Bucs 2012 Draft Picks: Tampa Bay takes Najee Goode in the fifth round

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have added another linebacker to provide competition in training camp in Najee Goode. They used the fifth pick in the fifth round (140th overall) of the 2012 NFL draft to select the West Virginia linebacker. Goode is a well-built if short linebacker at 6'0", 244 lbs. who has good functional speed. He played both strong side linebacker and middle linebacker at West Virginia.

Judging by scouting reports, he sounds like a player with physical talent who at times shows the skills to be a quality run-stuffing linebacker, and who could eventually develop into a coverage linebacker as well. He's a raw product who could develop into quality depth. That's about all you're going to get at this point in this draft anyway, but this player was completely off the radar for most fans. That isn't necessarily a surprise: we've come to the part of the draft where the scouts of a team really make their money, and you'll see a lot of players no one really knows, except for the NFL teams themselves.

One thing that could explain the Bucs' pick of Goode is that the West Virginia Mountaineers beat Rutgers University 41-31 last season. Overall, Greg Schiano is 0-11 vs West Virginia. College coaches moving to the NFL tend to have a certain obsession with players who beat them. That, or maybe Schiano saw something he liked in him on tape.

Stay with us throughout the rest of the day, as the Bucs have three more draft picks: one in the sixth round and two in the seventh. We'll have analysis and other stories all day long.