The NFL Draft - On The Clock, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pick: #9
Top Needs: DE (4-3), CB, OT, S, WR
Top Targets: DeForest Buckner, Ronnie Stanley, Laquon Treadwell
Off The Board:
PickTeamPlayer, POSSchoolComments1Tennessee TitansLaremy Tunsil, OTOle MissA shut down corner to protect franchise QB Marcus Mariota. 2Cleveland BrownsJared Goff, QBCaliforniaThe Browns finally find an answer to stop the QB merry go-round of the last 20 years.3San Diego ChargersJalen Ramsey, DBFlorida StateWhether he plays cornerback or safety, the Chargers get one of the best players in the draft.4Dallas CowboysJoey Bosa, DL Ohio StateThe Cowboys shore up their defensive line, and find QB, LB and DB help later in the draft. 5Jacksonville Jaguars Vernon Hargreaves, CBFloridaThe Jaguars get a shutdown corner in the first round, find solutions in the front seven in free agency and the rest of the draft.6Baltimore RavensMyles Jack, SS/LBUCLAThe Ravens leap to draft an elite defensive talent, and possibly draft a future star.7San Francisco 49ersCarson Wentz, QBNorth Dakota StateKap forces the teams hand and they take a potential future starting QB to truly start a new era.8Miami DolphinsMackensie Alexander, CB ClemsonMiami plugs its biggest hole, but with a player who does have some questions.9Tampa Bay Buccaneers???
The Bucs are a really interesting team that I think has a promising future. They have a future franchise QB in Jameis Winston, a #1 receiver in Mike Evans, and assuming they re-sign him, a good young RB in Doug Martin. That core (plus, potentially, TE Austin Sefarian-Jenkins) and veteran Vincent Jackson, make it likely that the team looks elsewhere in the early part of the draft, and focus on defense.
They certainly have some promising players on a defense, but overall that's the unit that could use improvement and depth across the board. The defensive line needs someone to take some heat off of Gerald McCoy. Lavonte David is a stud at LB but it's otherwise not a strength, and the entire secondary needs help. The focus has to be on defense - the only temptations to go against that are Ronnie Stanley for help on the OL, or maybe trying to take Jackson's replacement in Laquon Treadwell. Treadwell seems like pure luxury here, but Stanley might be tempting.
I think, however, that GM Jason Licht will instead look at help on the other side of the ball. And even though he is more of a traditional 3-4 DL, there's a guy out there that has fallen into their laps.
THE PICK: DeForest Buckner, DL, Oregon
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I first had DeForest Buckner going to the Jaguars...then the Ravens...then the 49ers....and now, at long last, actually finding a home in Tampa Bay. This is a huge break for the Bucs, getting one of the true premier DL, who can slot anywhere on the line and provide help with the pass rush and stopping the run. With him and McCoy, plus David at LB, the team gets stronger up the middle when they play there. Though Buckner is a terrific prospect as a 3-4 DE (and the Jags play a 4-3 base defense), he can play both inside and outside on the defensive line, and projects well in both regards. It's painful to constantly read that he is a more polished, more NFL-ready prospect than his former teammate, Arik Armstead, but Armstead has already shown promise, so that's encouraging for Buckner.
Buckner is literally huge (just like Armstead) and has been compared to Calais Campbell (hey! Also like Armstead!). If he can provide a pass rush as well as take a lineman off of McCoy, the team immediately gets better at the point of attack which is massively important. I have my doubts that Buckner could actually fall this far at this point, but if he does, I suspect Tampa Bay will run, not walk, to make him a Buccaneer.
Next up, the New York Giants.