All Eyes On A Christian Hackenberg Deal
March 3rd, 2016
Will options make Jason Licht smile. Former Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik weighs in.
Joe loves this time of year. Hope for the Buccaneers grows with each passing day, and it has nothing to do with the looming onset of bikini season at Clearwater Beach.
Fans of losing teams love March, April and May.
Lots of Bucs fans, and possibly the team’s front office and Team Glazer, think Tampa Bay won’t be a playoff team in 2016. And lots of those fans would love to see the Bucs acquire more draft picks — especially for a grand-slam-hitting general manager.
Enter former Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik. He’s a very busy man for ESPN and SiriusXM NFL Radio, an emerging NFL media star on TV and radio.
Joe chatted it up with Dominik in Indianapolis last week, and it’s clear Dominik spent plenty of his time there soaking up all kinds of information from his many friends in the league.
Hosting on NFL Radio yesterday, Dominik was adamant that the Texans will do what they have to do to draft Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the second round of the NFL Draft, assuming he’s there.
Dominik said if Hackenberg makes it to Day 2, look for the Texans and Bill O’Brien to trade up. Houston owns the 21st pick of the second round, the Bucs own the eighth pick of the round.
After the likely early run on QBs in the first round, most teams picking above the Bucs there will have their quarterback of the future, including the Titans (Marcus Mariota) and Jaguars (Blake Bortles).
Keep in mind O’Brien and Bucs general manager Jason Licht are old pals from their days in New England. And O’Brien, the former Penn State head coach, blessed Donovan Smith for Licht last year.
So would the Bucs swap second-round picks to snag, say, the Texans’ late third-round pick?
Maybe.
Frankly, if the Bucs lose Doug Martin and don’t sign a quality defensive end in free agency, Joe will approach the draft with rebuilding mentality and would be all in favor of the Bucs trading down in the second round.
March 3rd, 2016 at 10:38 am
Frankly, if the Bucs lose Doug Martin and don’t sign a quality defensive end in free agency, Joe will approach the draft with rebuilding mentality and would be all in favor of the Bucs trading down in the second round.
Spot on Joe, if we are rebuilding, let’s REBUILD snag more picks let these young players grow into something special together.
March 3rd, 2016 at 10:38 am
Kinda reaching for clicks with this one, Joe…. this isn’t much better than a BS mock draft
Don’t be ridiculous. –Joe
March 3rd, 2016 at 10:44 am
The pop-star is perfect for the radio!! Just like he was a gm, he can change philosophy at the drop of a hat, and BS talk about the fads and trends of the NFL!!!
@Joe
what are you talking about??? rebuild mentality if another team overpays for DM22!!! You might need to step back to some decaf coffee!!! Take deep breathes and count to 10!!! and think of this question! what have they won since DM22 was drafted and on the team???
March 3rd, 2016 at 10:52 am
@ Buc Realist, I think Joe said if the bucs don’t get a free agent DE AND DM22 walks then is it any question that we’re in year 2 of rebuild mode?
March 3rd, 2016 at 11:32 am
I hate that term, “rebuild”. That’s all we’ve done since the SB, it seems! You’re right though. I mean, if you let another foundation piece walk, that’s exactly what you’re doing.
At any rate, if we can collect more picks, that bodes well for added depth at certain positions.
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:01 pm
Who was a worse GM – Bruce Allen or Mark Dominik?
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:04 pm
The more I read about this team rebuilding and that we need to do that through the draft, the clearer it becomes that there will be no Mario Williams, JPP, Olivier Vernon, Sean Smith, Greg Hardy or Adam “Packman” Jones for that matter. Each day it looks more and more like Doug Martin is going to sign with another team and with no intent on signing Sterling Moore, Danny Lansanah, Henry Melton and Keith Tandy, we need to sign Jacquies Smith. I suppose we plan on keeping George Johnson, Bruce Carter and Major Wright? Has anyone else seen next years schedule? Are we going for the number one pick in the draft? Actually not a bad idea.. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford. Nice.
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:06 pm
@mac
Bruce Allen has had every team he has been a GM of in the playoffs twice each!!! Mark Dominik is in the Top 5 worst GM’s of all time!!!
