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The 2026 NFL Draft continues with Day 3 at 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, April 25, as the team will continue to look for more contributors and depth defense and elsewhere after drafting Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round, Missouri inside linebacker Josiah Trotter in the second round and Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst in the third round. So let’s analyze who the Buccaneers might pick in rounds 4-7 on Day 3 in another SR’s Bucs Draft Insider column – presented by Gameday Men’s Health – which is full of Bucs-related pre-draft scoop and insight.
If you haven’t seen it yet, here is a link to Pewter Report’s FINAL 2026 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft, which was published on Sunday.
Be sure to visit PewterReport.com after the 2026 NFL Draft for our Undrafted Free Agent Tracker.
Pewter Report Nails 2 More Bucs Best Bets
Nobody covers the Buccaneers draft like Pewter Report, which is famous for accurately forecasting some of its Bucs Best Bets each year. Those are two players that we select to be Bucs Best Bets at each position – one in rounds 1-3 and another in rounds 4-7. With just two picks at each position it’s quite challenging to hit on one Bucs Best Bet let alone multiple ones.
After Tampa Bay selected David Walker last year, who was Pewter Report’s Day 3 outside linebacker Bucs Best Bet last year, the team selected two of PR’s Bucs Best Bets this year. Missouri inside linebacker Josiah Trotter was drafted in the second round while Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst was taken in the third round.
Bucs WR Ted Hurst – Photo courtesy of Georgia State Athletics
The most we have ever accurately forecast was four in the 2023 draft with guard Cody Mauch, outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, tight end Payne Durham and wide receiver Trey Palmer. Pewter Report nailed two Bucs Best Bets in 2024 in center Graham Barton and defensive back Tykee Smith. We’ll see if Pewter Report can nail another Bucs Best Bet or two on Day 3. Here are Pewter Report’s remaining Bucs Best Bets.
Pewter Report’s Remaining Bucs Best Bets On Day 3: Offense
Kansas QB Jalon Daniels
Arkansas RB Mike Washington
Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson
Boise State OT Kage Casey
Auburn G Jeremiah Wright
Pewter Report’s Remaining Bucs Best Bets On Day 3: Defense
Clemson DT DeMonte Capehart
Western Michigan OLB Nadame Tucker
Oklahoma ILB Kendal Daniels
Florida CB Devin Moore
Texas Tech S Cole Wisniewski
Tampa Bay’s Remaining Draft Picks
ROUND 4: No. 116 overall
ROUND 5: No. 155 overall
ROUND 5: No. 160 overall
ROUND 6: No. 195 overall
ROUND 7: No. 229 overall
Will Tampa Bay Address The Secondary?
Some Buccaneers fans were surprised that the team did not address the secondary in the first three rounds, but not us. We knew that Tampa Bay had to come away with an outside linebacker and an inside linebacker in two out of the three selections, and the team accomplished that in the first two rounds with Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. and Missouri inside linebacker Josiah Trotter.
The Buccaneers traded down in the third round with the Packers to select Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst from Georgia State at No. 84, while picking up an extra fifth-round pick (No. 160 overall) in the process. Tampa Bay now has five selections on Day 3, and will likely add a cornerback and possibly a safety.
The reason why the Buccaneers didn’t draft a defensive back on Day 2 was largely due to prioritizing outside linebacker and inside linebacker, and then in the third round it was the best player available. Arizona cornerback-safety Treydan Stukes might have gone in the second round had he still been on the board, but he was selected by the Raiders at No. 38 overall.
Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, who would be a Top 10 talent if he were healthy, has a serious medical red flag on his knee and that’s why neither the Buccaneers nor any team selected him on Day 2.
Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy – Photo by: – Kevin Jairaj – IMAGN Images
At the same time, the Buccaneers haven’t prioritized the secondary this year when it comes to formal interviews and pre-draft visits. Only Stukes and Arizona safety Genesis Smith were given formal interviews by Tampa Bay at the NFL Scouting Combine, and only Texas Tech safety Cole Wisniewski was brought in for an official 30 visit. That’s it, according to our knowledge.
Remember that the Buccaneers spent a pair of Day 2 picks on cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish – both of whom are expected to start alongside veteran Zyon McCollum. So any other cornerback that would be drafted would be for depth and competition. The same is true at safety were the Bucs already have a pair of really quality starters with Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith.
Some defensive backs to keep in mind for the Buccaneers on Day 3 include Duke cornerback Chandler Rivers, Florida cornerback Devin Moore, South Dakota State cornerback Jayden Oliver, Houston cornerback Latrell McCutchin, California cornerback Zeek Masses, North Carolina cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, Maryland cornerback Jalen Huskey Indiana safety Louis Moore, South Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore, Kansas State safety V.J. Payne, SMU safety Ahmaad Moses, USC safety Bishop Fitzgerald, Nebraska safety Deshon Singleton, Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa and Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings.
