The shock and Awe of the Talib pick

[bradentonian]

Since when was Talib slated as a 2nd round pick? By most estimations he was picked within range of his projection.

Lots of folks had him sliding after the pot news broke

[MarleyMon81]

Not loving or hating the pick.  Wanted Jenkins but more for personal reasons.  Talib has skills.  With Monte, Raheem, and Ronde helping him learn the ropes. 

[Stretchcaddy]

he will be a beast in this cover 2.......IMO

why do you say this?

because he is a ball hawk.....IMO

[JasonOfthetower]

How he is better than Mike Jenkins, Brandon Flowers, or Antoine Cason is wayyyyyy beyond me. The Bucs had atleast 6-8 guys that would be better at 20, yet decide not to move down. Even if all you get out of it is a 3rd or so.. MOVE DOWN! If Talib is here to replace BK and be put on an island this guy is going to be TOAST.

The two teams that moved up were Carolina and Atlanta. The Buccaneers were not going trade down with a division rival.

[yuccaneers]

I will reserve judgment until he gets a chance to learn the defense and play through his rookie season before I stat one way or another on the pick

[jsunm73]

i am not too shocked or disappointed.maybe a little surprised they passed on mendenhall.still if they can get j.charles,and a wr or 2 i will be ok.if he keeps his nose clean he can atleast be barber's replacement in a couple of years.he does have some return ability also.so not to bad of a pick.i believe in allen,gruden,and the scounting department.

[rpc1978]

Since when was Talib slated as a 2nd round pick? By most estimations he was picked within range of his projection.

agreed.  given his high # of ints, pass deflections and receptions as a part time wr, he probably has the best ball skills of any defensive back in the draft.  the knock on him is that he isn't tough against the run and he has had some off the field troubles.

[ktownbuc47]

And the Bucs have a terrible record of drafting players who have fallen due to pot smoking.

[MarleyMon81]

He also apparently has return ability.  He'll hopefully make a mark on ST as a rook as he learns the DB role.

[noopy2237]

I'm warming up to the pick.

[MarleyMon81]

Like I said, I really didn't have one guy I really, really wanted at #20.  I wanted Jenkins because of the USF ties, but that's about all I can give on the plus side to Jenkins over Talib.

[benchwarmer69]

Since when was Talib slated as a 2nd round pick? By most estimations he was picked within range of his projection.

Lots of folks had him sliding after the pot news broke

They have to have a guy that can smoke. he has a 3.40min on the blunt roll. His tokeing abilities are unheard of. and he'll get the papers! what more do you want man?!?

[atlbuc]

OK - Do you guys think Aqib Talib is that much better than Mike Jenkins, Antoine Cason or Brandon Flowers? Would the talent level drop off significantly if we were to pick Justin King or Patrick Lee in later rounds?

I have this terrible feeling that San Diego got a steal picking Cason at #27. Remember these guys managed to 'reach' for Shawn Merriman (Dallas picked  Demarcus Ware over Merriman) and Antonio Cromartie (19th Overall in 2006) and passed on Mike Williams to pick Vincent Jackson.

I hope Talib is better but I think we may regret passing on some better talent.

[MVP]

Here is some analysis from Fox Sports.

CZAR'S FRONT OFFICE TAKE: The Bucs were never going to take a receiver with the first pick. They chose Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib, who does have some off-the-field issues, but also has tremendous skills. Talib is an interesting pick because many teams didn't see him as a Cover Two cornerback like Ronde Barber, but more as a man-to-man cover cornerback. A lot of teams rated Talib as a top-10 talent, but were worried about his personality and character. But Talib isn't a risk with the 20th pick because he's not going to get top-10 money. A solid player who can also help in the return game.

SCHRAGER ON THE SCENE: An unnamed middle-aged member of the media sitting nearby waits until everyone's quit talking, takes a deep breath, and comments, "The Marijuana Man!" A pack of fellow middle-aged members of the media surrounding him laugh uproariously in unison. Hilarious! This is the comedy you're missing at Radio City, folks. Hey, failed drug tests or not, Talib was fantastic his entire career in Lawrence, capping it off with an All-American 2007 campaign in which the Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl. I'm a huge Talib guy. Ronde Barber can't play forever. This is a solid pick. I just did "The D'Brickashaw Ferguson" move.

[BuccoJD]

After I had some time to get over us not selecting Jenkins, I think this guy could def. be a stud in the NFL. Has the size (maybe not the best speed) and has great ball skills. I also like his swagger (He compares himself to Deion).

We could have something special in Aqib. The pot thing is a joke of an issue.