7. S Mark Barron D

Hmmm, Mark Barron and a 4^th round pick…or Morris Claiborne? That shouldn’t have been a tough question, but it was for the Buccaneers, who seem to have gotten it wrong. I know the Buccaneers had Barron higher than Claiborne on their board, but that’s ridiculous. Claiborne is a better player at a position of higher value. I had Barron in the 20s on my board. I don’t believe any player at a “luxury” position (linebacker, safety, running back, interior offensive line) should go in the first round unless they are an exceptional talent, which is why I gave Barron a 1^st/2^nd round grade. He’s not Eric Berry and he certainly was not worth a pick in the top 10. It’s only worth noting that everyone and their dog agreed that there were 6 blue chip prospects in this draft class, so I really don’t like the Buccaneers moving out of the top 6 for just a 4^th round pick. The 7^th spot was the one no one wanted, but the Buccaneers took it willingly.

31. RB Doug Martin B+

Martin fits the range and fills a need, but the pick isn’t getting an A just because they moved up for him. I don’t believe in bad teams moving up unless it’s an unbelievable value. The Buccaneers have too many needs to be giving up picks like this and they have so many needs that there would definitely be a player they liked that fit the range and filled a need at their original spot.

58. OLB Lavonte David A

Linebacker was a huge need for the Buccaneers, maybe even their biggest need. Since the stat has been kept track of, no team missed more tackles ever than the Buccaneers did last season. David is also a very good value at the end of the 2^nd, so I have no problem with them moving up in this case.

140. MLB Najee Goode B-

This is a slight reach in the 5^th round, but it’s not like they didn’t need another linebacker.

174. CB Keith Tandy A

Finally the Buccaneers get their cornerback. They could have gotten one earlier if they didn’t trade up twice. Anyway, Tandy is a very, very good value here in the 6^th. I thought he was one of the underrated gems of the cornerback position in this draft. This need is not filled coming out of the draft, but they can’t be expected to fill every need.

212. RB Michael Smith B

Another running back? Again, you can’t hate 7^th round picks, but Smith didn’t make my top 250 so this is a slight reach.

233. FB Drake Dunsmore A

I like this value a lot here in the 7^th round. Dunsmore could probably be their starting fullback this year after they lost Earnest Graham and he also provides some depth at tight end.

I gave this a C yesterday and then I looked it that C after doing the write ups and that seemed a little ridiculous. Yes, I think they missed up big time with their first pick and that’s the most important one. However, the rest of their draft was really nice. I think they got 3 new starters out of this draft and while they didn’t address arguably their biggest need at cornerback, they couldn’t be expected to address all of their needs and they did address 3 prominent ones (S, OLB, RB). They might not be the most important positions, but 3 starters isn’t too shabby.

They also did some nice things in the late rounds, especially with Keith Tandy and Drake Dunsmore. Dunsmore might even make it 4^th starters if he emerges as the starting fullback, but, then again, it is just the fullback position. Tandy, meanwhile, will provide solid depth behind Eric Wright and Aqib Talib. Cornerback will probably be a primary need of their 2013 draft because Wright is overrated (and overpaid) and Talib will be a free agent.

Grade: B-