The Buccaneers trade up to select Will Levis in recent NFL mock draft

Photo courtesy of Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports.

With the recent retirement announcement of Tom Brady, the Tampa Buccaneers joined the three other teams in the NFC South that are looking for a quarterback. The future Hall of Famer insists that he will not come out of retirement to join the Bucs for another Super Bowl run. Recent rumors surfaced on what route Tampa may pursue to find their next QB, such as signing Derek Carr or Lamar Jackson.

The 49ers’ Jimmy Garropolo is another name linked to signing with Tampa Bay once free agency kicks off in March. But any national media pundits have not mentioned moving up in the NFL draft as an option the Buccaneers may utilize to find their next franchise QB until now.

CBS Sports NFL contributor Ryan Wilson has projected that the Bucs will move up very high in the draft to select one of the more coveted QBs in this year’s pool. The quarterback that Wilson has mocked to the Bucs is the University of Kentucky’s Will Levis. He states that Tampa Bay will move up with the Arizona Cardinals at the no.3 spot to select the former Wildcat quarterback. Here is the compensation the Cardinals would receive if an agreement between the two teams were made.

Buccaneers-Cardinals trade

• Buccaneers get: No. 3
• Cardinals get: No. 19, 2023 second-rounder (51), 2024 first-rounder and fourth-rounder

“Tom Brady has re-retired, and the Bucs currently have Kyle Trask under contract … and that’s it. This would be a bold move, but if Tampa stays at No. 19, four QBs could already be off the board. Levis, who definitely looks the part, was plagued by injuries and poor play all fall. That said, NFL teams love how he projects to the next level, but he’ll be a controversial talking point in the coming months.” Wilson said.

When teams move up high in the draft to select quarterbacks, they need to be confident that the guy they are surrendering assets for can take their franchise to the next level. Tampa Bay’s roster is still one of the best in the league, and with a fully competent QB, they can repeat as NFC South champions for the third straight season. The division is projected to be very bad for the second-straight year. I highly doubt Arizona would agree to a trade like this, but you never know what ambitions a franchise has until it comes out. In recent mocks, Arizona is projected to select Georgia’s defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the third pick in this year’s draft. Many draft experts expect Carter to be a franchise-changing player from day one.

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