NFL Trade Rumors: Buccaneers trying to trade up in 2017 NFL draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be trying to trade up. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Bucs are among many teams who have called the Green Bay Packers in a bid to get the number one pick of the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.

Of all the players who fell to the second round, Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is most likely to interest the Bucs at the top of the second round. But then Scott Reynolds of Pewter Report reports that the Bucs have little interest in Cook, so perhaps that’s not quite what’s going on.

Instead, Reynolds suggests the Bucs could be targeting guard Forrest Lamp, one of three offensive linemen projected to go in the first round. The other was Alabama tackle Cam Robinson, who fell mostly because of off-field concerns, just like Cook.

Other potential targets include safeties Obi Melifonwu and Budda Baker, the latter being more of a Tyrann Mathieu-style Swiss army knife, while the former is a massively athletic and talented safety who can look a bit slow on the field.

Other potential targets: Joe Mixon (ugh), Alabama pass-rusher Tim Williams, Michigan State defensive lineman Malik McDowell, or cornerbacks Sidney Jones or Teez Tabor.

Ultimately, though, I wouldn’t expect the Bucs to pull the trigger on a trade here at all. Those trades up are expensive, especially so when the Bucs need to jump up a massive 17 spots to get to where the Packers, and other teams are likely to offer them better deals. With a lot of quality players still on the board, Tampa Bay is best served by just waiting and seeing who falls to them.