NFL Draft 2015: Looking beyond the first pick

With the 2015 NFL draft soon to come upon us, the majority of what we will read as Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans is going to be who to pick in the first round. Although the first round is important, building through the draft involves other picks.  Picks that usually can make immediate impacts are your second and third round picks.  Later picks are picks that can be developed into something more into the future.

In 2008, guard Jeremy Zuttah was picked in the third round. The following year, defensive tackle Roy Miller was drafted in the third round. The 2010 draft was terrible for 2^nd and 3^rd round picks: DT Brian Price and WR Arrelious Benn were second round picks while cornerback Myron Lewis, affectionately known to some Buc fans as "Look like Tarzan, play like Jane" was drafted in the third round. Soon not to be on the roster are the 2011 entries of second round pick DE/DT Da'Quan Bowers and third round pick linebacker Mason Foster.

A superstar was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft when Tampa traded up for linebacker Lavonte David.  There was no third round pick for the Bucs in the 2012 draft. The following year netted cornerback Johnthan Banks in the second round as well as quarterback Mike Glennon in the third round. Banks looks to continue to start at cornerback, but Glennon's future remains unknown. After the 2014 draft, the new regime of Lovie Smith and Jason Licht, pronounced ‘Light', informed Buc fans that Glennon was the quarterback of the future. They should have added an ellipse because he still will be a quarterback of the future... for another team.

Last year, Tampa took TE Austin Sefarian-Jenkins in the second round and RB Charles Sims in the third round.  ASJ looked inconsistent as he caught 21 out of 37 targets, or 56.7% catch rate, as well as only appeared in nine games.  Sims was a head scratcher as the Bucs already had three RBs in tow.  In eight games, Sims averaged 2.8 yards per game for a total of 185 yards.  As a pass catching RB, he did average 10.0 yards per catch for a total of 190 yards.  Then again, RB Bobby Rainey averaged 9.5 yards per catch for a total of 315 yards.

David and Banks are good staples of the defense.  While Glennon may seem like a bust, he did serve the team well when former starting quarterback Josh Freemen went awry.  Glennon also performed better than starting QB Josh McCown this past season.

The front office needs to make these picks in the second and third round count.  Yet it is at this junction is where the GM will make his statement.  If you were a GM, then would you keep these two picks or make trades?  Before you oppose trading picks, David was the 58^th pick, or the 26^th pick in the second round.  The Bucs gave up a third round pick (68^th overall) and a fourth round pick (121^st overall) for the Houston Texans' second round pick (58^th overall) and seventh round pick (233^rd overall).  A third and fourth made a move to the bottom of the second round to nab David.

To help you with possible trades, here is a chart to utilize as a barometer for possible trades.

Using this chart to help explain the David trade, the Bucs sent a third and fourth round pick for a second and a seventh.  By this chart, the Bucs sent 205.4 points value to Houston.  In return, Houston sent Tampa 172.5 points value.  There exists a 32.9 point value differential that the Bucs had to give up to move up.  That differential was a variance of 16% of the trade value for moving, or 32.9/205.4.  (The point value was the sum of the picks.  Go to the draft pick number, for example, pick 58, has a point value of 136.3.)

There are many possibilities of trades here such as trading down from the second round to trading up to the bottom of the second round or even third round.  Tampa Bay GM Licht has said that you have to build success through the draft.

"Our philosophy will be to build through the draft. That's where we'll get our stars. We will supplement our roster through free agency. We're going to look for value, we're going to spend wisely. The better teams in the NFL that compete year after year are the teams that draft the best."  -

http://www.bucsnation.com/2014/1/23/5338578/jason-licht-press-conference-sustaining-championship-success-by

Let me limit the movement to only the second and third round. Also, I will use Charlie Campbell's mock draft for the second and third round of players to choose from. Try to limit the point value differential to 16% max in trading up like done in the David trade.  Feel free to check out his link as there are some descriptions about each player to give you more background.

Would you trade down, trade up, or stay put in the second and third rounds?

For myself, I would be willing to trade down only because of the plethora of offensive linemen available in both the second and third rounds.

Trade #1.  Trade down.

Tampa trades 34^th pick and 193^rd pick (point value of 216.8) to Atlanta for the 42^nd pick and 104^th pick (point value of 251.6).  A variance of 34.8 point value, or 13% point value more for Atlanta to move up.  Tampa picks up an extra fourth round pick.  With the 42^nd pick, Tampa chooses ILB Benardrick McKinney.

Trade #2.  Trade up.

Tampa trades 65^th pick, 106^th pick, and 154^th pick (point value of 280.6) pick to Denver for the 58^th and 92^nd picks (point value of 237.0).  It is a 15% overpayment to move up in both the late second and third rounds.  With the 58^th and 92^nd picks, the Bucs pick up fellow offensive linemen teammates Cam Erving and Tre Johnson, respectively.  I have read reports that the Bucs are intrigued with Tre Johnson, which facilitated the multi-pick trade with Denver as it as both players going to Denver.

The Bucs, in this scenario, nab their MLB in McKinney, an OT/C in Erving, and a guard in Johnson in the second and third rounds.  Hopefully, they will all turn into starters. Again, this exercise is simply for entertainment purposes.