After an offensive tackle yesterday we move back to DE for today's spot in the top 10 Draft Busts in Bucs History. At number four, it's Booker Reese. This defensive end out of tiny Bethune-Cookman was supposed to be the next Lee Roy Selmon but turned out to be Vernon Gholston instead. He simply couldn't handle the NFL, and managed just 2 sacks in 3 years. He was traded for a 12th-round pick to the Rams, but couldn't hang on there and was released after running into drug problems.
However, Booker Reese was drafted in the 2nd round (32nd overall) and that should've dropped him a little bit on this list, right? Well, it gets more complicated than that. The Buccaneers traded a 1983 first-rounder (18th overall, used to select Willie Gault) for the right to select Booker Reese in the second round of the 1982, so they did spend a first-rounder on Gault. Worse yet, this happened because the Bucs had wanted to select him with their first-round pick, but accidentally turned in the wrong card. And to make it even more comical, the Bucs knew that the 1983 would be a historically strong draft - it's the draft that included 6 Hall of Famers in just the first round, including John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Kicker: the Bucs could've selected Dan Marino with the 18th overall pick, after they let Doug Williams walk in the offseason in another big blunder. Ahhhh, the Bucs of the '80s. Such complete and utter incompetence.
The list so far:
10. Rod Jones
8. Gaines Adams
7. Eric Curry
5. Charles McRae
4. Booker Reese
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