Bucs Look Offensive in Mel Kiper’s First Mock Draft

It’s not draft season until Mel Kiper weighs in with his first 32-picks of the year following college football’s bowl season.

Well, he’s done just that and with their first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will select Alabama offensive lineman, Jonah Williams.

This isn’t the first time Bucs fans have seen Williams mocked or connected to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Williams has been a major part of Alabama’s success over the past three seasons after starting at right tackle in his freshman season.

Beginning with 2017, Williams moved to left tackle where he remained this past season and became known as the best offensive lineman in the country for teams looking for help up front.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the list.

While there are certainly needs on the defensive side of the ball, the common strategy in the NFL Draft tends to lean towards selecting the best player available.

Rather than reach on a defender and reaching with a Top-5 pick, Kiper thinks the Bucs will target a Top-5 talent. It just so happens he also fills a position of need.

On his mock draft, Kiper writes,

“The Bucs could look very different under new coach Bruce Arians....Upgrading the offensive line should be a priority, however, and Williams has Pro Bowl potential at both guard and tackle.”

Whether or not Tampa Bay decides to stick with Donovan Smith at left tackle or not, adding Williams in the 2019 draft gives the coaching staff the ability to plug and play a new piece wherever they see it works better for the unit.

This won’t be the last time we see this name linked with the Buccaneers’ fifth-overall draft pick, so get used to it.

Check out the rest of Kiper’s first-round mock draft, here.