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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need a pass rusher, and that's exactly what Mocking the Draft thinks they'll pick with their first draft pick. In their latest 2014 NFL mock draft, they have the Bucs picking Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley.
A Clemson defensive end! Oh no! After Gaines Adams and Da'Quan Bowers, some fans will no doubt be a little leery of defensive ends out of Clemson, but that's some specious logic at best. When evaluating players, writing them off because of the school they go through is not exactly a sound process. If you're going to write them off, do it for things they themselves do, not for things players they never even played with did years ago.
Vic Beasley is still undecided about his NFL future. There are legitimate concerns over whether or not he can add enough weight to be an effective edge rusher in a 4-3 scheme, but after he shows out at the combine, he's likely to rise into the top half of the first round. Tampa Bay may be desperate enough for defensive end help to take a shot on developing Beasley into a star.
The Buccaneers need pass-rush help, so they pick the best pass-rusher available to them. Whether Beasley would actually be the best pass-rusher available at that point is another point, and I'm not so sure he'd be worth a top ten pick. But there's no denying he's a talented edge rusher, and perhaps closest to having the bulk to be an every-down defensive end in a 4-3 of the top edge rushers behind Jadeveon Clowney.
Of course, as you can see in that video, he's not exactly a polished prospect and seems to struggle against the run. Finding perfect players in the draft is nigh-impossible, but I'm not sure Beasley would be the best use of the seventh overall pick.
