Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ perfect 2025 NFL Draft trade

Buccaneers receive: 

• 2025 first-round pick (14th overall)
• 2025 sixth-round pick (189th overall)

Colts receive: 

• 2025 first-round pick (19th overall)
• 2025 third-round pick (84th overall)

The Buccaneers desperately need to add talent at both edge rusher and off-ball linebacker. That is what makes Jihaad Campbell such a perfect fit for Tampa Bay.

I’m sure that Tampa would love to add Campbell in the first round. There is just one problem — the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta has similar needs on defense to Tampa Bay, and they pick four spots ahead of them at 15th overall. The Buccaneers do not want to see Campbell fall into the hands of their division rival. So they make a bold move, trading up the board with the Colts to pry Campbell away from the Falcons.

Campbell could end up playing snaps at both off-ball linebacker and edge rusher in the NFL. That versatility could make him especially attractive to a few teams, including the Buccaneers.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein recommends that whichever team draft him use him “full-time 3-4 rush linebacker, where he can play more proactively instead of reactively as an off-ball linebacker.”

The only way this could go wrong is if tight end Tyler Warren is still on the board. Warren has been widely connected to the Colts because of their desperate need at tight end.

If he is still there, I don’t believe the Colts would even pick up the phone, they’d simply run the card in.

Trade down: Tampa acquires Jaylen Watson in trade with Kansas City

Buccaneers receive: 

• 2025 first-round pick (31st overall)
• 2025 third-round pick (95th overall)
• CB Jaylen Watson

Chiefs receive: 

• 2025 first-round pick (19th overall)
• 2025 seventh-round pick (235th overall)

The Buccaneers have more than just one need on the defensive side of the ball.

Tampa also needs to improve its secondary, particularly at the cornerback position. They already have Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum, but their depth behind those two is pretty questionable.

The 2025 draft class is rather weak at the cornerback position, which is unfortunate for the Buccaneers. This could lead them to seeking an alternative route to acquiring an immediate contributor. That’s where this trade comes in.

In this scenario, the Kansas City Chiefs have fallen in love with a prospect who they believe will help get them back to the Super Bowl. Which players is anyone’s guess, though I imagine they’d only aggressively move up for an offensive lineman or wide receiver.

The Chiefs send a third-round pick and CB Jaylen Watson to the Buccaneers as the price of swapping first-round picks.

Watson could become an immediate contributor for the Buccaneers. The Chiefs may not want to give him up, but they can afford to do so with Trent McDuffie and Kristian Fulton holding down the outside cornerback spots.

If the Buccaneers add Watson, they would gain some nice flexibility in their secondary. He could provide solid depth behind Dean and McCollum and could even push for some snaps in the slot.

Tampa Bay could end up looking like geniuses for making this trade. They will have plenty of talented players to choose from at 31st overall. They could even double up on cornerbacks and take someone like Shavon Revel, who many NFL draft analysts expect to still be there early in the second round.

The Buccaneers should also have some appealing players to choose from at 95th overall as well.

It is safe to say that this would be the dream scenario for the Buccaneers.