Do Buccaneers Really Need Help Most on Defensive Line?

Nearly one week out from the NFL draft, Pro Football Focus has released a list of what their analysts argue are each team's top need entering the late stages of pre-draft preparation. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , PFF's Bradley Locker listed defensive line as the biggest area of need. The Bucs have made some solid veteran signings on the defensive front, adding A'Shawn Robinson , Al-Quadin Muhammad and Rakeem Nunez-Roches , but could still be looking for the premier edge rusher of the future.

Robinson, Nunez-Roches and Muhammad all bring at least eight years of NFL experience to Tampa, with Nunez-Roches reuniting with the franchise he won a Super Bowl with in 2020. The current draft class is loaded with defensive talent, with multiple highly touted edge prospects projected to be first-rounders. However, the Bucs have taken a "best available" approach over the past few seasons, drafting players they are high on, rather than basing it on positional need.

On Wednesday, Bucs general manager Jason Licht expressed his appreciation for head coach Todd Bowles being on board with the best available approach, while not showing bias towards his defensive responsibilities. Combining this approach with the depth of the edge prospects in this year's class, Tampa may be able to afford holding off from drafting an edge in Round 1, opting for promising second- and third-round prospects like Clemson's T. J.

Parker  or Auburn's Keldric Faulk . With talented options like Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq mocked in the first round, offense is certainly on the table for Tampa at the No. 15 overall pick.