There is no doubt that Jeremiyah Love is one of the best players in this year’s draft. Even if a player is really great, that does not mean every team is a good destination. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Tackle Gerald McCoy stated in a recent tweet that the idea of the Buccaneers taking Love at pick 15 is such a bad idea.
Gerald McCoy Urges Buccaneers to Focus on Defense in First Round
For the first reason, McCoy states that defense is where the NFL is at. “After watching 2 teams in SB led by their defense with 2 defensive minded HC’s“.
While the Super Bowl Teams did have good running backs, as Seattle Seahawks Kenneth Walker won Super Bowl MVP. Players such as defensive back Nick Emanwori, cornerbacks Devon Whitherspoon and Christian Gonzalez, and defensive tackle Milton Williams were the main standouts because the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks reached the Super Bowl.
Secondly, McCoy goes on to talk about the Buccaneers’ History. “On a town built on and known for defense.” McCoy is correct, as in the Buccaneers’ two Super Bowl victories, they just allowed 30 points total. 9 to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and 21 to the Oakland Raiders in 2002.
In both Super Bowls, the Buccaneers faced great quarterbacks as well. In 2002, Rich Gannon won the MVP, and in 2020, Patrick Mahomes had an MVP-like season. Yet the Buccaneers picked off both QBs a total of 7 times, 5 for Gannon and 2 for Mahomes.
Additionally, beyond the Super Bowl, many of the Buccaneers’ all-time great players are defensive players, such as Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, and Lavonte David. This is also a very deep draft class defensively. As in PFSN’s most recent seven-round mock draft, 18 of the first-round players are defensive, which is over half.
Thirdly, McCoy says that “a team (the Buccaneers) that is led by a defensive-minded HC”. That defensive head coach is Todd Bowles.
The Buccaneers ranked 19th in Defensive Impact Score this past season. Which is not a great score by any means, but Bowles does have a history of coaching great defenses. So by drafting a great defensive player in Round 1 instead of Love, he could get things turned around.
Even though McCoy did not say this in the tweet, the Buccaneers have running back Bucky Irving. Even though Irving missed some time in 2025 due to injury, he has been fantastic when he has played.
During his star-making rookie season in 2024, Irving had 5.4 yards per carry and had over 1,000 rushing yards. If Irving can return to full health, he could be one of the best backs in the league.
Fifthly, McCoy had a great career with the Buccaneers. He made 6 Pro Bowls with the squad and had a total of 54.5 sacks with the team. So it makes sense that McCoy would be annoyed, since he knows the Buccaneers’ toughness.
Overall, McCoy was precise when he said that running back is not the direction that the Buccaneers should go. They have other needs to help the team get a third Lombardi Trophy.
