Timing is everything. We are only a month away from the 2026 NFL Draft being at the forefront of everyone's mind. While anything and everything will be dissected millions of times over between now and then, three things look to be true for former Georgia Bulldogs star linebacker CJ Allen. He is LB3 in this class, will be coming off the board in the first round, and the perfect landing spot is opening up.
With Greg Auman of FOX Sports reporting Lavonte David might be retiring, Allen has an ideal suitor...
Bucs will have a press conference at 2 today involving linebacker Lavonte David. No specifics but all signs point to him announcing his retirement after 14 seasons in Tampa.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 24, 2026
David has spent his entire 14-year NFL career out of Nebraska with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Canton could be calling his name one day, at the very least, he is a Hall of Very Good candidate. Given that Todd Bowles is a defensive-minded head coach and that general manager Jason Licht loves to draft high-character guys, Allen to the Buccaneers at No. 15 seems like it could be very much in play.
NFL Mock Draft Database has Allen as its No. 27 best prospect, but that could be changing in a hurry.
CJ Allen to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 15 seems to be more in play
Even though NFL Mock Draft Database has former Miami Hurricanes star edge rusher Akheem Mesidor going to the Buccaneers at No. 15 in their consensus mock draft, that is only at a 31-percent clip. They have Allen going a few picks later to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 20, but only at 20 percent... The reason why Allen will be climbing up the draft board is part scarcity, need, and above all else, fit.
Yes, Bowles is going to want a new face in the middle of his defense. And yes, Allen checks every box that Licht would want out of a possible first-round pick. However, it may have more to do with LB1 and LB2 coming off the board far sooner. Those guys would be former Ohio State teammates Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles. Reese may go No. 2 overall, while Styles feels like a lock to go in the top 10...
So if the two best linebacker prospects in the draft will long be off the board before the Buccaneers pick, it would behoove them to hone in on Allen, especially in the wake of David's retirement rumors. Otherwise, Allen may just go to another middling NFC franchise in Dallas. Love them or hate them, the Cowboys typically know what they are doing when it comes to drafting and developing linebackers.
Right now, the notion of Allen to the Buccaneers has gone way up in the wake of David walking away.