: 36 PM ET
Jenna Laine ESPN Staff Writer
TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved up a spot in the NFL draft Thursday, trading with the (San Francisco) (ers
to acquire the (th overall pick and choose Iowa offensive tackle) (Tristan Wirfs) .
Wirfs, who was not projected to still be available at the spot, is a versatile offensive lineman who is expected to step in right away at right tackle. He will have a big role in protecting quarterback Tom Brady , who turns in August.
When asked on ESPN’s telecast what he wanted Brady to know, Wirfs said, “I ‘m just ready to go. I’m looking forward to it. “
The Bucs, like many teams, had four offensive tackles they considered top-tier in Wirfs , Andrew Thomas , Jedrick Wills and Mekhi Becton . By the time the 49 ers were on the clock at No. , only one remained.
“We saw that the run on tackles happened a little bit later than we expected, “general manager Jason Licht said of the trade. “And then we thought that there’s a chance that someone could come up and get him.
” We didn’t want to risk it. And as [coach] Bruce [Arians] says, ‘No risk it, no biscuit.’ And so we had to give up a little capital to get him, but in this case, we thought because of the player and the position, but especially the player, it was worth it. “
Thomas went to the New York Giants at No. 4. Wills went to the Cleveland Browns at No. , with Becton going to the (New York Jets) (at No. 14. After Wirfs, there was a drop-off at the position, and there was talk of the ers looking for a possible replacement for Joe Staley
When asked if he was antsy when the group was whittled to just Wirfs, Arians said, “To say the least. We were getting a little frustrated but everything worked out extremely well. We did not have to give up too much to make that flip, and we got the guy we really, really liked. “
The Bucs gave up a fourth- round pick to move up, with the Niners getting the Bucs’ picks at Nos. and in exchange for the No. 15 and Tampa Bay’s last seventh-round pick. It was the first time since 2020 that not a single team traded its draft slot in the top picks.
Earlier this week, the Bucs traded away their other fourth-round pick – a compensatory selection – to acquire tight end Rob Gronkowski
Wirfs was a phenom at the NFL scouting combine, solidifying his status as one of the top offensive tackles in the draft. He did 40. 5 inches in the vertical jump, better than many skill-position players, and he ran the – – yard dash in 4. 160 seconds – the fastest time by a – pound-plus player since at least 2016. (Read More)
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