The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take Jameis Winston with the number one pick tonight, but that doesn't mean their night will be over. The Bucs have been repeatedly linked to a trade back up into the first round to take an offensive lineman, and both Miami's Ereck Flowers and Pittsburgh's T.J. Clemmings have been named explicitly as targets.
Now ESPN's Ed Werder says the Buccaneers have been calling teams to try to line up a potential trade, while Kevin O'Donnell of Fox 13 has some more specific information.
Hearing Bucs have an interest to trade back into the first round tonight to get one of the FSU offensive lineman. Trying to repeat '95 Draft
— Kevin ODonnell Fox13 (@ODonnellFox13) April 30, 2015
The FSU linemen would be center Cameron Erving, and guard Tre' Jackson. Neither strikes me as a great target for a move up, as both are often seen as exceedingly likely to be available at the top of the second round. Jackson is probably a better fit for the Bucs' needs, given that he's a natural guard, but Erving at least has the potential to play tackle and is probably a better athlete. He also doesn't tend to play as nastily as the Bucs prefer in their linemen, at least in Stephen White's estimation.
The Bucs have many holes to fill, and giving up extra picks to grab a specific guy rather than just waiting for whoever happens to fall. But if they are looking to trade up, they likely have one of these players rated much higher than others on the board.
There's one more option: the Bucs may have fallen in love with a defensive end like Shane Ray, who may fall for reasons that don't matter much to them, and they're getting ready to pull the trigger if he falls. That would be interesting, mostly because of the massive offensive line hole the Bucs are likely to leave behind if that happens.
Of course, the fact that the Bucs are calling around doesn't necessarily mean all that much. Calls are routine before the draft and an effort to gauge potential prices -- they may just covering eventualities more than preparing for a likely move. But trading back up into the first round for a quality lineman does make some sense, given the pressing need the Bucs have at the position.