TAMPA, Fla. — The clock struck midnight — and then some — before the Super Bowl champion Bucs joined the NFL draft party.
With the final pick of the first round, the Bucs selected Washington linebacker Joe Tryon. He opted out for the Huskies in 2020 but in 2019 had 41 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
Tryon gives the Bucs a pass rusher to provide depth behind Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul.
Bucs general manager Jason Licht said he believed the 2021 NFL draft was stacked with mostly offensive players and that proved to be correct.
A record seven straight offensive players were selected to start the draft, including three consecutive quarterbacks at Nos. 1-3. Jacksonville took Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence No. 1 overall, followed by the Jets choosing BYU’s Zach Wilson second and the 49ers going with North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.
Alabama’s Mac Jones fell to the Patriots at No. 15.
Iit’s possible the Bucs may face three of the four quarterbacks drafted this season. The Jets (Wilson), Bears (Justin Fields) and Patriots (Jones) all are on the Bucs’ schedule.
It wasn’t until the Lions selected South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn at No. 8 that a defensive player came off the board. Alabama defensive back Patrick Surtain II went next to the Denver Broncos and Penn State linebacker was selected 12th overall by the Dallas Cowboys, who traded down a couple spots with the Eagles.
But it was inevitable that some good players were going to get pushed down to the end of the first round.
With 22 starters returning from their Super Bowl 55 team, the Bucs said they had wants — not needs — when the draft began.
But those wants included help at the interior defensive line and at outside linebacker. Miami’s Jaelen Phillips stayed at home with the Dolphins at No. 19 to become the first edge rusher chosen. He was followed by Michigan’s Kwity Paye three picks later to the Colts. The Saints took Houston defensive end Payton Turner at No. 28.
Miami’s Gregory Rousseau, who’s mom was a nurse caring for COVID-19 patients which prompted him to opt out for 2020, went to the Bills at No. 30. Penn State’s Jason Oweh, an edge rusher who did not have a sack last season, was selected by the Ravens at No. 31.
With a crowded running back room, the Bucs could have considered either Alabama’s Najee Harris, who went to Pittsburgh at No. 24, or Clemson’s Travis Etienne, who was chosen next by the Jaguars.
