Draft Options

I know and understand the need at CB on the defensive side of the ball. What this team needs to do is give the offense some TRUE playmakers on offense. I think the team should go in one of 2 possible directions. I for one think they need to go after someone like Alshon Jeffery from South Carolina. The kid is tall at 6-4 and thick at 230 or so and has been clocked in the 40 as fast as 4.46. Jeffery obviously has 1st round talent and an elite WR. What I saw from Mike Williams is when teams rolled the coverage to his side he lacked the elite speed to get seperation and does not have the height to win jump balls like a Larry Fitzgerald. Alshon Jeffery has both the speed and the height. The team can come back in the 2nd round and get a very good CB but this offense desperately needs an ELITE WR for Freeman. That would give the offense Mike Williams and Alshon Jeffery. Benn has not showed me much of anything to consider giving him a starting job. Briscoe is 2 times the WR that Benn is. Round 3 I would target LeHeisman James from Oregon. He is a fast speedy change of pace to Blount that can catch very well. Graham is 32, Lumpkin needs to be cut and Blount is not a 3 down back. I would be all for Getting RG3, doing that would require moving up 2 slots in the 1st round in my opinion as the Browns definately will take him at 4. I am not quitting on Freeman, getting Jeffery would certainly help him.

You say another WR, well the Lions did that with Mike Williams, Roy Williams, Charles Rogers and finally hit a home run with Calvin Johnson. As they say the rest is history.

That is the way I think the team needs to go.

I am not as big on Justin Blackmon as most draft experts because of size and speed, he is built like Mike Williams, we have that already.

Well there is still a lot of announcments to be made but IF Trent Richardson comes out he should be the first pick by the Bucs. Yes they need a WR, OLB, and CB but I don't think any of those positions has the ability to effect a game as much as RB. If Trent Richardson doesn't come out I would wait on a RB until round 2 or 3 since the draft is pretty loaded at the position this year. I would be ok with Alshon Jeffery but I would like to see them trade down since WR's have proven to be a pretty big risk. Let's be honest the Bucs need as many picks as they can get to sure up a horrible defense and a stagnant non-explosive offense.

I like Trent Richardson a lot. A lot will be determined when he and the rest of the Crimson Tide play LSU. He should come out, he doesn't need to take another year of carries and pounding in college. I understand the hit and miss proposition with WR but with Jeffery and Mike Williams together should certainly help tremendously, if Freeman is who we think he is. Either way Richardson or Jeffery helps the offense a ton.

I don't like Richardson. He's too much of a weight freak and it has taken a major toll on his speed. 

Honestly, if Griffin slips, I take him if for no other reason other than seeing what drafting Rivers did to Brees in San Diego. Worst case, Josh pans out and we trade Griffin or Josh for more picks.

1. Griffin
2. Blackmon
3. Claiborne (although I am not that high on him)
4. trade down

The reason I don't like Claiborne is because I think Janoris Jenkins is the better player and he'll be available in the middle to late first round. Trade down and stockpile.

I would like to get LaMichael James in the second and Coby Fleener in the third. 

1. If RG3 is there, draft him.
2. RBs are not worth drafting top 10 - too many later round bargains available who will pan out better than the top prospects
3. That said, I would be suprised if LM James was still there in the second round.
4. Not the best of years to be looking for a good LB to draft, much less needing to draft two.
5. If we can get a Zach Brown type (faster and smaller) in the second round, I would prefer that to Melvin Ingram type (stronger but slower)
6. Claiborne appears to be the "in" pick for Mock drafts... meh
7. We have many more important needs than WR
8. Briscoe dillusion is not amusing.
9. Offensive line, especially OT, is strong in this draft. Not the highest need, but it might be the best value pick.
10. Kellen Moore and Case Keenum will have better pro careers than half a dozen QBs picked before them. Either one is worth a late round pick.

'nuff for now. 
 

