Tampa Bay Buccaneers Beef Up Their Pass Rush in Latest ESPN 2025 NFL Mock Draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers would look to improve their pass rush by selecting a diverse edge rusher out of Texas A&M in latest ESPN 2025 NFL mock draft.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton (11) reacts after sacking Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook (not pictured) in the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sitting atop the NFC South at the moment and will have another chance to continue their strong start after their bye, but they will have to do so down several key contributors when they face off against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15.

The Bucs have had an up-and-down season, starting off hot beating the Commanders, Eagles, and Lions before dropping four straight contests before their bye week. Tampa Bay's offense has been their strong suit this year while the defense, usually Todd Bowles and the Bucs' foundation, has struggled.

While there are many areas where the Bucs have been lacking on that side of the ball, a glaring issue has become the lack of getting home on opposing quarterbacks and into the backfield by their outside rushers. Yaya Diaby is one of the best at creating pressures, but outside of him, the rest of the edge rushers have almost disappeared entirely with the majority of the Bucs' sacks coming from the interior of their defensive line.

Tampa Bay still has the rest of the regular season to play out before getting to the postseason (if they make it) but it is never too early to examine what they might do this upcoming offseason. With the way the defense has struggled on the edge, ESPN's Field Yates has the Buccaneers taking versatile defensive lineman Nic Scourton from Texas A&M with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft in his latest mock.

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"Though the Buccaneers have been able to scheme up pressure in Todd Bowles' blitz-friendly system, they don't have an edge rusher who can create disruption on his own. In fact, they don't have an edge rusher with more than three sacks," wrote Yates. "Scourton has five sacks this season after leading the Big Ten with 10 at Purdue last season. His power, leverage and diverse set of pass-rush moves are evident on tape — traits that keep an offensive tackle guessing for 60 minutes."

After transferring from Purdue after his freshman and sophomore seasons, Scourton decided to transfer to A&M to get more exposure against a higher level of competition in the SEC and has continued to produce over the course of his 2024 season with the Aggies.

Through his three seasons in collegiate ball, Scourton has compiled 75 total tackles (31 for loss), 17 sacks, and three forced fumbles. While his sack totals aren't quite what they were a season ago, the 6'4" 280 lb lineman has a great combination of speed and power allowing him to be versatile across the defensive line. Scourton has violent hands and long arms that allow him to shed blocks while playing with straight-line speed.

Despite his strengths, Scourton, like every NFL prospect, has his flaws, and he will need to develop countermoves against NFL-level offensive linemen and can sometimes struggle setting the edge in the run game. While it is hard to quickly eye Scourton's weaknesses, there is room for growth when it comes to his technique - something that can be pinpointed at the next level.

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