What About Rest Of Draft?
April 14th, 2015
Yes, it sure looks like the Bucs will get a quarterback in just over two weeks, when the 2015 NFL Draft gets underway on the night of April 30.
And it is a safe bet the name called by Roger Goodell for Tampa Bay will be Jameis Winston.
However, that is just the beginning. What will the Bucs do through the rest of the draft? Woody Cummings of The Tampa Tribune has an idea, as he told Tom Veit of WHBO-AM 1040. And you can sum up his answer with two positions.
“[Free agency] did not address offensive line or defensive end and I think that’s where they go,” Cummings said. “I think that’s what the next two rounds if not next three rounds are aimed at. I think that is what they are looking to pick up in the next couple of rounds. Certainly, some kind of an offensive lineman and a defensive end.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to move back up into the first round to get a defensive end. I think they can wait on the offensive line whether it is a guard or a tackle. There is not a lot of great left tackle prospects. There are some right tackle prospects that you can certainly get in the second round and maybe in the third round, guys that can certainly step in. There are certainly guard options they can get early on and take a swipe at. I think that is where the early rounds at.”
Joe would be stunned if the Bucs don’t make those two positions a priority after quarterback.
But there are differing opinions at the JoeBucsFan.com headquarters as to how this develops. One Joe, looking at the talent level in the draft of both positions, sees great value in the middle rounds for offensive linemen and that the draft is top heavy with defensive ends, therefore, the Bucs will go defensive end with their second pick.
The other Joe thinks this is nonsense, that with a rookie quarterback, drafting an offensive lineman is paramount. Thus, that is what the Bucs will select with their second pick.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:10 am
Offensive Line (2-4 spots), Defensive Line (2 spots), MLB, Quarterback and both Safeties. And Punter.
Not gonna happen.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:12 am
I’m with the offensive line Joe. I’d spend the 2 and 3rd pick on oline. The oline has been neglected too long. Bucs need 4 starters immediately and to develop a Dotson replacement in next couple of years. Not to mention depth across board. Lovie’s d will be middle of pack unable to close games so spend the picks on oline better ROI faster.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:13 am
I agree the middle of the draft is heavy with offensive line, where most of the NFL starting OL guys come from. I also agree that Defensive Ends usually come from early picks.
However, I think our second rounder has to go on Eric Kendricks, MLB if he is there, unless we can get Winston’s former Center.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:13 am
Maybe our 2nd rd pick is valuable to someone and we can move 10 spots or so back to aquire more picks.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:14 am
BTW, of the entire offensive line, Center is the hardest to fill with quality. So after QB, Center should take “center” stage. Kendriks would be a huge difference maker though.
By his second year of starting, he would be as popular as David.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:16 am
Also on the wish list is Middle linebacker, Safety, O-Tackle, Guards, WR, Full-back, A real running back, CB would be nice, 2 DE’s, Head coach and depth for special teams,
did I miss anything???
April 14th, 2015 at 9:17 am
If Tampa drafts Winston , I and others a lot of us too. Will start watching the Miami Dol …….
April 14th, 2015 at 9:23 am
@The Buc Realist
Punter
April 14th, 2015 at 9:27 am
@buccaneerBonzai
Thx, I knew i was forgetting something!
April 14th, 2015 at 9:28 am
Thatta baby Joe, continue to shove Winston down their throats. They will accept it, they will take it, they will like it.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:44 am
Clint
Jameis Winston is the most famous and sought out buccaneer of them all. Jameis is instantly the most relevant buccaneer in a decade. Joe does not have to shove anything down anyone’s throat the people have spoken the savoir Jameis is coming to save the bay. jameis winston will be a buc. order your jersey today!
April 14th, 2015 at 9:44 am
What about the rest of the draft? That’s been my question since sometime in early march when the winston pick was all but finalized.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:45 am
If we end up with George Johnson in 10 days, we’ll at least look a little better at DE going into the draft. But I wouldnt be surprised and actually recommend that we use a few picks from next year’s draft, maybe even our 1st or 2nd to move back into the first round for an LT (maybe Andrus Peat) or DE or even a Safety (Landon Collins). That way we keep our 2nd and 3rd. Get AJ Cann in the 2nd, Nate Orchard or Ali Marpet in the 3rd.