I'll go point by point

1. Agreed. He's Josh Johnson's athleticism with probably the best deep ball in half a decade
2. AGREED. Blount, Arian Foster, both undrafted. Arguable top 5 backs
3. I agree. James will be a combine freak.
4. Agred again. However, if we start converting to a Wade Phillips 3-4, I love all of the Bama linebackers. Wouldn't mind trading down and taking both Hightower and Upshaw
5. Eh, I don't know. A lot depends on our new D coordinator
6. I like Claiborne, but he isn't in the same league as Joe Haden and with Jayron Hosely possibly a second rounder or trading down and taking Janoris Jenkins (best corner in draft), I am uninspired
7. THANK YOU!!!
8. ???
9. I agree. A lot of money was just given to Trueblood though. I like Nate Potter a lot in the third
10. Not sold on Keenum. Really really really struggled against Southern Miss in the cyclone game. Reminds me of Bruce Gradkowski without the grit. Career backup. Kellen Moore? HUGE FAN! Would love to trade to get a 4th and take him.

I haven't looked at any mock drafts, but I doubt Alshon Jeffery will be taken in the top 15 if in the 1st round at all. He certainly didn't play like a number one pick this season. Bucs will not draft another QB, that is out of the question. Josh Freeman is a good QB and everybody employable as a coach in the NFL knows this.

 It's very likely the Bucs pick Claiborne which will once again be the same vanilla pick, but I don't mind it as much as the G. McCoy pick, because cornerback is probably the most important defensive position in the NFL right now. I really think Trent Richardson is the best pick however. In fact, he's probably the best pick in the draft as far as overall value at this point next to Andrew Luck. Richardson will be a top 5 RB in the NFL in a couple of seasons and he may even be the greatest running back of his time. He's Ray Rice times 2. If there is any way the Bucs could trade their pick away and still end up with Richardson, I think they should do it.

Richardson went to the same high school as Emmitt Smith, so he is actually a native Floridian. He is also a very mature, responsible role model, that would bring great worth inside the locker room. If the Bucs had the number 1 pick, I would take him without hesitation.

The alternative is to trade the pick for more picks to a team hungry for thier spot. If there is anyway that RG3 is still there, it would be gold to trade that pick. I like RG3 a lot. He's exciting and has an arm like a sling shot, but taking a QB would be resetting the entire system. The Bucs are good with Freeman minus his turnovers. The Bucs did ok in passing yards this season, but they need a solid running game to make the offense work. Blount just is not a complete enough RB to get the job done even with RG3.

After seeing Richardson bust a 30 yard run against LSU, I know what it is that the fans want. I would be very surprised if most Bucs fans don't want a player who will not only give the team a new identity, but will also bring a buzz back to Tampa. Even though drafting to fill a need or getting the best player is important, the greater need in Tampa is to have a player that will excite and bring interest to the team. The life has been sucked out of this young team. That guy may be RG3, I don't know; but the guy has to be a gamechanger on many different levels. I just don't see Clairborne as that guy. I don't care if that's the best pick on paper.

I like Trent Richardson more and more the more I resrearch the kid. Seems like a good character guy as well. He has been graded the highest RB to enter the draft since AP, which is pretty high. I would consider his skills to be greater given the fact he has good hands and can catch. Trent Richardson and Blount would make a powerful RB tandem that is young. That in itself should open things up more for Freeman and the WR. If there is a free agent TE worth targeting I would take a look and see at the least because Winslow is getting up in years and lets face it Stocker was less than impressive. I know he was a rookie and it took Pettigrew and Finley a year or so to get going good. So maybe there is still something there.

i love trent richardson as a player. but our defense is soo bad that i think you have to go defense atleast for the first pick if not the first 2. that defense has to be one of, if not the worst in bucs history. jacksonville scored 41 on us. seriously..

Most of the points Jacksonville got were a direct result of the offense, like INT's, fumbles and such, if you go back and look at the game again. I think the offense gave the Jags 21 points directly off of turnovers. We saw what the Lions did with an explosive offense, the Patriots are winning with a horrid defense, the Packers defense has been terrible too but they continue to win by scoring. Those teams either made the playoffs and or are still playing. The NFL is becoming an offensive league. The offenses are ahead of the defenses. We have to give Freeman weapons to develop. Richardson is the man. As for WR Mike Williams needs to step up and Briscoe needs to be #2. Having a RB like Richardson will instantly keep defenses honest. Go CB in Rd 2 but if you want to sell tickets you need to get this man in Tampa.

Do we really need to pass on a Adrian Peterson athlete for a 2nd time?

Do we really need to pass on a Adrian Peterson athlete for a 2nd time?

Richardson ain't even close to the same speed.

