Tampa Draft Recap

Before I get too involved in the upcoming NBA draft, I would like to take a step back a moment to this year’s NFL draft. If you know me, you know I covered the draft pretty thoroughly and gathered as much information as a person could without any real inside connections. I did the mock drafts, I watched NFL Network, I watched ESPN, I followed Mel Kiper and Todd McShay, I read the blogs, I did everything I could to further my knowledge about the prospects and the draft process.

With all that being said, on draft day, like most people, my mock draft was far from accurate. To be truthful mock drafts are fun but they are a complete waste of time. It would be one thing if each team was locked into whatever draft picks they have but with the ability to make trades it is virtually impossible to be accurate when creating your mock drafts. For this reason...I would love to have Mel Kiper’s job in the future. Who wouldn’t want to have a job where you do a lot of research, influence others to believe you know exactly what you are talking about, competitively argue with other people of the same profession about why you are right and then at the end of the day you are far from being right but yet you are an expert. The only other job I can think of off the top of my head where you can do similar things, be wrong and still be an expert is a weatherman (no offense). Anyway for now, does anyone know how I could become Kiper’s intern?

Sorry, back to the football. If you read my mock drafts you know I was praying to the football gods that they would bless my Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Ndamukong Suh. Sadly, my prayers were not answered but I suppose Gerald McCoy isn’t a bad consolation. He fills a huge need and many “experts” thought he was probably a better fit for Tampa’s defense anyway. As much as I’d love to believe the “experts,” I go back to my weatherman example and remember them calling for rain two days ago and I never saw one rain drop all day. But hey, they are the experts…

Going into the draft my Bucs needed to upgrade many positions. The defensive line, cornerback, outside linebacker, and receiver were all positions of need. I know your probably thinking that sounds like a whole roster but hey, we did only win three games last year.

We recognized a need on the defensive line, which is why McCoy was the pick. Unfortunately, we ranked dead last in the NFL in rush defense, giving up 158 rushing yards per game. One defensive tackle wouldn’t be the solution to this enormous problem. So in round 2, we drafted another defensive tackle, Brian Price, out of UCLA. Not that I’m an expert but prior to the draft I thought Brian Price was worthy of a 1st round pick and in my early mocks had him going as high has the New York Giants. This is a great situation for him because he has one job, stuff the run. All the hype and pressure is on Gerald McCoy, so hopefully Price will play to his max potential and we could soon be watching the rebirth of the Warren Sapp and Booger McFarland tandem (I apologize to Warren Sapp, I hate when people compare rookie prospects to him, but I couldn’t help it).

Thanks to the Bears for trading us their second round pick for the late Gaines Adams, we were able to draft wide receiver Arrelious Benn out Illinois. Benn is a very talented athlete that physically reminded many people of Terrell Owens. He has good speed for a receiver his size and has a knack for racking up yards after the catch. With the loss of Antonio Bryant, Benn will step in and start day one.

In the third round we selected cornerback Myron Lewis out of Vanderbilt. Lewis is not a household name, but he is quite a player. He is very instinctive and at 6’2, he covers a lot of ground. I don’t see him as a starter this year, but in the nickel and dime packages he is a major upgrade. Ronde Barber will be able to mentor him for one or two more years before he calls it quits. I think Myron will excel in the Tampa 2 defensive scheme.

I usually don’t get excited about 4th round picks unless it is someone that is blazing fast but this year wide receiver Mike Williams out of Syracuse has me intrigued. He is known as a special talent but was plagued with off the field issues, consequently quitting the team this past season. Williams doesn’t have blazing speed, but he has a lot of talent and is a high ceiling pick. As much as he could be a playmaker in the NFL, he could just as easy be out of the league soon because of off the field issues. I hope his experiences at Syracuse have forced him to mature because if he pans out, we could have a very nice tandem with Williams and Benn. Quarterback Josh Freeman should have been all smiles at the end of this draft. Hopefully his two new targets will make life easier for him.

Overall, I think the Bucs had a very good draft. We addressed major needs and added young talent to our core. I don’t expect a winning season next year but we have definitely taken a step in the right direct. The defense should be improved and the offense has a few more playmakers. As our young core continues to develop the future looks bright in Tampa. Raheem’s Regime lives on.