Tampa Bay Buccaneers Post Draft Commentary

The 2008 Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the season 9-7, losing their final 4 games and missing the playoffs. The end of season collapse led to the firing of Jon Gruden and a new direction for the franchise. The defense returned to form under Monty Kiffin; who has left to help his son at the University of Tennessee. The team is going through a big transitional period as there will be alterations to both the defensive and offensive philosophies.

The Bucs came into the 2009 off season with a few areas of need. The Bucs needed a new quarterback to lead the offense, and chose to move up and select Josh Freeman from Kansas State. The team also signed Byron Leftwich in Free Agency as a bridge for the young signal caller. The Bucs will hopefully bring Freeman along slowly so as not to put too much on him early and jeopardize his career in the process. Freeman has all of the tools to be a good pro, but he must still work on his flaws before taking the reins. The Bucs could have also used to add another running back to the fold even after signing Derrick Ward away from the Giants. Cadillac Williams’ career may be truly be over after blowing out his other knee last season and the team would be wise to garner an insurance policy. Wide receiver could also have been addressed a bit earlier than it was as the unit seems to possess a great deal of #2′s or #3′s, but no clear cut #1 receiver. Antonio Bryant led the unit last year, but he is very mercurial and has not been consistent throughout his career and it was only his second season over 1,000 yards for his career. Counting on him to repeat that production may not be the best idea.

The Bucs defense needed to be rebuilt in many ways even though the unit played well in 2008. Javon Haye and Derrick Brooks were allowed to leave via Free Agency. The secondary is in need of an upgrade as the unit cannot continue to rely on Ronde Barber to show up every year. Finding a replacement other than Aquib Talib would be in the best interest of the team; especially if new Defensive Coordinator Jim Bates tries to institute his system, which relies on man to man cover corners.

If Bates does begin to implement his system the team will need a different type of corner than it currently has on the roster. Perhaps the two biggest areas of need on the defense are linebacker and defensive tackle. Linebacker was not addressed in the draft, but the team did pick up Roy Miller who can operate as a one gap penetrator or as a very active under tackle in Bates regular scheme. Bates typically prefers a bigger bodied player, but Miller is very active and should be an upgrade over the declining Chris Hovan. The Bucs need Miller to come in and contribute right away as none of the other defensive tackles on the roster really inspire a great deal of confidence. Dre Moore has shown nothing so far and that has hurt the unit coming into this year.

Defensive end could also have been addressed as the team does not really have a complementary player to Gaines Adams. Greg White had 5 sacks last year and the team had only 29 for the season; of which Adams had 6. Kevin Carter will also need to be replaced, and I personally do not believe there is a player on the roster that can accomplish that task. The team did address some areas of need, but I feel they left the defense a little bare for the upcoming season. The lack of talent at outside linebacker could really hurt the team moving forward this year.

Pre Draft Needs: LB, DL, QB, RB, WR