08 Draft Review, Rounds 1-3

The Draft is done for another year and after the dust has settled, it’s time to look if the Bucs addressed their needs. In the lead up to the draft every mock draft had the Bucs going CB or WR. The Bucs had been listed with what seemed like every CB and WR going and come draft day I felt it was nigh on impossible to call which direction the Bucs would go.

Round I:

It turned out that the Bucs felt that CB was the bigger need and drafted Aqib Talib. Despite the obvious lack of WR talent outside Joey Galloway, (maybe lack of talent is a bit harsh, maybe underperforming is a better term), I feel that the bigger need that needed to be addressed was CB. Outside of Ronde, the Bucs have journeymen corners and the Bucs needed someone that could step in opposite Ronde for 1 or 2 seasons and then hopefully take over Ronde’s mantle. They seem to have found this in Talib.

Talib, out of Kansas, is a big physical CB and at 6’1 will be able to compete well with the bigger body WR’s. He doesn’t have top tier pace but has great ability when the play is infront of him. The major concern is his ability to catchup once the plays go behind him, this play against KSU highlights this to a tee. His lack of speed was exploited by Nelson but hoping we won’t see him give up on the plays so easily in the NFL. However, he’ll often get help over the top in the Tampa 2 schemes and hopefully we won’t see too much of this.

The things he does bring is an eye for the ball and and ability to make the big hit, 

For me the Bucs made the right call in drafting Talib and I’m looking for him to start come day 1.

Round II:

The Bucs really took a gamble late in Round 2. The next obvious pick looked to be WR, however a lot of the top tier WR’s had gone in with the early picks of Round 2. The Bucs drafted what can loosely be described as a WR, but for me Dexter Jackson will be a KR and sometime WR.

Certainly the Bucs return game has been anaemic of late but to spend a Day 1 pick on Jackson when there were WR’s with Div 1 careers under their belts does seem somewhat cavalier. Despite his off field antics Mario Manningham could have been a nice pick up or LSU’s Early Doucet was still on the board.

Jackson clearly has speed and the return skills but his catching abilities and lack of top flight competition in college make this pick a gamble for me. I hope to be proved wrong.

Round III:

Jeremy Zuttah, the RT out of Rutgers was the Bucs selection in the 3rd round. Despite being the anchor of the Rutgers line, many experts predict that he will be better inside at guard or even centre. This seems to follow the Bucs ideal that their linemen are versatile and could play a number of positions. I see this pick from 2 different perspectives. Either the Bucs don’t see Trueblood as the future at RT, (despite all the plaudits he received last season I didn’t think he played that well) or that Zuttah is seen as insurance for Joseph and Sears on the inside. 

Whether we’ll ever see him on the end of a lateral in the NFL, i’ll never know 🙂

I’d grade day 1 as a C-, I think the Jackson selection has a large element of risk attached to it. For a Day 1 pick, with the real need the Bucs had at WR, he needs to contribute on both special teams and as a receiver. Talib was a good pickup in the first and Zuttah provides the cover across the line that the Bucs need.

Next Day II..

 

Draft 08: Bucs go CB and KR…

The draft has reached it’s halfway point and the Bucs have decided that Aqib Talib and Dexter Jackson were the players that best met their needs.

The first 2 rounds contained a flurry of trades with teams moving up and down to grab the player that they felt best suited them, at points it was hard to keep up with who was trading up or down and with who. Jacksonville traded up massively to snag Derrick Harvey and the Ravens traded back to pick up Joe Flacco.

Anyway here’s some breakdown on the Bucs first day picks

Aqib Talib.

Certainly Talib has the skill set to be a nice fit into the Bucs cover 2 scheme. He’s a decent size for a corner and plays with a lot of physicality. I’m hoping that he can improve his open field pursuit and tackling skills as this is key for the Bucs CB’s. The other red flag could be his off the field issues as he’s failed 3 drugs tests.

Dexter Jackson.

One word, Quick. Jackson clocked a 4.33 for the 40 and although he may not be an instant impact at WR he’ll add a lot to the Bucs return game. I feel this is a gamble of a pick, but if he turns out to have the return skills of a Devin Hester then it could be a great pick up. However, i’m not sure that spending a second round pick on a potential special teams star is that wise. The Bucs WR core is in need of a massive kick up the ass. With this pick there is extra pressure on Clayton and Stovall to really step up and help the evergreen Joey Galloway.

Brian Kelly hits the Free Agency Market

As expected Brian Kelly has opted out of the final year of his contract with the Bucs. By paying out $420,000 Kelly has made himself a free agent. Kelly has been looking for a big pay day for the past few seasons and hasn’t been able to get the Bucs to bite on a long term, high value contract.

However looking at Kelly’s injury record it’s obvious why the Bucs didn’t commit and will any other NFL team pony up big dollars for a CB that has spent more time on the sidelines than between the hash marks ?

So whats the future at CB for the Bucs now ? Philip Buchanon has filled in nicely, and Sammy Davis could fill in the Nickle position, however this makes me think that we need to pick up a top tier CB in this years draft or FA. I’ve seen some mock drafts linking us with Aqib Talib or Mike Jenkins but I certainly think we need some help.

In other FA news the Bucs resigned Michael Bennett to provide some depth in the RB position. Bennett showed some glimpses of form during his limited game time and should benefit from having spent more time with the Bucs offence.

Latest Mock Drafts

So with only one game to go in the 2007 season the pundits attention seems to have turned to the 08 Draft as there are a plethora of Mocks that have sprung up. Choices of note is that of Mel Kiper. He’s taken a punt on Felix Jones. Certainly it’s doubtful that Cadillac Williams will be back in ’08 and there are rumours that it could be longer. However with Graham, Pittman, Bennett and Darby already on the roster I can’t see us spending a round 1 pick on a RB.Heres a quick take on the some of the picks for the Bucs

SI.com – Don Banks

OT – Sam Baker

ESPN Insider – Mel Kiper

RB – Felix Jones

Yahoo Sports

CB – Aqib Talib

NFLDraftCountdown.com

OT – Sam Baker

Footballs Future

OT – Sam Baker

FoxSports

WR – DeSean Jackson