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Jets trade with Colts may benefit Bucs by pushing a top player to No. 7

The Jets sent three second-round picks to the Colts to move from No. 6 to No. 3 and likely will take a quarterback. Could Bradley Chubb or Quenton Nelson go to the Bucs?
 
Published March 19, 2018|Updated March 19, 2018

Of all the things that happened over the past week, the New York Jets trade with the Indianapolis Colts to move up three spots in the draft may wind up benefiting the Bucs the most.

How?

Let's look at what transpired and how it could impact the draft.

The Jets acquired the No. 3 overall pick from the Colts for their No. 6 pick, 37th and 49th overall picks in the 2018 NFL Draft and second-round pick in 2019.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard is counting on Andrew Luck finally returning from his shoulder injury, so he had one of the few teams not looking to take advantage of this fertile quarterback class. Picking up so many extra picks made sense on a team with big needs.

There are four consensus quarterbacks most believe will go in the top five, in almost any order: Southern Cal's Sam Darnold, Wyoming's Josh Allen, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield.

The Jets just signed two veteran free agents for one year at quarterback: Josh McCown and Vikings free agent Teddy Bridgewater. But clearly, the Jets moved to make sure they got one of the four quarterbacks expected to be gone by No. 6.

So here is how the new draft order:  1. Cleveland Browns  2. New York Giants 3.  New York Jets 4. Cleveland Browns 5.  Denver Broncos 6. Indianapolis Colts 7.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Thanks to the Jets' trade, the Browns, who may have been entertaining taking Penn State running back Saquon Barkley No. 1 overall, now have to take a quarterback since they can't be sure the one they really want will still be on the board at No. 4.

At No. 2, the Giants could go for either Barkley or Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson. But new general manager Dave Gettleman knows there may not be a better time to draft a young quarterback to sit behind Eli Manning a year or two as the heir apparent.

The Jets, obviously, only make this move to get a quarterback. That's three in the first three picks.

The Browns at No. 4 can now draft the best non-quarterback available and one would have to assume that's either Barkley, Nelson or North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb.

At No. 5, the Denver Broncos have signed Vikings free agent quarterback Case Keenum, but the fact he was available to begin with tells you he's not the long-term answer. General manager John Elway attended Mayfield's pro day at Oklahoma last week.

Unfortunately, at No. 6, the Colts have many of the same needs as the Bucs. Chief among them is for a pass rusher. The only team worse at rushing the passer than Indianapolis (25 sacks) last season was Tampa Bay (22 sacks). Chubb makes a lot of sense here.

But wait? Could the Colts be on the move again? It's possible. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson may wind up being every bit as good as Mayfield. Even if the Colts select Chubb, it leaves Nelson for the Bucs. In many ways, Nelson may be the cleanest player in the draft, a dominant guard who could play 10 years in the NFL. Putting him next to center Ryan Jensen and guard Ali Marpet would give the Bucs a real advantage on the interior offensive line.

Almost any way you slice it, the Bucs draft just got more interesting.