FAB 3. PAST PERSONNEL DECISIONS STILL HAUNTING BUCS
One of the perks of writing my SR’s Fab 5 columns is reading all of the fantastic comments of you, the avid Bucs fan and PewterReport.com reader. On October 3, one such Tampa Bay fan, cbbucfan, authored a very interesting breakdown of the team’s errant draft decisions in the early rounds (1-4) from 2005-2014 that details the talent deficiency that general manager Jason Licht and head coach Lovie Smith inherited when they arrived at One Buc Place in 2014.

Here is cbbucfan’s post:

Ex-Bucs QB Josh Freeman – Photo by: Getty Images

To quote Nick Saban, “We need to find more players that can play winning football.” (He made this statement after Alabama’s season-opening blowout of USC in Dallas.)

His statement certainly can be applied to the Bucs. They simply do not have enough good NFL football players on the roster. That is why this team continues to find ways to lose instead of ways to win. To find these players, it must start at the top of the organization.

Ownership must find and hire people who know how to find players who can play winning football at the NFL level. General manager, college scouts, and pro scouts. The Buccaneers are getting terrible results from their work in the college draft over the past decade.

Look at how many draft picks in rounds 1-4 this team has failed on.

Here’s a rundown:

2005 – Round 3: OT Chris Colmer
Never played a down for the Bucs.

2006 – Round 3: WR Maurice Stovall
No impact as a receiver, and only started 11 games in five seasons with Tampa Bay.

2006 – Round 4: CB Alan Zemaitis
Couldn’t play at NFL level and never appeared in an NFL regular season game.

2007 – Round 1: DE Gaines Adams
A bust for a player drafted No. 4 overall and spent just two and a half years in Tampa Bay.

2007 – Round 2: G Arron Sears
Out of league within three years.

2007 – Round 2: SS Sabby Piscitelli
Started just 20 games in four seasons with the Bucs and out of the NFL after five seasons.

2007 – Round 4: FS Tanard Jackson
Couldn’t stay on the field due to substance abuse and was gone after five seasons.

2008 – Round 1: CB Aqib Talib
Talented but couldn’t stay out of trouble off the field and was gone after five seasons only to star in New England and Denver.

2008 – Round 2: WR Dexter Jackson
Never caught a pass in one season with the Bucs.

2008 – Round 4: DT Dre Moore
Zero starts, 11 tackles and zero sacks in one season with Tampa Bay.

2009 – Round 1: QB Josh Freeman
If he was worthy of this pick he would still be on the team, but he’s currently out of the league.

2009 – Round 4: DE Kyle Moore
Seven starts and zero sacks in two seasons with the Bucs.

2010 – Round 2: DT Brian Price
Out of the league after two seasons due to a hip injury from college.

2010 – Round 2: WR Arrelious Benn
Gone after three injury-filled seasons with Tampa Bay.

2010 – Round 3: CB Myron Lewis
Recorded one start and zero interceptions in three seasons with the Bucs.

2011 – Round 1: DE Adrian Clayborn
Had only two productive seasons in four years with the Bucs.

2011 – Round 2: DE Da’Quan Bowers
Had just seven sacks in five seasons with the Bucs.

2012 – Round 1: SS Mark Barron
Had three interceptions in two and a half seasons with the Bucs before being traded to the Rams.

2013 – Round 1: Pick traded to Jets for CB Darrelle Revis
He was released after just one Pro Bowl season with the Bucs.

2013 – Round 2: CB Johnthan Banks
Had a good rookie season, but playing time diminished to the point that he didn’t play and was traded in his fourth year.

2014 – Round 2: TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
Oft-injured player released after 18 games in a Bucs uniform due to off-field and character issues.

2014 – Round 3: RB Charles Sims
Has not shown the ability to run between the tackles effectively, but he’s a good receiver.

These are players who should be forming the core of your roster over this period. The Bucs won-loss record during these years: 72-112 (including this season’s 3-5 start).

Playoff appearances: Two (2005 and 2007 seasons).

Playoff victories: Zero.

Bucs RB Doug Martin – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR

These are absolutely horrible results with premium draft picks (rounds 1-4). It should be no wonder why this team finds ways to lose instead of ways to win football games. The Buccaneers simply must do a much better job acquiring NFL-caliber talent in the college draft. That is the only way to get the results on the field to change.

Thank you for the carefully thought-out post, cbbucfan. I’ll disagree that Sims has been a bust. He’s a contributor as a receiver out of the backfield, but you’re right about the other 21 draft picks that were essentially wasted or didn’t pan out, including six first-round picks, and seven second-round selections.

Just going back six years to the 2011 draft, those eight draft whiffs from the Mark Dominik era cost the Bucs dearly and reduced the amount of core players that Licht and Smith took on. Even if you were to hold to the averages and suggest that only 40 percent of those Tampa Bay picks would have panned out, that’s still three potential Gerald McCoys, Lavonte Davids or Doug Martins that the Bucs could have had that would be on their second contracts as established starters – and potential Pro Bowlers.