Trent Richardson could easily be picked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the fifth overall pick, but there's at least one Buccaneer who wouldn't be happy with that outcome: Legarrette Blount, or so he told CBS. That should hardly surprise anyone: when was the last time a player was happy to see a heavy investment at his position in a player other than himself? Blount's feelings on the matter won't influence the Bucs' decision, one way or the other.
What will influence the Bucs is Blount's ability to turn into a reliable, all-around running back. It's easy to forget that Blount is still a very raw and underdeveloped running back, despite his host of highlight-reel plays. His vision isn't great, he has a tendency to look to bounce runs outside when he should be running downhill, and he doesn't consistently run behind his pads - which hurts his power. He improved on all those points in 2011, and there's good reason to believe that he'll be even better in 2012 - when he will finally get a full offseason to prepare.
But despite that, Blount remains a rather limited running back. He's a between-the-tackles pounder, and not much else. He hasn't had much opportunity as a pass blocker or a receiver, and I do think he flashed the ability to be a good pass protector - but I don't think he has the lateral quickness or the ability to make a man miss in space to be a good receiver. In addition, he has shown to be a liability in short-yardage situations: much like big man Brandon Jacobs, Blount is big and powerful - but he doesn't consistently run with power and decisiveness, which really hurts in those situations.
This doesn't mean he shouldn't be in the Bucs plans. In fact, the team could easily build their running game around him, but it does mean the Bucs must find a complement for Blount to do the things he does not do well. Drafting Richardson would turn Blount into the complementary player, which may not be the best use of resources. But a running back (or two) will be added to the team at some point this offseason, and Blount will have to beat them out to retain his role as the number one back.