2026 Bucs Draft Scenarios: What if they go with an edge rusher?

Once again, the Buccaneers head into a draft badly in need of an upgrade at outside linebacker. The EDGE position has been sorely lacking since Shaq Barrett tore his Achilles in 2022. After missing big on Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Logan Hall, the Bucs will again be looking to shore up their edge rush in the 2026 NFL Draft.

With the 15th overall pick, the Bucs do not have the best positioning to get the best value at the position. Despite a deep class, Tampa Bay picks too late to get the very best prospects, which has been their issue for years. Instead, they occupy a lull where they would ideally take an outside linebacker who would make meaningful contributions immediately.

Given their situation, the Bucs will need to have multiple scenarios in play depending on how the teams ahead of them pick. They may get lucky and have a top prospect fall, or they may have to wait to try to address the outside linebacker position with a later pick. Here are the scenarios the Bucs face at the outside linebacker position in the 2026 NFL Draft: The "keep dreaming" pick: David Bailey The Bucs would do no better than to come out of the 2026 NFL Draft with Texas Tech outside linebacker David Bailey on the roster.

The 22-year-old is arguably the best pass rush prospect in this year's class, bringing a blend of elite get-off and production that puts him well ahead of his 2026 peers. The problem for Tampa Bay is that such a skillset tends to get one drafted at the top of the draft, not the middle of the first round, where the Bucs make their first selection. To move up high enough to get Bailey, the Bucs would have to part with significant assets, a move that general manager Jason Licht would be unlikely to make and one his peers would be unlikely to accept.