NFL Draft Rumors: Wide receiver a top need for Buccaneers?

The 2016 NFL draft starts tomorrow, and we're seeing more and more rumors around every team and prospect. The latest rumor on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers comes courtesy of Bleacher Report's Matt Miller.

The word around the league is that Tampa likes Stanley, but the team fears he won't be there. A source on the team said pass-rusher and wide receiver were considered the top needs on the roster.

Ronnie Stanley is a good player, but there are still questions about where he'd play for the Bucs. Would he be the team's right tackle? Would the Bucs move Donovan Smith to the right, despite the fact that they really like him at left tackle?

More interesting, though, is the notion that wide receiver is the second-biggest need on the roster. That's a notion I don't quite understand. The Bucs' receiver depth looked pretty bad last year, but that was almost entirely due to a cascade of injuries. Mike Evans is a high-level starter, Vincent Jackson should still be productive for at least one more year, and Louis Murphy is a solid third receiver. Add in Adam Humphries and Kenny Bell, last year's fifth-round pick, and you have a pretty good and deep group.

Could the Bucs use an extra wide receiver? Sure. Jackson's set to be a free agent next year, and is aging anyway, while Murphy's recovery from a serious knee injury is still in progress. But that doesn't make it one of the top needs on the roster. It's hard to see why the Bucs would prioritize that position over a safety or cornerback, in particular.

There's one upside to this, of course: the wide receiver position is deep in this draft, and the Bucs should walk away with a talented player at the end of the day.