With the 151st pick overall the Bucs took Ahmad Black, safety out of Florida, in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Ahmad Black was a terrific football player in college. He is a playmaker who was always around the ball, who understands angles, can deliver some big hits, was a leader for a great Florida defense and just knows how to play football. He loves the game and will do everything he can to be the best player he can be. He had 13 interceptions in four years of production.

Sounds great, right? So why did he fall that far? Because he's really small and really slow. Ahmad Black is 5'10", 184lbs and that's really small for a safety. He also ran a 4.78s 40-yard dash which means he's not going to be able to play the middle of the field. In fact, I don't know if he can even play strong safety close to the line of scrimmage in the NFL. I hate to bet against someone who works as hard and loves the game as much as Black does, but it's tough to find a spot for him on the football field. 

In the short term I think he'll be a special teams ace, and he may see some work over the slot on tight ends in some sub packages. In the longer term he could start at strong safety, but I don't know if that's ever going to happen. As a pure football player I love Ahmad Black, but I really don't know if he has the physical skillset to succeed at the next level. Overall, I would've liked Ahmad Black if that pick had been made 2 rounds later. 

One thing to like about Ahmad Black: he's a local kid from Lakeland who is a lifelong Bucs fan.