At this point, the chances of Baker Mayfield continuing to play quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close out the 2020s remain even with the chances of him going elsewhere.
That means the Buccaneers need to plan for the future at the most important position on the field, which Sports Illustrated made clear in its latest 2027 mock draft, with SI’s Justin Melo tabbing University of Miami quarterback Darian Mensah to land with Tampa Bay at No. 19 overall.
Mensah, 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, is on his 3rd college after beginning his career at Tulane then earning All-ACC honors at Duke in 2025.
“Baker Mayfield is in a contract year and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been hesitant to make a long-term commitment,” Melo wrote. “Darian Mensah threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns for the ACC champion Duke Blue Devils last season. Mensah now transfers to Miami, which helped Cam Ward become a No. 1 overall pick at quarterback.”
Messy Court Case Cleared Path to 1st Round
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.
Mensah was in a 2-year NIL deal at Duke believed to pay him approximately $4 million per year.
“Duke officials sued Mensah in Durham County Superior Court on Jan. 20 in an attempt to prevent him from transferring and enforce the multiyear NIL contract he signed with the school,” ESPN’s Max Olson wrote. “Duke entered Mensah’s name in the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 21, but he was not permitted to enroll at another school until a North Carolina judge ruled on the school’s injunction request. A preliminary injunction hearing was scheduled for Thursday … Mensah, the No. 5 overall player in ESPN’s transfer rankings, will join the College Football Playoff runner-up Hurricanes after leading the ACC with 3,973 passing yards and 34 passing touchdowns this season while leading the Blue Devils to their first outright ACC title since 1962.”
Bucs ‘On the Clock’ to Draft 1st Round QB in 2027
The pressure is already on the Buccaneers to figure out their quarterback for the future. Mayfield is headed into his 4th season as the starter and the final season of the 3-year, $100 million contract he signed before the 2024 season.
After the Buccaneers went 8-9 in 2025 and missed the playoffs for the 1st time since 2019, it’s fair to say he’s about to play the most important season of his career in 2026 — with success for himself and the Buccaneers likely equaling a payday in the range of $50 million to $60 million per year in terms of average annual salary.
Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman put the Buccaneers on his list of teams that should already be considered “on the clock” to draft a 1st round quarterback in the 2027 NFL draft.
“Baker Mayfield is a free agent after this season, but it’s still likely the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will give him a lucrative extension after three solid seasons taking over for Tom Brady,” Auman wrote. “If they don’t, there’s no heir apparent on the current roster, so they’d be on this list, though they’ve had good luck in the last two veterans they’ve found in free agency. They’ve drafted only one quarterback (Kyle Trask) in the last decade.”
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