Runnik's Hambones
Active Member
After day 1, I was a bit skeptical. Clayborn was a talent, no doubt, but I was worried that he didn't address the most glaring need that the Bucs had. DE was key, but pass rush seemed to be paramount. The Bucs haven't been that great against the run, but the more pressing need, I thought, was getting after opposing QBs. The draft is an interesting monster. It's all about value and prediction, but where prediction fails, ranking is victorious. Adrian Clayborn's skill set was a dominant presence that wears down opposing tackles with relentless jabs, quick feet, unfettered stability, decisive interpretation, and sure tackling. In short, he's no sack artist. The Bucs fill a need, then; persistent pursuit and exceptional run stoppage. He does not fill the Bucs top priority, though, which has become increasingly imperative with the recent events surrounding Aquib Talib, as well as the bold movement by the Atlanta Falcons to acquire Julio Jones. It ought to be noted then that through this method of reasoning, Clayborn will be extremely helpful based upon the New Orleans Saints drafting Mark Ingram. Because of all this, I went to bed Thursday night with concerns, not because I didn't believe that the Bucs had a plan to solve the pass rush need, nor was it that I thought the Bucs believed that Clayborn remedied the situation. If it's clear to me that he doesn't, then I'll give The Bucs the benefit of the doubt; they've made good decisions up to this point. My fear was that a talented pass rushing DE would simply not be available for Tampa to select come pick 51. In fact, I said and believed that if the Bucs wanted to fix their need, they would have to trade up in the second round if they even wanted a chance at someone like DaQuan Bowers, one of only a few sack specialists left in the draft at the time (Jabaal Sheard and Allen Bailey come to mind as well). To my surprise however, Bowers was available at 51, and with no cost to the Bucs they were staring at "their guy." There was no question here. The Bucs had an opportunity to fix the pass rush, which they passed on in round one in favor of a dependable disruptor in the first. Now I was happy. The Bucs had other needs, CB being apparent, but the same situation at the top of the third seemed to be the case: the value just wasn't there at 83. The pick was made almost immediately, and Mason Foster became the newest Buccaneer. This guy is a tackling machine and a homerun pick here, IMO. He's played all three LB positions in college and Rahim already said that he'll start playing extensively in the middle, and will be spread around to strong and weakside several times. I believe that it was mere weeks ago that I guaranteed the Bucs would take 2 DEs and a LB with their first 3 picks. I'm not just thrilled with Tampa's selections based on position but also on quality, value, and play style. The whole becomes more appealing than the already shiny parts. The Bucs have had fantastic picks for the last 2 1/2 drafts. A couple of years ago I believed that the new staff wanted to turn this team into something that it was not. Now I see that is quite far from the truth. For the first time ever I have complete confidence in this organization.
Oh, and go Bolts.
Oh, and go Bolts.
