Buccaneers Best Draft Class Ever? Not Just Gerald McCoy
by tjeabt on May 5, 2010 3:59 PM EDT
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Let’s go beyond the first-round pick of Gerald McCoy. This pick may go overlooked because it was a no-brainer and everyone expected it. As I looked at some of the bigger names who were drafted April 23-24, 2010, outside of the first round, many of those players may not start for their teams.
Then, I turned my attention to the draft of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Barring a total catastrophic training camp, Tampa Bay could start at least five rookies, to include the punter Brent Bowden.
The Buccaneers may start two rookie defensive tackles in Gerald McCoy and Brian Price. There is a good possibility that receiver Arrelious Benn a second-round draft pick and Mike Williams, a fourth-round pick will start on offense.
Cornerback Myron Lewis, a third round selection out of Vanderbilt, may not start but will see a considerable amount of time at the nickel back position which will make it six players out of nine drafted to suit-up and have considerable playing time against the Cleveland Browns Sunday September 12, 2010.
Two of the final three picks will probably play on Special Teams. Cody Grimm and Dekoda Watson are almost certain to dress out on game day. Only Eric Lorig, the Bucs final pick in the 7th round may be put on the PUP with a torn pectoral muscle.
In the 30-plus years of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there have never been so many draft picks that could possible start or play as an entire draft class in one season.
After a 3-13 finish in their first year on the job, there were plenty of assumptions about whether GM Mark Dominick and head coach Raheem Morris would be welcomed back by an ownership that is under pressure to deliver a better product in 2010.
McCoy and Price are expected to fortify the middle of the defense, which was a major weak spot last season as the Bucs ranked last in the league against the run, and aid in the pass rush as well.
If Benn and Williams can even come close to grasping the playbook by the season opener, their overall physical talents make them better than Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall. Benn and Williams can quickly become popular targets for Josh Freeman.
Throw them out there with tight end Kellen Winslow and Sammie Stroughter as the slot receiver and you have a group of receivers that’s not only incredibly young, but also a very talented group that could make a lot of noise in the NFC with the type of schedule they have this year.
The Bucs are still in the rebuilding mode and are slowly accumulating pieces that they hope will spark a resurrection. Re-establishing the Bucs as a defensive-minded team is a task that drives Dominik and Morris.
That's what they want the Buccaneers to be for many years. Dominik and Morris felt like the defense began moving in the right direction when Morris took over defensive coordinator duties in late November. It was a risky strategy for Dominik, who did not spend big money on free agents, to rely on the development of Freeman, McCoy, Price and several other young players to deliver the results necessary to allow him and Morris to continue in their jobs beyond 2010. Buccaneer fans hope that this path is the right one.
To see picture associated with this article go to: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/388437-buccaneers-best-draft-class-ever-not-just-gerald-mccoy
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While there are some assumptions in this article I certainly think that is the plan, and hope it works
I think this draft will look good years from now, but we won’t know for sure until they produce. I like Dominik and Morris. I think they both will have a good future here, but I wonder about how to grade them in this draft. Not because we didn’t get talented players. We certainly got a good group of guys. At least from what we know right now they look good. What I am wondering is how much of the successful draft can be attributed to Dominik and how much was just shooting fish in a barrel. This draft by all accounts was loaded with talent. Not all teams did as well, at least we hope, as the Bucs during the draft. But next year may show how good the staff is in drafting, when the class is supposed to be more of a mediocre to poor draft class. Maybe we will be more active with FAs because of that, but I doubt it.
Agree in part about evaluating the draft years from now. I think the draft can be evaluated in 2 segments....
first, did the team at least address certain perceived needs? I think they most certainly did. They made sincere, significant attempts to address both DT positions, WR, and CB with their first 5 picks. Those are all positions of significant need, and they filled them with guys they graded/rated pretty highly.
How well did they do in scouting those positions and selecting players? Like you said, we’ll find out in the next few years.
Cannons... fire them.
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You can grade that scouting area with the pick up of
Price and Williams . The Bucs had to have Price high on their board they were excited to get him . They said Williams was their highest scouted player more than any other prospect including Mccoy
by keysersoze19 on May 6, 2010 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Mike Williams was no secret...
every team knew of him and we simply chose him first. Not genius – just timing.
by Cracker Ball on May 6, 2010 12:31 AM EDT up reply actions
@ Cracker Ball
I never said he was a secret , I said he was our highest scouted player . If he turns out to be a Probowler than our scout team will look like a genius . According to Todd Mcshay and Mel Kiper the pick up was genius
by keysersoze19 on May 6, 2010 12:52 AM EDT up reply actions
I am not debating that point. I like the choice myself...
and I am happy we made that choice when we did. I can only imagine that other teams were considering him as well. Its the subsequent choices I am not so crazy about. Drafting McCoy, Price, Benn and Williams, in my estimation, will be excellent for our team.