Later round sleepers: WR DeAndre Smelter, Kenny Bell, Austin Hill,
LB Ben Heeney
SS Ronald Martin
G Robert Myers
OT Cole Manhart
CB Cam Thomas
April 14th, 2015 at 9:49 am
It was said Lovie’s defense will be middle of the pack next season. Well you do realize after the bye week said defense ranked in the top ten in all defensive categories with a right DE who was invisible,Mike linebacker playing out of position in the scheme along with a shell shock safety whose game didn’t corollate because he was marginal at best in coverage. Look folks,outside of Urlaqour(excuse me if I misspelled it) and Briggs his defense was mainly composed of no namers until he took over. We never heard of Tillman,Jennings,Brown or Manning prior to Lovie. They snatch that beast DE from carolina and that defense was set. Point I’m making,Lovie being a defensive head coach well defense is the last of my concern.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:51 am
Lets hope the bucs are smart and draft the only qb for our team. M.M. is the man for our team !!!!!!
April 14th, 2015 at 9:55 am
@Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun
if you can take parts of the season then Coach Schiano had a top 10 Defense. if you can say 7 more points then Coach Schiano would have been 13-3 in 2012!
you can not take the soft part of the schedule against teams that were shutting it down and sitting on leads in the 3rd Quarter and extrapolate false stats!
April 14th, 2015 at 9:58 am
Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun.
it takes more than a top ten defense to win in the nfl now. he maybe a decent defensive coach but let’s not get carried with “last of my concerns” if i had a dollar for every single poster including myself who posted “well at least the d won’t be a problem” after lovie was hired… “i am not concerned about he d lovie will handle the D” yadda yadda yet the same legendary lovie took a bad 4-12 team and made it worse 2-14 not just with bad coaching but horrendous personnel moves.
you listed mlb out of position well that has not been fixed. Carter will be switching positions to play mlb so you are sold on the unknown?
they have not signed a signle de who can replace those lost. i am no clayborn fan but he had a pulse.
safety they have done nothing to fix that. Conte is a walking concussion and gets burnt regularly.
Moore might be an upgrade of lj but no one knows because moore does not have a proven consistent track records.
April 14th, 2015 at 9:59 am
In the past 10 years, the Bucs have only drafted 3 DE’s in the first 3 rounds of the draft: Gaines Adams (2007), Clayborn (2011) and Bowers (2011). None of them exactly set the world on fire.
During those same 10 years, the Bucs drafted only 5 offensive linemen in the top 3 rounds of the draft: Colmer (2005), Joseph and Trueblood (2006), Sears (2007), and Zuttah (2008). I’d say that Joseph and Zuttah were good picks, and Trueblood was OK. Comer and Sears didn’t exactly set the world on fire.
Interestingly, the Bucs haven’t drafted an OLineman in the first 3 rounds since 2008. Hmmm, I wonder why our OLine sucks.
We also haven’t drafted a DE since 2011, and none of the ones who we did draft worked out. Hmmm, wonder why we’re scavenging for DE’s now.
Folks can talk all they want about ‘building through the draft’ but the reality is our beloved Bucs haven’t had a clue how to do that since winning the Super Bowl many, many years ago … largely with home-grown talent like Sapp, Brooks, Lynch, Barber.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:01 am
@tmaxcon
the funny part was last year was all about Lovie has all this defensive talent and he will make it a top 10 defense!
to present day, no one fit the system and it will take time!
And so the Lovie’s blame game continues!!!
April 14th, 2015 at 10:04 am
^ he’s right you know :/
April 14th, 2015 at 10:05 am
That was @Dick2111
April 14th, 2015 at 10:06 am
Also to @Buc Realist too…lol. Been away from the board too long.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:07 am
The Buc Realist Says
I just don’t get the fact people want to defend and place Lovie on this pedestal like he is a belicheat, walsh or lombardi when he has never done anything consistent. It’s no secret I can’t stand Lovie smith as a coach and gm. I could careless if he is a good guy or not. He is paid to win not put a choir together or to save the homeless and fight world hunger. He has never won consistently — ever. only 1 back to back playoff appearance in 10 years is NOT consistency. I just don’t understand how these supposed intelligent people can look at lovies numbers and not summarize mediocre coach horrendous personnel man.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:07 am
The BUCS will NOT win the George Johnson debate with the Lions, therefore, the 2nd round pick must focus on……. a DE and after that, the focus must be on a RT and RG to protect a rookie QB. Picking up two OL in free agency, after June 1st, is always an option for depth.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:11 am
The Buc Realist
another thing that is scary and the lovie crowd is in total denial over is the Free agent class this year is nothing but system specific prove it deal players with injury histories. He is going to take a semi talented roster and turn it into a roster of system specific broken down losers and we are going to have to spend 4 years rebuilding the defense while the offensive stars get older and miss out on their prime. it’s a vicious cycle and that is why I have ZERO confidence nor patience with the fool lovie smith.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:20 am
I thing after QB we have to focus on DE before OL. There may even be a few upgrades available from teams who are strong in depth on the OL and have to let some go to trim their rosters. I would like to also see how much a year has helped to improve Edwards and Pamphile. If we can get George Johnson and J. Smith continues to perform as he did late last season, then we may not be as bleak in these areas as many think. Remember last year we all thought the defense would be just fine going into the season and we were all wrong, so perhaps we are wrong about how bad the OL will be this season. I think there will be at least one or two good OL options in the middle rounds. We need to add a LB as well. Slot receiver is another area we need to address. By next year we need to also look to find V-Jax’s eventual replacement unless we do that in future free agency.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:28 am
@tmaxcon sasys
“He has never won consistently — ever. only 1 back to back playoff appearance in 10 years is NOT consistency.”
