With the No. 1 overall pick in our 2015 NFL mock draft, Sander Philipse of Bucs Nation, picking for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, selected Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston. Picking a potential franchise quarterback makes sense, but it's only the start of Tampa's rebuilding efforts. The Bucs also have some work to do on the offensive line, and lo and behold, Philipse is back on the clock in the second round of our mock, and has honed in on a highly regarded college teammate of Winston's.
2015 NFL mock draft: Cameron Erving to Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 34
Is it possible that FSU teammates Jameis Winston and Cameron Erving could reunite as teammates and key building blocks for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
34. Buccaneers: Cameron Erving, C, Florida State
More from our team site
More from our team site
Philipse: The Buccaneers need help along the offensive line desperately, and at multiple positions. They need both a new starting tackle on either side of the line, and a new starting right guard, and they have no real way to fill those positions outside of the draft. So that’s exactly what they’re going to do: draft offensive linemen. A lot. And early. Cameron Erving is a perfect candidate there, for multiple reasons. First of all, he’s versatile, having played both left tackle and center, which will allow the Bucs to deploy him wherever they need him. That fits with the rest of the line, which is pretty versatile too -- and it gives them maximum flexibility in finding another starting offensive lineman elsewhere. Aside from that, Erving is simply a very good player who has the athleticism, intelligence and tenacity to turn into a quality starting lineman. And the fact that he’s from a local school and has experience with the Bucs’ (likely) new starting quarterback is a minor advantage as well.
Dan Kadar, SBNation.com: Part of me really likes the idea of pairing a college offensive lineman with his quarterback. So in that regard, this is a good pick. The issue with Erving, if you’re considering him a tackle, is that he struggled some last season before Florida State needed to move him inside to center. In the last five games of the season, he played center and did pretty well. I’d still be a little apprehensive about having him play guard, though. He’s not exactly a power blocker and it would be an adjustment.
Dan’s Top 5 players remaining
- 19. Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
- 28. Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
- 29. Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
- 30. Paul Dawson, LB, TCU
- 31. Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA
Buccaneers picks
- 1-1: Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
- 2-34: Cameron Erving, C, Florida State
Coming up at Noon ET: the No. 35 overall pick, made by Silver and Black Pride for the Oakland Raiders. Stay tuned!
SB Nation presents: Breaking down our latest mock draft
See More:
