Mocking: Bucs Nab Eifert, Brown & Buchanon
April 12th, 2013
No cornerback for the Bucs in the early rounds of the draft?
Daniel Jeremiah, sort of a B-list draft guru for NFL Network, is predicting just that (full video here). (Man, that sure would help pitchfork and torch sales across the Bay area.)
Jeremiah is no fool, though; he does come with credentials. The former Ravens, Browns and Eagles scout also was a starting college quarterback.
Jeremiah theorizes that the left with cornerback Xavier Rhodes on the board with the No. 13 overall pick, the Bucs would pass on overvaluing Rhodes there and would nab Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert. In the second round, per Jeremiah, the Bucs would then move to LB Arthur Brown out of Kansas State before snagging Illinois defensive end Michael Buchanon.
Now Joe can hardly buy the selection of Brown. The Bucs already have Lavonte David. Unless Greg Schiano, a former linebacker himself, becomes obsessed with Brown and envisions him as some sort of undersized strong side linebacker to add to enhance his many run blitzes, it wouldn’t happen.
Eifert is a long shot selection, and it surely wouldn’t shock Joe if the Bucs looked for DE depth in the third round, but only after selecting at least one cornerback.
April 12th, 2013 at 2:32 pm
I just watched some tape on Tavon Austin. I didnt know to much about him before but that guy looks like he could be a beast. Super quick, seems to always be wide open and if you manage to get your hands on him, he’s still hard to bring down for a little guy. Can also return kicks. I’ve been wanting Eifert for awhile now but Austin is more dangerous and more versatile. Even if Freeman isnt accurate enough to get him the ball, the next QB will be!
April 12th, 2013 at 2:45 pm
^^^go look up Eric Page…he has a real shot to be Tavon Austin like…doubt we even draft a WR after signing him, perfect slot guy for us…and we tried to sign him last year and narrowly missed.
About this article:
I could see the 1st 2 selections, if Mark had a really slick plan for the secondary like Revis or something else. I dont think Buchanan in the 3rd is smart tho. Grab the best CB available in the 3rd and 4th if we dont get one in 1 or 2.
@Joe you need not be so closed-minded all the time. Eiferts a great pick for us in the 1st…it will be him or Rhodes at 13…
Brown played inside at Kansas State and is big enough to play in the middle in the NFL. Shift Mason to strong side(where he excelled in college and get the best true LB in this draft in the middle. Brown is a bigger version of David, fast, instinctual..etc..he prob. wont make it out the 1st tho, so Jeremiah is dreaming.
April 12th, 2013 at 2:46 pm
so, as i’ve asked before:
you believe that a guy that just handles returns and works the slot is more versatile SCHEME WISE than an elite TE that can both handle blocking AND receiving? Given that our base offensive formation is 2WR/TE/FB/RB, there is SO MUCH more you can do with the TE.
and let me get this straight….you want to draft a guy for someone who isn’t even on the team yet?
so glad you’re not Dominik or the Glazers.
Personally, i’d like to see the Bucs first 4 picks, in this order. Whether its before/after/if we trade for Revis.
1 – Sheldon Richardson, DT
2 – Jonathan Banks, CB
3 – Tyrann Matheiu, CB
4 – Travis Kelce, TE
Go Bucs
April 12th, 2013 at 2:52 pm
If that happens, I will be on Amazon that night and get my pitchfork and torch drop-shipped the next day.
April 12th, 2013 at 2:53 pm
Ha wow selective reading. I read buccs nab Brown and Buchanon. I thought it was Phillip Buchanon (again) and Sheldon brown. Ha not so much.
April 12th, 2013 at 2:55 pm
With draft speculation like that, it seems there is a reason Jeremiah is a ‘former’ scout.
April 12th, 2013 at 2:55 pm
and let me get this straight….you want to draft a guy for someone who isn’t even on the team yet?
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I think you read way to much into things there buddy. I said IF, Free cant get him the ball… dont like it? To bad. Its well documented how piss poor Free’s accuract is. Thats not debateable. But if its a debate you want ill give it to ya. Yes. I take a game changing, versatile slot receiver (that we clearly need) who can also return punt and kick returns (which we also clearly need), Over a TE who can catch passes and sometimes block. I’m pretty sure any coordinator thats any good can work in a playmaker like Austin into there scheme. If not then I think it would be time to get a new one.
April 12th, 2013 at 3:12 pm
If we go Eifert in the 1st, I hope it’s after we trade down. Then use our firepower to get 2 picks in the 2nd round and go BPA on CB and DT. I know Dom likes to wheel and deal draft picks!
April 12th, 2013 at 3:27 pm
@Andrew 2
Brown played inside at Kansas State and is big enough to play in the middle in the NFL. Shift Mason to strong side(where he excelled in college and get the best true LB in this draft in the middle. Brown is a bigger version of David, fast, instinctual.
My thoughts exactly..
April 12th, 2013 at 3:36 pm
@celly
Preach!!
April 12th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
@Andrew 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlqonNlEYJs
I looked at the highlights of Page. He looks good just hope that his ACL injury doesn’t take away from his shiftiness.
April 12th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Celly,
Let me get this straight, you want to overvalue a tight end, and limit our scheme, rather than take Tavon Austin (MUCH BETTER PLAYER)?
BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE, Tavon Austin step on up.