Great point. And throw in the fact that they were playing the Vikings and Lions at their lowest points in history. And now we are seeing the “real” Lovie!!!
April 14th, 2015 at 10:34 am
To all those hoping for MM, it takes a real strong man to lead men. Winston is a proven leader, and proven winner. MM can barely command a huddle without Gruden yelling at him.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:48 am
A regular Lovie hate fest goin on up in here. Tmax off on another multi post rant and Realist glad to join the “fun”.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:51 am
Lovie knows football! Give him a chance to right the ship. As far as so called Buc fans who will change their allegiance if the Bucs choose Winston, have at it. Who gives a crap? Dolphin fan, you traitor.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:57 am
I marvel at the people on here who say what position should be taken in each round without having any clue of the value available.
These are the same folks who want to trade down.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:58 am
OL needs to be the priority. After Winston – draft the best OT you possibly can without trading up – or perhaps after a 2nd round trade down of 5 or 10 spots to get an extra pick. Then go best Guard available in round 3 (hopefully Tre Jackson will be there).
After that go BPA with most of the rest of the picks – with eyes towards defense.
Can’t fix everything with this draft – but if QB gets handled right and OLine gets upgraded with talent – it will go a long ways towards improving this team.
Next year draft DE and MLB high and then continue to build the line with young talent in the 3rd and 4th rounds.
April 14th, 2015 at 10:58 am
Pickgrin
not hate fest – it’s a fact fest. it has a better ring to it. my anti lovie support group is failing there are just too many facts to prove the point that Loive has been falsely made out to be a good coach. I still find it funny that if a player screws up he gets roasted yet Loive and Glennon get excuses, creative math and flat out delusional theories to justify their losses. I learn so much hear on jbf. it’s like charm school for bucs fans. always an education.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:10 am
Whatever tmax. We get it. You don’t like Lovie.
If Lovie is as bad as you claim – then the team will continue to suck and he will be gone soon enough and your “fact fests” will be justified.
If the team shows major improvement this year and/or next – I expect you to shut the hell up with your negativism towards coach Smith.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:18 am
Major improvement isn’t exactly setting the bar veyr high. 6 wins would be major improvements. It would also leave Lovie, who the media fawned over and call the unquestioned best hire last offseason, a wonderful 8-24 in two years. Lovie’s a nice guy and a good DC, but his HC resume falls apart when examined in depth. It’s not personal, but becoming the Bears during his time, which is truly his ceiling as a coach, has little to no interest to me or others. Sporadic playoff appearances and consistently disappointing seasons is pretty lame.
April 14th, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Given the fact that our OL is a mess I’d consider moving up to take Cam Irving. He can play any position allowing us to get the best OL on the field, whoever that turns out to be. Flexability is good, particularly when you’re not sure what you have.
April 14th, 2015 at 1:19 pm
bucrightoff Says:
April 14th, 2015 at 11:18 am
“his HC resume falls apart when examined in depth. It’s not personal, but becoming the Bears during his time, which is truly his ceiling as a coach, has little to no interest to me or others.”
———————————————————
Lovie has never had a franchise QB. Add a truly talented QB to his 9 years with the Bears and Lovie would have likely won a Super Bowl or 2 as a HC.
So saying what Lovie accomplished with the Bears is his “ceiling” when he never had a good QB to work with is not a fair or correct assessment IMO. Even without a franchise QB, Lovie’s overall record as a HC was well above .500% when he was hired by the Bucs.
With the addition of Winston to a team that already has some talented players in key positions – the results of what happens over the next 2-3 years with Lovie as HC of the Bucs is somewhat if not quite likely to be a team we can all be proud of if Licht is able to do a good job as well and keep finding talent to upgrade the team’s weaknesses.
April 14th, 2015 at 1:26 pm
They have to take what the draft gives them. If solid DE’s are only available at the top and there are plenty of serviceable OL in the mid rounds then then have to go DE then OL, unless a miracle player they didn’t think they could get fell to them. Obvious. After the first three picks it will be a crap shoot. They will take BPA at their positions of need (which are most positions).