Trent Richardson runs a 4.45, Adrian Peterson runs a 4.40 40 time. I can also mention that Ray Rice ran a 4.47 at the combine. I don't see Ray Rice having many issues with his speed making plays, not to mention has very good hands as well. How good are Adrian Peterson's hands compared to Trent Richardson or Ray Rice? LeSean McCoy, who led the NFL in rushing runs a 4.5 in the 40. Didn't seem to diminidh his stats any. Bottom line is you can either get it done or you can't, plain and simple. It is all about vision and finding the creases and getting in and out of it. But I guess since 2 of the top 5 RB in the NFL have slower 40 times than Trent Richardson does that makes Richardson a scrub?

I also think Richardson would be too good to pass on.But the defense and WR positions have needs as well and as far as running back goes I like Doug Martin from Boise State a lot too.Maybe I would entertain a trade down with someone who really wanted Richardson then hope to draft Floyd or Coples or Kirkpatrick.Then take Mohamed Sanu in round 2 and Martin in round 3 followed by Joe Adams in round 4 and speed demon Travis Benjamin later on.I'm a defensive minded coach by nature but this team really needs to open up the offense more.There is a very good core of defensive players from last years draft and this defense can improve if they get help from the offensive side of the field.Freeman is not the problem.But you can't elect a sherriff and send him out to work without a gun.

That is why I like Trent Richardson in the 1st Rd. A solid running attack with Richardson and Blount would go a long way to helping the offense and Josh Freeman. That would open the play action to Mike Williams and Co. and make the passing game look closer to what it did in 2010. Mike Williams was a beast and needs to get back to that. Would another WR help, sure, there are a lot in Free Agency that would help. A guy like DeSean Jackson has a ton of speed, there is Vincent Jackson, DeWayne Bowe to name a few. There are solid pieces on the D line, injuries took their toll in 2011. You can also make the argument that besides Blount who can you count on in the back field to run? Graham is pretty much done in his career after tearing his achilles, Lumpkin has nothing. The Bucs are in better shape at WR than they are at RB. Secondary and LB are the needs on defense. Another year woth Clayborne and Bowers and Bennett should be better. McCoy needs to stay healthy, when he went down the defense struggled. Seemed as the D line went as McCoy did. The Bucs have the O line to make it happen, they just need to make it happen. Hard to believe this was a 4 win team after going 10-6. Was it all coaching? I think maybe a lot of it. The players have a lot of work to get done this offseason to bounce back in 2012. The schedule is a little more friendly as well which should help. You see the value of guys like Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Frank Gore, LeSean McCoy, Maurice Jones Drew and Michael Turner. They all take pressure off of the passing game and open things up down field.

Trent Richardson runs a 4.45,

Ore-combine time. If he runs under a 4.55 I'll be surprised.

LeSean McCoy, who led the NFL in rushing runs a 4.5 in the 40

Totally different player. Shady is shifty. Trent is not.

Bottom line is you can either get it done or you can't, plain and simple. It is all about vision and finding the creases and getting in and out of it.

No it doesn't, but the top three picks in the draft have all used a first round on a running back on their roster while the Saints, Patriots, Packers, and Texans all rely on late-round/undrafted backs.

Running back is not a position of great importance in today's NFL. AP has been to the playoffs 1 time in his career. We have an elite running back already when the coaches don't have their heads up their butts.

Blount > Freeman so if we're just trying to get the best available, you take RG3, no questions asked. 

I am not denying RG3, in my opnion there is absolutley no way the Cleveland Browns pass on RG3 with the pick before the Buccaneers. There could even be a trade up to the No. 2 slot from an outside team to take Robert Griffen. If Griffen is gone then the pick needs to be a playmaker. You must give Freeman another weapon on offense. I am not saying that Blount is not a good RB, he is, in this NFL you need 2. Outside of Blount there is nothing. I would draft Richardson and go after Cortland Finnegan and one of the free agent WR. That would allow you to draft a CB and LB in rounds 2 and 3 and possibly a safety in Rd 4. Under the new CBA and rookie salary cap you will see more trades than ever and I honestly believe a team makes a move to No. 2 or 3 to get RG3. I think St Louis takes Blackmon to give Bradford a legit WR. Teams are proving you can win with offense.

At the very least you need to be good on one side of the ball.

Teams are proving you can win with offense.

Of the eight teams remaining this year, five are there primarily because of their defense. Only NE, Green Bay and New Orleans are trying to prove the old adage wrong. So the "new" belief that offense is most important remains to be seen.