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Mel Kiper NFL Draft Grades: Buccaneers get a B, but just a C+ for value

Mel Kiper grades every team, and he's torn on what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did.

Butch Dill

The draft is over! And now we move on to pointlessly grading it even though we have no clue as to how each player pans out. We do have a clue about the general feeling on each player. So hey, maybe there's some value in grading a draft now anyway.

So then we come to Mel Kiper. He gave the Buccaneers a B overall, but a B+ on filling needs and just a C+ on getting value.

Like the Seahawks, we need to factor into Tampa's grade the fact that they now have Darrelle Revis on the roster. Cornerback was a huge need and they used this draft to get a guy they coveted. But I'll say this, he's also making $16 million this year (about $13 million more than the Round 1 pick will make) and he's coming off an ACL injury, so it's something far less than theft. Johnthan Banks, who they drafted at No. 43, gives them some extra cover in the secondary. He'll see plenty of the field in nickel situations. Mike Glennon can backup Josh Freeman, but I think fans are way overstating it if they think Glennon can provide actual competition at this point. He needs some time. Akeem Spence provides a rotation D-tackle, but William Gholston is merely depth now. After that you won't see much from this class in 2013. If Revis is Revis, we're all happy. After that, I thought they just did OK.

Well, if you take Darrelle Revis into account this draft looks outstanding, obviously. But the point of getting value sticks a little. The Bucs traded up for a run-stuffing nose tackle at the top of the fourth round -- but is that the right value for a one-dimensional run defender? Was trading up for a special teams guy in Mike James at the end of the sixth round sensible? And what about Mike Glennon? Would he have been available had they waited until the quarterback run in the third round?

Still, the Buccaneers added depth and addressed needs at multiple positions. And the player I question the most may actually turn out to be the only starter of the bunch, although Johnthan Banks is likely to take more snaps than Spence. The only thing I worry about now is the tight end position.

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