It takes 3-5 years to grade a draft, for example we can now look back at Gruden/Allens last two drafts and grade them accordingly. The 2007 Draft typifies the futility of the Bucs drafting under that regime. Only two players remain from a draft that occurred only 4 years ago, a time when your draft picks should be making up the core of your team. Instead, the only two players left are on the bubble for various reasons; Quincy Black and Adam Hayward who are up for contract, and Tanard Jackson who is suspended currently.
The rest are gone from the NFL entirely (Gaines ADAMS RIP, Arron Sears), or cut from the team (Sabby Piscitelli)
We can grade the 2007 draft as a simple F.
2008 can also be graded at this time, Gruden/Allens last as Bucs front office people, and it did a little better, with the caveat that y ou can only improve upon an F grade, right?
Yet even an improved draft like 2008 leaves only two players in good standing on the team, 3rd rounder Jeremy Zuttah who looks to be the future Center for the Bucs, and 6th pick Geno Hayes. Josh Johnson the career 2nd string QB taken in the 5th round, is still with the team, but his future could be as uncertain as the Bucs top pick at the time, CB Aqib Talib, the no. 1 pick for the franchise.
Failures include 2nd round pick Dexter Jackson, 4th Dre Moore, RB Cory Boyd and QB Jake Plummer. This last sentence summarizes the difference between the regimes of Gruden/Allen and Morris/Dominik. While the former looked at 7th round picks as draft fodder, the current guys draft starters with their 7th round picks.
Grade: D- , an improvement indeed.
So even though we cannot judge a draft for years, we can judge it against the body of work other teams did for themselves.
Rounds 1 and 2 saw the Bucs not only address a need, but did so with the two best players available at the time. Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers are as similar to last years Gerald McCoy and Brian Price as 1995’s Warren Sapp with Derrick Brooks.
Then the Bucs took a versatile LInebacker who could be groomed to take over at any of the three spots. Then Tampa Bay traded up to get arguably one of the best tight ends in the draft in Tennessee’s Luke Stocker. (Bucs also took TE Daniel Hardy of Idaho in the 7th with their compensatory pick).
Needing some secondary help, SS Ahmad Black of Florida in the 5th and DB Anthony Gaitor of Florida International give the Bucs a pair of fast DBs who are already used to playing in the Florida Heat.
Finally, Tampa Bay needed another running back, and were happy to find Allen Bradford of USC who is very LeGarrett Blount like, with some speed to go with it.
Overall, most pundits grade the Bucs a B, above average. Id have to agree if not go a little higher for obvious reasons.
1) The Bucs addressed players they targeted for their quality. Captains in college, good character people, and with a slight gamble in the first round, solid picks that are worth their value.
2) They picked players to meet their needs, and a lot of that had to do with how they have drafted over the last year or so, taking positions that were strong at the time.
That mixture has been the formula for the Bucs success with their draft picks going back a few years now. You don’t need to assign a grade when you hear the names of players the Bucs have drafted since Morris /Dominik have taken over;
Josh Freeman, Roy Miller, Kyle Moore, EJ Biggers, Sammie Stroughter, Gerald McCoy, Brian Price, Arrelious Benn, Myron Lewis, MIke Williams, Cody Grimm, Dekoda Watson, and Erik Lorig. ALL players, starters, contributors, or at the very least, on the cusp of either or.
Not 100% success, because Ive left off Brent Bowden, and Xavier Fulton; however the number of which is more typical of ONE SEASON’s draft failures under Gruden/Allen.
And I didn’t even mention Kellen Winslow Jr’s picks.
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