The NFL mock draft cognoscenti has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pegged in 2025: They will be using their early picks to shore up a defense that lagged behind on of the league's best offenses last year. While a few analysts have suggested the Buccaneers are interested in a wide receiver, those opinions have mostly receded since the extremely satisfying re-signing of Chris Godwin. Be it a cornerback, edge rusher or linebacker, the Buccaneers are eyeing defense with the 19th-overall pick, it is widely believed.

General Manager Jason Licht, speaking to the media on Monday at the NFL's Annual Meeting in West Palm Beach, didn't fully push back on that assumption but did point out that the draft usually finds ways to defy expectations. For instance, few analysts predicted that the Buccaneers would take Pittsburgh defensive lineman Calijah Kancey with the 19th pick in the draft two years ago.

Now the Bucs are sitting 19th again, and while there are likely to be some intriguing defensive prospects still on the board at that point, Licht said the picks leading up to the Bucs' time on the clock could lead them in a different direction.

"Yeah, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way," said Licht of the Bucs looking for defensive help in the first round. "Yes, suffice to say that, but the draft falls and there's going to be a lot of curveballs that happen."

The same argument applies to the Bucs' picks at number 53 in the second round and number 84 in the third round. If Licht and company sees potential first-round fits at such positions as linebacker, cornerback and edge rusher, wouldn't the team also be looking hard at those positions on Day Two. That's a logical take on the situation, but one also has to consider that some draft picks are aimed at maintaining depth at positions a season or two down the line. For instance, the Buccaneers are returning all five of their starters from an excellent offensive line in 2024, but Licht has repeatedly used valuable draft capital at that position through his years at the helm.

"Good, very good," said Licht about his assessment of the Bucs' current offensive line. "I love O-linemen, though. If there's one there…we've got our eye on a few. That doesn't take away from what I feel about the guys that we currently have, but I feel very good about our offensive line right now."

Most importantly, Licht believes his crew has made the right moves in free agency to put them in position to sit on one of those curveballs and take advantage of what it might offer the Buccaneers, regardless of position. As an example, the signing of veteran outside linebacker Haason Reddick has made the need for adding an edge rusher in the draft much less pressing. However, if that's where the draft takes them, the Buccaneers wouldn't hesitate to double up at the position.

"I don't know if it changes the mindset there," said Licht. "We've got a few players, a handful of players like we do every year, that we think could be there at [pick number] 19, including edge rushers. I think we're going to stick to, what's the best player? And if it happens to be an edge rusher, it's an edge rusher."

Or a linebacker. Or a cornerback. The Bucs added experienced veteran Anthony Walker to the first group and picked up former Detroit Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor while also re-signing Bryce Hall to help the second group. Licht won't be forced into a corner for any particular need on the depth chart. That idea of another receiver that we largely dismissed above? Even that is on the table depending upon how the draft falls.