You know it, Bucs draft fever is here.
We are not overvaluing a CB at #13. The only CB we are going to get with the #13 pick is Revis.
April 12th, 2013 at 4:31 pm
@Silence, i’m always up for a healthy debate, so yeah, i’ll take the bait:
Ever since our new coaching staff has been in place, our mantra on offense has been simple: POUND.THE.ROCK. run the ball, run the ball, run some more. While there is no denying that Austin is a VERY explosive athlete, it would be ignorant to ignore the fact that, if he’s on the field, the chances of us running the ball goes downhill, given the fact that you cannot expect him to have to block LBs on every play. He would get destroyed. There is only so much a little frame can handle.
If you have a TE that can catch, run routes AND block, the defense will be unable to tell what type of play we are running. Just because the TE is lined up off tackle DOES NOT mean we will run. Just because the TE is lined up in the slot DOES NOT mean we will pass. There are so many more possible matchup problems you can create from your base formation with a special TE vs what you can do SCHEME WISE with a “slot receiver.”
But even if we put all of that to the side, we still come to your final comment. If you are so confident in Freeman’s [lack of] accuracy (which i, personally, believe he improved upon and still can get better with — remember, he’s only about 24) why would you burn that pick on someone that is so reliant on an accurate QB? Why NOT get a type of receiver that has a wide catch radius and can go up and fight for contested balls?
@stevek:
Where did you read that I am over-valuing a TE? My scenario has us picking up Travis Kelce in the 4th rnd (or with our 4th pick, however that works out).
I have always been of the belief that the BPA mantra should always tie into a position that can help the team immediately. I feel as if this whole BPA thing is more so blown outta proportion by fans/media than it is by actual scouts/teams. If that person is the best player available for your team (and i’m using “your” in the sense of someone that makes decisions – i.e. Dominik, Glazer, Schiano), then that is the BPA as far as ANYONE is concerned.
April 12th, 2013 at 4:53 pm
This is not an educated guess. Sorry dude, Eifert maybe but the next two choices are just silly. Buchanan is a TEENSY DEnd. Tiny. No way they take him. I agree w joe. They pick up at least one CB in the first three rds. Too many talented guys for them to pass entirely.
April 12th, 2013 at 5:07 pm
@Celly
Ok I will give you that Austin will never be a blocker and Eifert will most likely be a valueable asset as a TE. Having said that, your scenario only uses 1 formation. We often use a 3 wide set last year. The name of the game is to score points. Austin can do that in a whole lot of different ways. Much more so than Eifert. You keept saying we are a running team. Austin can rush.. Look at his numbers, he’s a hell of a rusher. Now, that doesnt mean he’s going to be our starting RB but he will get some carries and most likely will take full advantage of him. There are a lot of little things our offense can’t do right now because we dont have that guy… Austin IS that guy.
I would be happy with either Austin or Eifert. But if they are both there when we pick, I’m taking Austin and i dont even have to think about it.
April 12th, 2013 at 5:09 pm
Take full advantage of them*
April 12th, 2013 at 5:15 pm
I can see a trade down scenario with St. Louis, who would want to get in front of New Orleans and Carolina for Vaccario. Get an extra pick and get Eifert
April 12th, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Tavon Austin has BUST written in huge letters across his forehead. He’s all speed with no brains or instinct. He drops easily caught balls and looks for a homerun with every catch rather than taking whatever yards are needed for the situation.
He’s Arrelious Benn & Dexter Jackson all over again.
April 12th, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Those “homeruns” you dont seem to like has resulted in a lot of touchdowns in his career so far, so not thinking thats a bad thing. A lot of people drop balls, nobody makes every single catch, easy or not. But from everything ive been reading, nobody is questioning his hands. No brains or instinct? That sounds to me like you got a personal issue with the guy…
April 12th, 2013 at 8:32 pm
This offense runs 100% through Doug Martin now. All Schiano really wants is for Freeman to avoid throwing INT’s. There was a time when I contemplated the Tavon Austin pick, but it makes no sense to me now. If anything, Patterson would be my choice if we were seriously thinking WR in the 1st round. Like someone above pointed out , this is a two WR offense or two TE offense. We probably use our FB more than anybody else right now as well.
They are going to go with the slot guys that we have and hope to God that we don’t have to rely on them for anything other than that. If anything I could see them drafting another long/ big bodied WR somewhere in the middle/late rounds.
I also don’t believe all the talk that the Bucs are crazy about Rhodes. They are pumping him up because they want Trufant to fall to them. Trufant and Logan Ryan will be the CB’s that we target. I expect us to end up with both of those guys somehow. We’ll also be drafting a DT, probably in the 2nd round. We’ll most likely draft a TE, but I think it will be a big bodied guy that can actually block. I don’t know how many times last year I saw Clark wiff in a block and cause Martin to get blown up in the backfield, it was alot.
April 12th, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Our offense is fine we put up points.. Its the defense that needs to be addressed!
April 13th, 2013 at 1:21 am
I’ll just say this…if Milliner, Star, Floyd and those top 3 OT’s are gone, its kind of a close one with Eifert and Austin (for me). But I would go Eifert because of Freeman and his accuracy/indecision issues on bad games. He had his best year when we had a decent TE!!! Dont get me wrong, I love the versatility in Austin, but Free needs blocking and a big target when he throws.