.11)

**Projected Trade with Los Angeles Chargers**

• Pick: DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan
• Comments: Who wouldn't like to see Grant line up alongside Vita Vea to block out the sun with 700 pounds of BEEF? Opposing offensive lines, presumably. Like Vea, Grant offers a rare blend of colossal size, raw power and eye-popping athleticism. With those two clogging run lanes, Calijah Kancey can do what he does best: rush the passer.

CBS Sports

Jared Dubin, CBS Sports (Apr.14)

• Pick: LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama
• Comments: Campbell is an outrageous athlete who checked in with a 9.85 Relative Athletic Score, via MathBomb. He can make plays at every level of the defense and the Bucs could really use a replenishment of talent up front.

The Draft Network

Ryan Fowler, The Draft Network (Apr.13)

• Pick: SAF Malaki Starks, Georgia
• Comments: Tampa Bay needs another athlete in the secondary, and Malaki Starks' range is sensational to watch on tape. I like Antoine Winfield Jr. at strong, but adding Starks to play the free also would allow Christian Izien to flex into more snaps at varying alignments.

PFF

Jordan Plocher, PFF (Apr.14)

• Pick: S Malaki Starks, Georgia
• Comments: Starks can play in multiple spots, having logged 544 snaps in the box, 1,191 snaps at free safety and 664 snaps in the slot over his college career. He also excels as a run defender, with PFF run-defense grades of 84.8 and 85.6 in the past two seasons.

The Athletic

Nick Baumgardner, The Athletic (Apr.9)

• Pick: Edge Jalon Walker, Georgia
• Comments: This might be the floor for Walker, whose testing may have caused him to slip behind Campbell and Green on some boards. Still, he's a legit playmaker anywhere he lines up a hell-on-wheels front-seven defender who'd be perfect for Todd Bowles.