Buccaneers 

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht admitted that they approach the 2026 NFL Draft with a pressing need on the defensive side, but won’t force any picks at No. 15 overall and intends to take the best player available. 

“We do see that there is a need for help there on the defensive side, for sure,” Licht said, via NFL.com. “I’ve had conversations with (coach) Todd (Bowles) a lot about this over the years, the last couple of years. He hates the word ‘defensive-minded’ head coach. He proved to me last year where he wasn’t upset with taking Emeka (Egbuka) where he says you have to take the best player that helps you win games, period. So, I’m very fortunate to have a head coach that feels that way when we work together to make these decisions. I feel like I’ve said this every year, you can never go wrong with taking the best player. You’re going to be happy at some point that you did instead of trying to force a pick.”

Tampa Bay will be in search of an edge rusher in the draft. When asked about the qualities they are looking for in the position, Licht said they are seeking a good mix of power and speed. 

“I mean, we can all say and write down and we have numbers that we look for the ideal [edge rusher], but those are also hard to [come by],” Licht said. “The ‘J.P.P’s’ (Jason Pierre-Paul), God only made a few of them. Yes, you would like to have big, long guys, but sometimes power comes in different packages. A guy can have great quickness and speed, but he’s just going to get washed off of the corner because of his lack of base and lack of strength. At the end of the day, you’re just looking for a very good football player that can do all of those things.”

Licht doesn’t think their evaluation of the edge rusher spot has changed, but is studying players they’ve taken to determine why things haven’t worked out. 

“I don’t know if it’s really changed that much in how we evaluate players. We know that last year we wish we would have had more production from that aspect, from the edge,” Licht said. “I don’t know if it’s changed. You’ve got to be careful not to just feel like it’s a must and force yourself to like more players than you normally would and push players up the board just to take an edge rusher to get that short-term good feeling of we drafted him and later on, you feel like maybe we shouldn’t have drafted him. I don’t know how much has changed. We’ve put a lot of energy into it, though. I feel like we’ve gone back and studied a lot of rushers that didn’t make it or didn’t work out to kind of see what we can do better, where we can focus our attention on a little bit more.”

Falcons

• Iowa G Beau Stephens visited the Falcons. (Mike Garafolo)
• Minnesota-Moorhead QB Jack Strand visited the Falcons. (Tom Pelissero)
• Toledo CB Avery Smith had a private workout with the Falcons. (Aaron Wilson)
• Alabama WR Germie Bernard had an official 30 visit with the Falcons. (Ian Rapoport)
• UCF DE Malachi Lawrence had 16 official 30 visits, including with the Falcons. (Aaron Wilson)
• N.C. State TE Justin Joly met in person with the Falcons’ TE coach before his pro day. (Justin Melo)

Panthers 

Jaelan Phillips had an unconventional college career, electing to retire due to medical reasons in 2018 when he was attending UCLA after he was hit by a car while riding a moped, and later enrolled at Los Angeles City College to study music production. Phillips recalled his father urging him to get back into football, which led to him joining the University of Miami. 

“He always was like, ‘Man, I really think that you can get back into football and still do something special,'” Phillips said, via David Newton of ESPN. “At first I didn’t believe him. We butted heads. We went back and forth. But I ultimately took his guidance on that. It was a very special moment for both him and me when I signed this contract [with Carolina] and we were able to look back and reminisce on 2018 when I was arguing with him every day, [when I was saying], ‘I don’t want to do this. It’s not for me.'”

Phillips mentioned that he didn’t plan on playing football again after he retired in 2018. 

“When I retired from football, I didn’t think I was going back to it,” Phillips said. “So I had to start planning for the future and figuring out what I was going to do.”

As for his four-year, $120 million contract with the Panthers, Phillips said he wouldn’t have expected to get this kind of deal years ago. 

“If you had told me this was going to happen a handful of years ago, I might have told you you’re crazy,” Phillips said. “I’ve always had the belief in myself. I’ve always known what I can accomplish. But you know, truthfully, with this game you never know.”