Who The Bucs Want

Time to familiarize ourselves briefly with what yet another team is looking for this Draft season. We’ve already covered the two earliest pickers in the 2010 Draft, the Rams and the Lions. Now it’s time for team #3, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Thanks to Dustin Staggers from The Pewter Plank, FanSided’s resident Bucs expert and blogger, who emailed me this nugget:

"With the third pick in the draft, the Buccaneers should be targeting a defensive lineman.  Since the departure of Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp, the Bucs have not been able to generate pressure on the QB . Ndamukong Suh would be the logical choice, but I don’t see how he makes it past the Lions, if the Rams were to pass on him.  Gerald McCoy would be a great choice for the Bucs, but once again, I don’t know if he’ll make it past the Lions.  That brings us to our 3rd pick. Most pundits seem to think the Bucs will target Eric Berry, S from Tennessee.  While Sabby Piscatelli is awful at SS and I definitely think that is an area of need, I have reservations about drafting a SS number 3.  I love the guy personally, but the third pick is very well compensated, hence the reason MLB’s and Safeties are not normally drafted there.  Carlos Dunlap from the Florida Gators would be a great choice for the Bucs in my mind.  His physical skills are off the charts, he is big, can stop the run and penetrate and get to the QB.  He will wow scouts physically at the combine and shoot up draft boards."

Carlos Dunlap, eh? Hmmm… in my head I have him lasting until the second round and going to Oakland. I can’t see him getting selected that early, or really in the first round at all.

When we heard from Ethan Novak of Ramblin’ Fan about the Rams, we had a first-time commenter named Jeff post this:

"I am friends with a member of the Rams staff and he implied a possible deal in the works with Tampa trading multiple picks for Suh and the Rams taking either Berry from Tenn or Bradford. I think that has a strong chance to unfold."

I don’t mean to dismiss Jeff, but I seriously have my doubts. Teams simply can’t trade out of the top selection. Dustin of the Pewter Plank is similarly skeptical, although he left the door open:

"Would depend  on the picks involved.  There are a bevy of players who I think could be available for a 2nd round pick (Anquan Boldin) being the main one, that trading a 2nd or 3rd round pick to move up two spots could be detrimental to us in the long run.  It would just depend on the picks involved."

Check out the NFL Draft Trade Value chart. Dustin’s right on the money — the Bucs would have to trade their first, their second, and their third to move up two spots.

Go to The Pewter Plank for discussion about everything Bucs. If Dustin’s latest update is any indication, he’s having a small crisis of faith, so buy him a beer why dontcha. It’d make the guy’s day.