Why Did The Bucs Pick Josiah Trotter At Inside Linebacker?
While most Tampa Bay fans wanted the team to draft Texas Tech inside linebacker Jacob Rodriguez he was selected three spots ahead in the second round at No. 43 to the Dolphins. So why didn’t Tampa Bay trade up to select him? There’s a chance that the Bucs wanted to but either couldn’t find a trading partner or didn’t want to surrender a pick – perhaps a third-rounder – to move up and get him.
Pewter Report has also learned that Rodriguez and Missouri inside linebacker Josiah Trotter, who was ultimately selected at No. 46 in the second round, had very similar draft grades. Rodriguez and Trotter are two different types of middle linebackers. At 231 pounds, Rodriguez was more of a block slipper than a stack and shed ‘backer like the 240-pound Trotter, who is bigger, stronger and more physical and can dispose of offensive linemen better at the point of attack. Trotter put up 27 reps of 225 pounds on the bench, making him one of the strongest inside linebackers in this draft class.
Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter – Photo courtesy of Missouri Athletics
With Tampa Bay putting an emphasis on getting bigger in the front 7 and finding players with a physical, nasty edge, the team was willing to bet on the younger prospect – Trotter just turned 21 compared to Rodriguez, who turns 24 this year. That’s why the Buccaneers didn’t feel compelled to move up and select Rodriguez. Had he fallen to No. 46, the Red Raiders star likely would have been the pick, but the rankings on the board were close enough that the team decided to wait and see which linebackers would be left on the board. Time will tell if that was the right move or not.
Trotter had a higher grade than Georgia inside linebacker CJ Allen, who has a medical red flag over his knee injury that he suffered against Texas last year, and Cincinnati’s Jake Golday, who is still a bit of a project at the position. Texas’ Anthony Hill Jr. was deemed to be too soft and lacked instincts, while Pittsburgh’s Kyle Louis is not a Mike linebacker candidate at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds.
Bucs Targeting Depth On Day 3
The Buccaneers would like to address defensive tackle on Day 3, and getting an additional interior pass rusher like Oklahoma’s Gracen Halton or Southeastern Louisiana’s Kaleb Proctor could be an options, as both undersized defensive tackles came in for official 30 visits. If Tampa Bay wants a bigger defensive tackle north of 300 pounds, Clemson’s DeMonte Capehart and Georgia Tech’s Jordan van den Berg and Louisville’s Jordan Guerad are options.
Should Tampa Bay want to double up at outside linebacker Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker, Utah’s Logan Fano and LSU’s Jack Pyburn and Rutgers’ Eric O’Neill are options. But it’s more likely that the Buccaneers would want to double up at inside linebacker given the current depth chart.
Western Michigan edge rusher Nadame Tucker – Photo courtesy of WMU Athletics
Pittsburgh’s Kyle Louis had Alabama’s Justin Jefferson formal interviews at the Combine, but both are very undersized at around 220 pounds. Does that rule them out of contention – even on Day 3? Or would they just have to work exclusively at the weakside Moneybacker (Mo) linebacker spot, which is currently led by starter Alex Anzalone?
Michigan’s Jimmy Rolder had an official 30 visit, while Oklahoma’s Kendal Daniels had a formal Combine interview. Both are more Mike linebacker candidates. Clemson’s Wade Woodaz, a Tampa native, came in for the team’s local pro day and has the size to play in the middle at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, as well as the coverage ability to play Mo ‘backer.
The Bucs have invested a lot of time investigating tight ends – many of whom are Day 3 candidates. North Carolina State’s Justin Joly, Cincinnati’s Joe Royer, LSU’s Bauer Sharp, Syracuse’s Dan Villari and Mississippi State’s Seydou Traore all came in for official 30 visits.
Join Pewter Report’s LIVE 3-Day Bucs Draft Show – Day 3
Pewter Report will be broadcasting its annual LIVE 3-Day Bucs Draft Show – presented by PrizePicks – from One Buccaneer Place on April 23-25. Buccaneers fans are encouraged to watch nearly 20 hours of wall-to-wall draft coverage from the Pewter Report staff streamed on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel, which has 23,000 subscribers.
The LIVE 3-Day Draft Show will also be streamed on PewterReport.com in addition to Pewter Report’s X and Facebook accounts – @PewterReport. Here are the remaining broadcast times:
Saturday, April 25 – 11:00 am ET / Day 3 starts at noon ET
The entire Pewter Report staff will be on hand to preview and discuss each of the team’s draft picks, offering insight and analysis found nowhere else – in addition to answering questions from fans and reading their comments from the chat on-air.
The Pewter Report staff will also be offering live reaction from interviews with general manager Jason Licht, head coach Todd Bowles and Tampa Bay’s draft picks following their selections.