NFL Draft guru Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski continues to break down the draft for Bucs fans like no other. Remember to tune in to WDAE-AM 620 at 7 p.m. tonight to hear Part I of Pawlowski’s interview with Mark Dominik. And be sure to come back to JoeBucsFan.com all day for more of Pawlowski’s breakdowns. Feel free to shoot him your draft questions and he’ll answer them right here, commish@620wdae.com.

5th Round Options for Bucs

Julius Thomas – TE – Portland St
6’5’’ – 246 lbs – 4.68

The Bucs have a need for a tight end and Thomas might be a nice sleeper in the 5th round. He is a small-school prospect, but has a nice balance of size and speed. Thomas is a former basketball player who played just one year of collegiate football. His athleticism and potential would be very appealing in the 5th round.

Ricardo Lockette – WR – Fort Valley St
6’2’’ – 211 lbs – 4.37

My thought on 5th-7th round picks is that you want to draft players that have a distinct possibility of making your roster and contributing on special teams.  Lockette is a small school prospect with a great combination of size and speed for the receiver position. Although receiver isn’t a huge need for the Bucs, Lockette’s combination of skills might be intriguing enough to grab in the 5th round.

Rob Housler – TE – FAU
6’5’’ – 248 lbs – 4.55

Like Thomas above, the Bucs have a need for a tight end and Housler is another one of the sleeper tight ends in the middle rounds of this draft. He certainly has good speed at the positon.  With just Kellen Winslow and Ryan Purvis on the roster at that position, I think the Bucs will be adding a tight end somewhere in this draft.

Akeem Dent – LB – Georgia
6’1’’ – 242 lbs – 4.78

The Bucs have shown interest in Dent this offseason including a visit to One Buc Place. Mark Dominik told me that a successful draft this year means drafting great players with great character and leadership skills. Dent was a great leader and captain for Georgia. He is very good against the run, but a liability in coverage.

Owen Marecic – FB – Stanford
6’0’’ – 248 lbs – 4.91

I’m not sure why the Bucs don’t like true fullbacks, but if they decide Eric Lorig isn’t the answer, Marecic is one of the top fullbacks available this year. He comes from an offense at Stanford that knew how to run the football.  He has been the lead back and one of the main reasons for the success they’ve had on the ground.