Receiver Sterling Shepard (39 catches for the Bucs last season) remains a free agent.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht is one of the best in the business at drafting wide receivers.
The Bucs even significant contributions during the 2020 Super Bowl season from receivers Scotty Miller (Round 6) and Tyler Johnson (Round 5). Both still are on NFL rosters, and it’s rare for late-round picks to have long careers.
So considering Licht is undeniably good at picking college receivers, Joe is all in favor of Licht doing that again on Day 3 of the 2026 draft in two short weeks.
That brings Joe to University of Oklahoma receiver Deion Burks.
After today’s JoeBucsFan Show on WDAE radio and before Joe settled in for the Rays-Yankees game, Joe watched the wide receiver mock draft held by retired Panthers star receiver Steve Smith and NFL Network draft guru Daniel Jeremiah, the former Ravens, Eagles and Browns scout. What a fountain of information.
Burks didn’t make the cut for the mock, which was no surprise. He’s often projected as a fourth-round pick, but that doesn’t mean Burks failed to impress the Xs and Os guys. They love him.
Jeremiah noted how Burks is a sleeper and said “I got crushed by everybody” for putting him on a top-50 prospects list several weeks ago. Jeremiah ignored the blowback, he said, and emphasized Burks played for “statistically some of the worst quarterbacks you can play with” at Purdue and for a stretch at Oklahoma.
What Burks “did at Purdue showed me that they misused him. I was pretty surprised at how versatile he played outside,” Smith added.
Jermiah said Burks reminds him of longtime Patriots versatile slot receiver Deion Branch.
Of course, NFL fans largely know Burks for his ridiculous numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. At 5-10, 180 pounds, Burks ran a 40-yard dash in 4.30 seconds and had a 42 1/2-inch vertical leap, tops among receivers. At Oklahoma, he had 57 catches for 620 yards last season and 4 touchdowns.
The Bucs don’t necessarily need another receiver, but that could change in a hurry, as it often seems to do. And Joe wonders how Burks might look as a gunner on special teams, or returning kicks.
For those wondering, Sterling Shepard (39 catches for the Bucs last season) remains a free agent.
Deion Burks: 26 reps bench (98th percentile) 42.5 vert (98th percentile) 131″ broad jump (92nd percentile) 1.49 10-yard (94% ) 4.30 40-yard (97%)
Reported to squat 540 LBS, benches 400 LBS and cleans 340 LBS. Ranked 50th on the Freaks list. 9.25 RAS score. FREAK. pic.twitter.com/Jz9sN4rNU6
— Price Carter (@priceacarter) April 5, 2026
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