The rest… eh.
No debate
I just like how smart our staff looked in picking him . Like you said there were other teams looking at Williams so it was a gamble , we rolled the dice I just hope we hit the jack pot
I hope we hit on all or picks...
but history tells us that doesn’t happen. Just can’t afford to miss on the high choices. Keepers found as late picks and undrafted players are just a bonus.
Why? You don't think we could get another draft with to HOFs in it? That seems reasonably repeatable. Maybe we could even get better late round picks than the ones we got that year.
1 Warren Sapp Miami (FL)
1 Derrick Brooks Florida State
2 Melvin Johnson Kentucky
4 Jerry Wilson Southern
5 Clifton Abraham Florida State
6 Wardell Rouse Clemson
7 Steve Ingram Maryland
7 Jeffrey Rodgers Texas A&M-Kingsville
A draft class with two Hall of Famers seems reasonably repeatable?
I don’t think you understand how rare Hall of Famers are.
To think that this draft class at this point is better than the ’95 draft class is just being disrespectful toward Sapp and Brooks in my opinion.
by Sander on May 5, 2010 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's not disrespect
Even the former Bucs know that this draft class has to be as good or better than the 95 class , Sapp said that together Price and Mccoy can be better than him , the only way a sure Hall OF Famer will say something like that is if he knows these guys got the gift
He also said that any one of them by themselves could not be better than him
And 2 players combining to do what Sapp did, does not equal the ’95 draft.
NO 1 man is capable of doing what Sapp did
It’s just not the 2 players that equal Sapp it’s also the weapons for Josh , the best punter in the draft , Myron Lewis , and a ton of 7th round talent . You missed the point of the comment you said it was disrespectful to compare the 95 class to the 2010 class , so was Sapp disrespectful for comparing Price and Mccoy to him self
That's not what I said at all
I said it was disrespectful to see this draft class as better than the ‘95 draft class. And it is disrespectful, and Sapp said no such thing. I don’t think you understand how valuable two Hall of Famers are and how hard it is to replicate such a draft. These guys haven’t even seen the field and we’re saying they’re better than a class with two Hall of Famers? That’s ridiculous.
NO Sapp did say that
If you did not hear him say that does not mean he did not say that . It is disrespectful to say that they are better since they have not hit the field but just as you say its disrespectful what if the draft class comes out and they are better than the 95 class is it still disrespectful . But Sander this class has to be as good or better for Tampas sake , these rookies know the pressure especially Mccoy who is a Buc fan
I know what he said
What he said was the McCoy and Price together could eclipse what Sapp did. He also said that either of those guys individually could not. That’s something different entirely. And then we’re not even talking about the presence of Brooks in that draft class. Even if McCoy and Price together eclipse what Sapp did, the rest of the draft class also has to eclipse what Brooks that. That’s just a ridiculous expectation.
We are not looking for a Brooks
We are pretty happy with the upside of Hayes . But just as this class did not have a Brooks the 95 class did not have the Benn or Williams .
And yet again
Benn and Williams have yet to put a foot on the field.
Brooks and Sapp were key players in a revolutionary defense, and they’re headed for the Hall of Fame. All these rookies are headed for now is there first game. Your expectations are unreasonable and unrealistic. You’re expecting these kids to eclipse setting a new standard of defense in the NFL. That’s ridiculous.
I am not comparing Benn and Williams to Sapp and Brooks
What I was saying is that the 95 class did not draft talent at wideout like the 2010 class drafted . If a Wild card team or a playoff team drafted the players we drafted than they would be a SuperBowl contender by NFL standards , so why cant a team that went 3-13 can not be a sub .500 team or wildcard team with this class
Ehm, what?
This is what you said a few posts up:
Even the former Bucs know that this draft class has to be as good or better than the 95 class
That’s completely different from saying “this team could win a wildcard”. It’s not even the same type of statement.
I am talking about expectations
I said that former Bucs know that this class has to be as good or better I was referring to how former Buc vets would feel about this class . The wildcard comment is referring to league expectations
And I never refuted your win expectations, though I think they're much
But I have refuted your statement about what former Bucs think. You claim that former Bucs think this draft class is as good as the ’95 draft? They do not. Sapp said that two players from this class can combine to eclipse what he did. That means that those two players have the talent to eclipse what he did – but it does not make this draft class better than the entire ’95 draft class. Not by a long shot.
I said
That former Bucs know that this class has to be as good or better for Tampas sake , Sapp statement does not make this class better , but if Williams and Benn turn out to be great play makers , if Brent Bowden is a 20 year starter , and there turn out to be a 7 round gem , than this class would be better than the 95 class
No way
sorry but getting two HOF in one draft is incredibly rare. Even if all of these guys become starters the class would still not be as strong as the 95 one.
