2021 NFL Draft: Three-round 2021 NFL mock draft with top 10 surprises
2021 NFL Draft: Round 1, 27th Overall
Pick Analysis. OL. Alabama. 27. Scouting Report. Alex Leatherwood. player. 48
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear primed for a possible Super Bowl run this season and they have been fantastic on both sides of the ball. The Bucs have put together a high-powered offensive attack with hardly any holes, but Donovan Smith at left tackle remains to be a weak spot. The Bucs should be aggressively looking to improve their left tackle situation this offseason and they could attack the need in a variety of ways.
Rookie right tackle Tristan Wirfs has been absolutely incredible this year and would likely make a smooth transition to the left side if needed. On top of that, left guard Ali Marpet played tackle in college and could potentially make the move outside for Tampa. With this in mind, the Bucs have options. They could simply find a left tackle, find a right tackle and move Wirfs to the left side or find an interior player, moving Marpet to right tackle and Wirfs to the left side.
No matter how they end up making this move, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a fair bet to take an offensive lineman early in the 2021 NFL Draft. In this mock draft, Alex Leatherwood is the guy at No. 27.
Leatherwood is a powerful and aggressive offensive lineman who has played both right guard and left tackle at Alabama, finding success at both spots. He has a quick first step and is powerful at the point of attack. Leatherwood is a mean and nasty blocker who prefers to play aggressively, moving forward and driving defenders down the field on a consistent basis.
Leatherwood may be more of a guard at the next level, but as we talked about above, the Bucs can fit him in wherever needed. He feels like a great fit for this team and no matter where he plays, adding Leatherwood would allow the Bucs to move on from Smith and make an improvement up front.