BREAKING NEWS: Buccaneers Have Four Picked in the Top 100 After Carlton Davis Exchanged…
The Detroit Lions acquired cornerback Carlton Davis from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday in exchange for two sixth-round selections and a 2024 third-round pick. Since sending defensive end Gaines Adams to Chicago in 2009 in return for a second-round pick, that was the highest draft pick the Bucs have acquired in exchange for a player in fifteen years.
This year, the Buccaneers’ draft capital was greatly enhanced by the trade with the Lions. They surrendered the 2024 sixth-round pick to the Lions at pick number 201, and they received the 92nd overall pick in the third round. This deal’s second sixth-round pick is in the 2025 draft. Four of the top 92 choices in the 2024 draft are currently owned by Tampa Bay.
When the NFL issued an updated list of compensatory draft selections on Monday, one of the two sixth-round picks that Cincinnati had been granted on March 8 was now a third-round pick, which had a little impact on Tampa Bay’s overall draft stock. As a result, the Bucs’ fourth and fifth round picks were moved down in the overall order by one apiece.
The two third-round picks selected by the Buccaneers are officially listed by the NFL as the 26th and 29th picks in that round. Though Miami forfeited their 2024 third-round selection (along with a 2023 first-round pick) owing to infractions of league regulation regarding the integrity of the franchise, they will actually be the 25th and 28th choices made in the third round.
Third-round selections have been extremely well utilized by the Buccaneers in previous years. Eight of the nine third-round choices made by the Bucs since 2017 have gone on to start for the team. Chris Godwin, a wide receiver, outside linebacker, lineman Alex Cappa, safety Mike Edwards, cornerback Jamel Dean, center Robert Hainsey, running back Rachaad White, and guard Kendell Beckwith are on that list.