WR Nate Washington

[BuccinTex]

TJ is #3?? That is why this clown is blogging and is out of the league. TJ is clearly #1 and has strong track record to prove it. Bryant is 1a only b/c he has 1 season under his belt and is still an unknown. Washington doesn't have the production history to justify such talk. There is a reason the Steelers have continued to invest a sizable # of picks on WRs since they grabbed Washington. He is average.

Ideally, the Bucs would resign Bryant, sign TJ, and draft a playmaker for the #3 spot in the 1st round.

All that and still take a WR in the first?  Hmm.   Maybe if we had a QB that could use all those weapons and we had a defensive line that didn't resemble swiss cheese.   Nate Washington and his averageness is still better than what we have after Bryant.   One reason why the Steelers could afford to continue to draft receivers is they had just about every other position locked up solid. 

[PoorRichard]

I remember an interview with Bill Walsh 20 years ago and he said when he got to SF he realized that WR was their weakest poisition. He then said the franchise philosophy was to identify their weakest areas and turn them into a team strength as quickly as possible. SF then wen on to invest heavily in the position in draft picks and not only landed the best WR in history but ultimately built a core group that maintained its status as top WR corp in the NFL for 10-15 years.

I believe the Bucs should look to Haynesworth or Peppers as # 1 priority. They should also look to resign Bryant, add TJ or Boldin and draft a 1st rounder at the position. This will immediately turn our teams biggest weakness (speed and playmakers on offense) into a team strength. Any QB would have a much better chance of success with an O that includes Bryant, TJ (or Boldin), and a Harvin (or other similar type). I think even McCown would be a decent QB with that group.

[Booker Reese]

Good points on Walsh generally, but I think you are going overboard on applying his lesson.

I believe Walsh somehow picked up/traded for Freddie Solomon, but he found Dwight Clark in the tenth round. It wasn't until 1985 that he found Rice, and didn't add Taylor (76th pick) a couple of years later. He drafted a first rounder in '79, but I don't remember him having much of a career.

He never did anything like Bryant + TJ or Boldin + first rounder.

[Feel Real Good]

Walsh also had quarterbacks who could throw to more than one wide receiver. The Bucs haven't had that luxury since Brad Johnson.

[michael89156]

I like TJ over any of those guys..........its amazing he had a pretty good season with that train wreck Bengal team.