The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just 2 games into the 2026 regular season and the doomsday scenario is already in motion — propelled by a 0-2 start that includes an embarrassing Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
How badly things go from here on out is only speculation, but the Buccaneers seem dead in the water in 2026 — something that could land them a high pick in the talent-rich 2027 NFL Draft.
Sports Illustrated projects the 2027 draft could see 7 quarterbacks drafted in the 1st round — breaking the record of 6 quarterbacks in the 1st round shared by the 1983 and 2024 drafts — and predicts the Buccaneers will take superstar University of Miami quarterback Darian Mensah with the No. 4 overall pick.
“Mensah is closing the gap on Manning and Moore because of how polished he is as a passer,” SI’s Gilberto Manzano wrote. “With his new surroundings in Miami, the 6’3″, 205-pound Duke transfer has 11 touchdowns and no interceptions while completing a sizzling 89.9% of his passes. He’ll need to prove it against better competition when the College Football Playoff rolls around. Still, at the moment, teams with mid-tier quarterbacks might be willing to ditch their current starter for Mensah and his pinpoint accuracy. Additionally, it hasn’t been the best start for Mayfield since his new contract extension.”
The Buccaneers host the 2-0 Minnesota Vikings in Week 3, and only 7 teams in NFL history have started the season 0-3 and still made the playoffs.
QB Darian Mensah Playing for 3rd College
Mensah, 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, is on his 3rd college. He started his career with 2 seasons at Tulane in 2023 and 2024 and was an All-ACC pick at Duke in 2025.
Through his 1st 3 games in Miami, the Hurricanes are off to a 3-0 start, and he is 71-of-79 passing (89.9 percent) for 873 yards, 11 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
In 2025, Mensah threw for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in 14 games.
The biggest hurdle to Mensah playing his way into the 1st round at Miami was a messy lawsuit with Duke over NIL payments that was settled out of court in January. He was in a 2-year NIL deal at Duke believed to pay him $4 million per year.
Mensah’s NIL deal with Miami will reportedly pay him up to $8 million for the 2026 season — almost double the 2026 salary of New York Giants starting quarterback and 2025 1st-round pick Jaxson Dart.
ESPN: Bucs Already ‘Regret’ Paying Baker Mayfield
After 2 embarrassing losses to open the year, ESPN’s Ben Solak believes the Buccaneers already deeply regret signing Mayfield to a 3-year, $165 million contract extension just days before the start of the 2026 regular season.
“Mayfield has not played well through the first two games of the season,” Solak wrote on September 22. “It would have been nice to see how this season played out, to see if this two-game trend continued, before signing an extension. Mayfield and the Buccaneers looked destined for a prove-it season before the Buccaneers ‘surprised’ Mayfield with an eleventh-hour offer that clearly met his expectations. It is a three-year deal, as Mayfield wanted, though it’s really a two-year deal with a $55 million team option in 2029. Still, at $55 million per year, Mayfield is making Matthew Stafford and Trevor Lawrence sort of money … Joe Burrow and Josh Allen sort of money.”
Bucs Predicted to Replace QB Baker Mayfield With ACC Superstar