It’s difficult to radically reshape your roster when you only have seven draft picks, and none before No. 20 in the first round. That said, what do you think about how Tampa Bay did with what it had in this year’s draft?

Round 1 (20): Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
Round 2 (58): Dexter Jackson, WR, Appalachian State
Round 3 (83): Jeremy Zuttah, OT, Rutgers
Round 4 (115): Dre Moore, DT, Maryland
Round 5 (160): Josh Johnson, QB, San Diego
Round 6 (175): Geno Hayes, LB, Florida State
Round 7 (238): Cory Boyd, South Carolina, RB

Hard to grade this one above a “C” on sheer numbers alone.

Talib has the combination of size (6-1, 202) and instinct for the ball that makes defensive coordinators salivate, but those “character issues” raise a red flag. Jackson has speed (4.37 in the 40), but at 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, it remains to be seen if he can get off the line of scrimmage and fend off defenders in the NFL. Zuttah probably won’t make an immediate impact, and defensive linemen are among the most difficult players to project to the next level.

Then there’s the quarterback. Is he the wild card that ultimately determines the success of this yer’s draft?

Draft Grade: B
As for Aqib Talib, he was by far my favorite pick in our draft. I understand he had the off field issues, but that was over two years ago. He was a 19 or 20 year old college kid and he made a stupid mistake by smoking marijuana. Remember this, if he did not have the “off the field issues”, he might have been a top ten pick in this draft. I watched at least 5 Kansas games in 2007, and he was all over the place. He shut down top tier wide receivers on a regular basis in college, including many of the ones drafted in the 2nd round on Saturday. I think he can stay clean and have a huge impact for us this year, maybe equivalent to Tenard Jackson from last year.

After the first round I think there were a few developmental players picked by the Bucs. Dexter Jackson, Josh Johnson, and Geno Hayes will take a few years to have a serious impact, with DJack helping us the fastest. Geno Hayes is only 20 yrs old. If we can hang on to him for years to come and mold him, he could become a force in this league (AND I’m NOT saying he is Derrick Brooks, but he has a ton of potential).

Jeremy Zuttah: He is solid. He paved the way for Ray Rice to put up huge rushing yards at Rutgers, and he was a four year starter. He can immediately fill in as a rotational lineman at any position and be solid. He gives us quality depth at O-line which we have not had.

Dre Moore: This D tackle was a great value in the 4th round. He ran a 4.8 40 yard dash at over 305lbs. at the combine. There are linebackers that did not run that fast. He fills a 3-technique need that we have not had since Warren Sapp (Not that he is Warren Sapp). I think this kid has a chip on his shoulder too because he thought he would be drafted earlier (I love pissed off D-linemen, they play better).

This class was not a wow me class of draftees, but they did fill some needs and add depth to what is already a playoff team. All of the picks were logical and should help us. I do not think you can look at any of the draftees and say the Bucs made a mistake because they fit our scheme and add depth. With the highly underrated free agents the Bucs brought in, and a few new faces through the draft, the Bucs are preparing for a deep run in the playoffs. I hope we find a way to stay under the radar and win eleven games this year. Lets stay positive.
GO BUCS!

That’s optimistic, all right.

It’s true that you typically need to wait about three years before evaluating any draft class, but seriously, is there even one player on this list that doesn’t come with more than his share of question marks?

Okay, by the numbers, it seems that Talib should be able to contrinbute immediately, and his off-field problems are less than what Warren Sapp had coming out of college - a draft pick by Sam Wyche that turned out okay in my book.  Considering it was not even a senior year issue like it was for Sapp, the odds are good that he can contribute for some time to come.

Dexter Jackson by all rights was picked up as the heir apparent for aging Galloway.  He was picked up earlier than expected for one thing and one thing alone - speed.  He is going to take some develpment, but will start immediately for special teams doing returns.  If he gets to great catching (like he demonstrated in the combine), he could pick up a starting position in a year or two.  That is an “if” but not insurmountable - and that is a big reason why he is questioned at that spot.

The other picks are all question marks on whether or not they will make the team or end up on the practice squad.  Jeremy Zuttah could make the team, but some things will have to happen or he could be on the practice squad.

Josh Johnson has a long road to hoe.  We all know that of the potential three QBs this year, two are taken by Jeff Garcia and second go around with Brian Griese.  #3 is anyone’s guess, although I am betting on McCown it could be Simms (I don’t give Gradkowski a chance although with Gruden who loves him, anything is possible).  The best Johnson can hope for at this point is to make the practice squad.  I think he is almost a solid lock for that.

For the others I will have to wait and see - I don’t know much about the other characters here. They could fit needs, but it is not often where a late round draft pick ever has a lot of impact.  I don’t know much about Cory Boyd - but I doubt he is going to come in and shake thing up with what the Bucs currently have right now.  He probably hopes to make the practice squad (or for someone else to get hurt this year since they lost three starters last year).

It’s true that I was being optimistic, but most players come with some sort of question mark. Whether it is on the field or off. I really believe, however, that Aqib Talib was the BEST corner in this draft. Here’s why. When we picked him, the first thing the commentators on ESPN and on NFL Network said about him was that he had off the field issues. They then went on to praise him about his play on the field. If his only downside is an incident that happened over 2 years ago, then we got the right guy. Physically, he is going to shut WR’s down, and I truly believe that. He is a student of the game and has one on one workouts with Deion Sanders. In his case I trust what the Bucs did here.

For the most part, the rest of the draft was full of potentially great players. Dexter Jackson is the same size as Joey Galloway. Maybe Joey can show him how to be a small receiver in this league. If he fills his potential then his natural speed will show up in the games.

I like the depth we added on the offensive and defensive lines too. After we drafted Dre
Moore, all I saw from analysts and scouts was that were very surprised that he lasted that long. He may not have that same ability as a Glenn Dorsey or Ellis, but I don’t think he is that far off from them. He’ll be a rotational player anyways so he’ll fit in well until he develops.
GO BUCS!

As the first round progressed towards our 20th slot, I was more and more excited so many names we had all discussed on this board, had fallen. There were plenty of household names at WR, QB, and even MIke Jenkins at corner. Then the Bucs selected Taleb and all I could say was “WHo?” Granted, I’m not a big college fan-other than MY TEAMS, so I wasn’t too familiar with him.
As the second round rolled on, we still had a glute of WR’s available, yet we chose an under-sized D-II reciever.
Lastly, not hunting down Jason Taylor or trading Chris Simms were mistakes.

What can I say though? The Bucs seem to know what they were doing and I suppose the numbers on these players are interesting. Not taking Mike Jenkins still hurts though.

I agree with the C or C+ rating mainly because after looking at this draft it seemed more like a needs first draft, which wasn’t a bad thing because I think they made good picks with Talib, Moore, Zuttah, and Hayes.  I do have a problem with pick of Dexter Jackson, when guys like Limas Sweed and Mario Manningham are still on the board, who potentially would be bigger impacts. Jackson is fast, but if he turns out to be nothing more than a KR/PR who then has to be compared to Devin Hester, Dante Hall, or even Az Hakim (during the Rams superbowl run) it seems like too high a price for a kick returner.  Especially if he doesn’t equal any of those guys production.  For me this draft will solely be determined on wheather or not Jackson turns out to be a bust for us, even more so if Sweed or Manningham become studs.  The pick of QB Johnson just throws me for a loop considering he’ll be a longshot to even make the team with experience already on the others side in Grudens system.  Another void could be filled with that pick, but you know Chucky likes QB’s.