He would have landed Haynsworth in his first year, he would have had the title “Worst GM of All Time”, hands down!!!!
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Endless possibilities.
The Eagles need a successor to Bradford too even though they just extended him. They are 4 pics behind us.
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:40 pm
Not sure the scenario ever plays out like that for the Bucs since the Texans may take Hackenberg in the first regardless of where analysts think he should fall? The Texans have a pressing need for a QB, so why would they let the guy their coach covets as the franchise QB possibly slip past them if he’s there when Houston picks in the first round?
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Thank you to the buc realist for talking sense. People want to act like Martin is keeping us in the playoff hunt or scoring double digit TDs every year. News flash, he’s not irreplaceable! Doug is a good RB but inconsistent at best. Why break the bank for a player when you don’t know what you’re getting? It’s easy for ppl to spend the Glaziers cash but if it was your money would you be quick to pay him top 3 RB money and your team finished last in the division again? If Martin had back to back good seasons we probably wouldn’t be having this convo!
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:04 pm
Preach bee.
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:10 pm
I’ve seen countless rb come an go behind the like of Big Ben,Brady and Manning. The intracle piece was drafted first over all last draft. The future is so bright as result of that fact. Many rbs will come and go over the next 15 years. JW3 will the constant. I think some of you might wanna begin accepting the fact that DM22 days may be over in the bay… I have,just point out the guy who’s next. All he’ll have to do is play hard. Jamies gone handle most of the rest.
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:12 pm
“an emerging NFL media star on TV and radio.” – Oh God – here we go again…
“his many friends in the league” – None of whom will HIRE him – LOL
March 3rd, 2016 at 2:02 pm
Seems like the question here really boils down to “Can the Bucs be competitive in 2016 if they don’t re-sign Martin and sign a stud DE FA?” I would think that the answer to that question depends on what else they do prior to the season starting.
I still think the Bucs will re-sign Martin, but if they don’t they have other options … to include drafting a RB. Simms, James (and Rainey if he re-signs) aren’t too shabby in their own right if running behind a decent OLine.
Far as DEs go, everyone says there are some pretty decent ones available in the draft. I’d rather see us snag 2 DEs in the draft than step on our Johnson again.
The Bucs have a fairly solid core of starters at most positions, but we obviously do have some holes and we lack depth. If we hit another great draft like our 2015 class I personally think we’ll be OK. Doubt we’ll win the division (Carolina has to be a prohibitive favorite to win the NFC South this year), but I can see us breaking even if we add the right pieces. Much better than being 2-14.
March 3rd, 2016 at 6:11 pm
Alex Collins rb Ark and Chuck Sims would make a good combo if Martin leaves. jus sayin.
March 3rd, 2016 at 6:15 pm
why do we need more draft picks? We refuse to re sign the good players we did draft. Might as well go to the free agent market. That seems to be the only place we spend money.
March 3rd, 2016 at 7:02 pm
Give me a freaking break. Losing Martin DOES NOT mean we are rebuilding! There are vets out there that can do the job for a year, and then next year’s draft will be as deep in RBs as this year is deep in DEs.
And a decent vet could do well enough here, assuming the oline continues to play well.
March 3rd, 2016 at 7:05 pm
The Buc Realist Says
“Bruce Allen has had every team he has been a GM of in the playoffs twice each!”
Funny, I thought the coaches did that. Hmn. I guess Jon Gruden wasn’t as good as you claim he was, aye?
March 3rd, 2016 at 8:39 pm
Hey Paul L(oser) If you don’t like to debate on topics dont come here complaining this is just for clicks, go back to your basement.
March 3rd, 2016 at 9:09 pm
@ Buc Realist
But Dominik drafted Eric Lorig and Cody Grimm…
March 3rd, 2016 at 9:12 pm
Are you for real Joe? A rebuild just for losing Martin? This is the first time I have ever doubted your football acumen. RBs are a dime a dozen in the current NFL. The Panthers had a mediocre back field and were able to win 15 games! If Crab Legs is as good as you claim he is he should be able to win with a Deangelo Williams-type player and Sims backing him up. As Bucs fans have learned over the last few years, hitting reset after two seasons is not the way to go. That’s how the Schiano debacle happened!