Mel Kiper Jr. awards the Buccaneers a 'B-' draft grade, placing them below 20 other teams. Was Tampa Bay's draft class truly this mediocre?
Some analysts are high on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2026 draft class, but Mel Kiper Jr. isn't necessarily one of them.
Kiper didn't hate the Bucs' draft class, but didn't love it either, and as a result, the Bucs got a B- from ESPN's long-time draft analyst.
Twenty teams received higher grades from Kiper than the Bucs, and two more, the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, also received a B-.
This is a far cry from where The Athletic's Dan Brugler had the Bucs.
Brugler ranked Tampa Bay's draft class sixth among all NFL 32 teams.
Both Brugler and Kiper agreed the Bucs got a Day 3 gem in Miami cornerback Keionte Scott, who the Bucs took in the fourth round.
"He’s all over the Miami tape," Kiper wrote, "disrupting opposing offenses as a blitzer, chasing down running backs and making plays on the ball in coverage. Scott could factor in as a slot corner or safety."
He went on to write that Scott, whom Kiper had at No. 80 on his draft board, was a good value pick at No. 116.
Tampa had been universally praised for selecting another Miami product in defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. with its first-round pick.
Bain had been widely projected to go in the top-10 selections of the draft, if not the top five. So when he was available for the Bucs at pick No. 15, general manager Jason Licht took advantage.
Kiper didn't have a problem with the Bucs drafting Bain, but said it would have made sense to draft Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq there.
Sadiq went with the 16th pick.
With or without Sadiq, Kiper feels the Bucs had to take a tight end before the sixth round, where they took LSU's Bauer Sharp.
Sharp picked up 252 yards and two touchdowns on 24 catches last season, and is known by scouts as a "violent" blocker.
"Tampa Bay re-signed Cade Otton," Kiper wrote, "but the Bucs could go with a lot of two-tight-end sets this season in Zac Robinson’s offense, and it was a missed opportunity to not get a higher-rated prospect.
Kiper liked what the Bucs did in drafting Georgia State receiver Ted Hurst in the third round, describing Hurst as an "end-zone magnet."
Hurst caught 15 touchdown passes over the last two seasons at Georgia State, with 127 total receptions for nearly 2,000 yards. He also proved himself against Power-Four competition at this year's Senior Bowl in February.
Kiper also likes the Bucs' second-round pick, Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter, whom he described as a "tackling machine."
Trotter picked up 183 tackles over the last two seasons at two different schools. At West Virginia, he was named the Big 12's Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2024 and last season at Missouri, he earned first-team All-SEC honors.
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