April 14th, 2015 at 2:54 pm
So what you’re saying Pickgrin is Lovie’s success has nothing to do with him as a coach, and everything to do with getting a franchise QB. No disputing that, but at the same time how is that different than most coaches who fail? LEst we forget, without Devin Hester Lovie is nothing. He won’t be falling into a top 3 ever return man again.
But Lovie’s flaws are all fatal: Horrible talent evaluator, horrible OLine builder, cannot retain an OC, horrible clock manager, despicable record against above average and great teams, conservative to the point of making you puke. Those things don’t change with a franchise QB. Worst part about Lovie is he’s not bad enough to fire him ASAP, but not good enough to win you anything. He’s the definition of a No Man’s Land coach. That’s where he’ll be taking the Bucs.
April 14th, 2015 at 4:31 pm
It’s strange when people talk about Lovies record against winning teams. What is it suppose to be? Do we want a coach with a history of beating good teams while losing to bad teams? We’ve tried the rookie (Morris), and the college guy (Shiano), and now the vet (Lovie). Unless you think a Belichek or a Harbaugh are walking through the doors, what do you want? Seriously, giving Lovie a shot with a legit QB seems like a reasonable route to take considering our past and current options.
April 14th, 2015 at 4:31 pm
I’m saying Lovie’s success despite never having had a good and dependable QB means that once he has one – he is quite likely to be able to be an upper echelon coach.
Would Bellicheat be considered one of the best coaches if he had not acquired Tom Brady early in his Patriots tenure? Not likely.
9 years as a head coach with an overall record well above .500 – having never had a good QB is fairly impressive IMO.
If I were able to directly ask 10 top NFL people if they thought Lovie was a good coach or not – I bet you at least 8 or 9 of them would say – “Yes Lovie is a good NFL coach”.
So I don’t put much stock in what you and tmax think on the matter.
If the Bucs still suck at the end of the 2016 season – then all your anti-Lovie points will have validity and he will be fired. If coach Smith manages to get this team back to “relevant” again then they will have none. Time will tell. “Simple as that”….
April 14th, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Trade down from #1. That way we can pick up more picks and rebuild this team!!!
April 14th, 2015 at 7:45 pm
hello everyone just looked at some posts to see where my fellow buccaneers fans stood on with our 2 rd pick and thier was a post that i truly feel is what the bucs should do with thier second round pick. Bonzai im thinking the exact samething of course this all depends on if 1 of these 2 guys are thier if we drafting winston we get his center as well talk about versatility dude can play every position on the oline he is a total beast. If erving is gone which more than likely will happen we get our qb for the defense mlbeast kendricks this dude would transform our defense with him in the middle and david on one side and carter on the other our linebackers would be set for the next couple of years!! Another plus about drafting kendricks carter does not have to experiment with playing mic he can play outside and rush passer as well would be a big help for our defense.
April 15th, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Oh where to start… Well, I first must say I’m really feeling the optimism for some of you on here (sarcasm). Let me first start with “Bill Byrne” this will be quick. Ummmm, you where wrong about us not winning the fight against the Lions for Johnson.
Buccaneers Bonzai-
Not sure if you read what I had to say last time about your post, but you clearly don’t know this team or its needs. Lovie brought people in on D to hopefully make improvements, DE is the only true concern in my opinion. Safety can be added in the later round.
The Buc Realist and tmaxcon-
I put you two together because you both seem to have the same negativity towards our coach. I must say though, tmaxcon, you take the cake. A tire Lovie hater, let me remind you that he did take Rex Grossman to the Super Bowl, and gave one of the greatest to ever do it a run for his money(Peyton Manning).Oh, also he lost to Tony Dungy, the coach of the colts at that time. Who must I remind you also was or coach before and many said that he could never win. Let’s get something clear he guys, Lovie knows defense and what it takes for his to be successful, the only question is his knowledge on the offensive side of the ball, but by bring in Koetter a man that has had a lot of success in the NFL on the offensive side I think we’re in good hands buddy.
Final word-
Being a consistent critic of the football team you root for is no way to be a ture fan. Having hope and faith that our team is good each year is what we should preach, and no matter who’s at the helm directing the ship, we should support. I don’t like Jamies Winston, I think he’s an immature kid still that will struggle in the NFL, but if we draft him I will give him my support as a fan and hope he can be successful for our teams sake. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you don’t like Lovie that’s fine haters gonna hate, but until they fire him or hopefully he quits much later down the road because of his success here. Let’s not have prenotions of what’s going to happen until it does.