I would say that IF they get several pro bowl players that don't make the HOF
it would be a better draft class. The reason I say that is for the good of the team, it would be better to get multiple very good players then have two guys in this class be great and the rest suck. Can you imagine if only two guys out of this draft turn out to be really good? It would likely be a disaster.
WTF with the disrespectful stuff?
Once again, I will ask you to READ what I wrote. I did not say this draft class at this point is better than in 95. I do think that that draft was thin after the top two picks. I also think that we will EVENTUALLY, whether it is this draft or another, have a better draft than in 95. That is not being disrespectful, that is being logical. Eventually, someone comes along and beats your records, not disrespectful, that is just life.
Yes, if someone beats their records that's not being disrespectful
And I’m sure that eventually, if this league lasts another 100 years or so, this will happen.
Note also that I did not call the “some day someone will be better” line of reasoning disrespectful, I called it disrespectful to call a rookie draft class that has shown nothing better than a draft class that includes two future hall of famers. You may not have said that, but everyone who voted “yes” in that poll is saying that.
You and I agree 95% of the time on this blog
Next time reply to the ones saying that stuff, because it wasn’t me. I voted for, “Maybe, let’s see how they do with the pads on”. I hope it won’t take another 100 years, and the time COULD BE now.
Yes, a few other teams have had 1 or 2 years with multiple hall of famers
And that’s with 28+ drafts every year, and the vast majority of years do not contain such a draft class. In a recent NFL top 10 list the Bucs’ 95 draft class stood as the 10th best draft of any team, ever. It’s delusional to think that this ‘reasonably repeatable’.
It is delusional to think the past can't be repeated or even improved upon.
The teams that drafted as well as or better than the 95 Bucs all did it with top 5 round talent. Not saying this year is that year for the Bucs, but to say it won’t happen or isn’t likely to happen again is where we part. It is actually extremely likely that some teams will draft better than the top 10 drafts in recent history. Sooner or later the Bucs are as likely as anybody to fall into that category.
I'm not saying it isn't possible
I’m saying that isn’t reasonably repeatable. And it’s beyond ridiculous to say this of people who haven’t even seen the field.
And no, it isn’t extremely likely for that to happen in any given year. It’s extremely likely that this will happen eventually, but that doesn’t exactly mean that saying these things about specific draft years when those guys haven’t shown anything on an NFL field is anything but delusional.
That is not what I said. Nor did I say it will happen in any given year. I said it is likely it will happen eventually.
I said multiple times that this years draft class is yet to be determined if it will be any good. It looks good now, but who knows. What I did say is that matching or besting the 95 Bucs draft class is not unrepeatable. If you reread MY responses in this thread I think you will see that I didn’t say this draft class will be better, but maybe it will be, time will tell.
Might be the best draft class
As far as potential goes I don’t think the Bucs have had a draft class with this much potential . Earlier today NFL total access had a piece talking about the Bucs , their concerns were not on defense , it was the offense , but those were concerns cause they don’t know the Bucs plan of attack offensively . Potentially this may be the best draft class we ever had I am pretty sure the rookies talent will show on the field , but still it’s early .
The question says "could" this be the best draft ever...
So the easy answer is yes. Anything is possible.
Despite that, I voted maybe because I want to see these guys in action before I start comparing them to ‘95. And saying that this draft “has to be as good or better than ’95”, implying for the sake of the team’s success, doesn’t make it so.
That being said, I remain optimistic for what these rookies are gonna bring to our team.
Saying that it has to be so, for the sake of the team, makes it awfully easy to label this draft as a failure
Anything less than two Hall of Famers and it wasn’t good enough? Eyech.
IF these pick fail
that means we are the same team that won 3 games last year just with some more bodies
If this class fails to produce
Rah job will be in gone . Tampas staff said this is how they will build their team through the draft , so if their picks fail the team fails
They can still build a great team if they didn't get two hall of famers in this draft.
There are plenty of great football players that had huge impacts on their team’s success without becoming Hall of Fame inductees. I agree with Sander, this is not an all or nothing venture. If they, for example, can get 5 or 6 starters on offense and defense and maybe a couple of special teamers out of this draft, that will be a great draft.
They already got that
Bowden , Mccoy , and Price are starters , Been , Williams will battle for the wideout position , Myron Lewis could replace Barber . We drafted starters , will those starters become impact players and eventual Hall Of Famers thats the question .
lets not forget
players greatness is determined by how many championships they win. sapp and brooks won a super bowl………
the 7 round
provided us with some players who can fit that supporting cast role and some of those undrafted free agents fits the bill to
by keysersoze19 on May 6, 2010 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions
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