In recent years, the Bucs’ drafts have been less than successful.

Whether it’s the bad Dexter Jackson or the disappointing Michael Clayton or the fact that Gaines Adams never quite matched expectations, the Bucs’ drafts have been less than average, though the tide may have turned last year.

So with the Bucs loaded up on draft picks in what many suspect to be a deep draft, for the awful Bucs to improve, they need to draft well this April.

Don Banks, former Bucs beat writer and current NFL columnist at SI.com, drives that point home as he lays out what the Bucs need to do in the offseason.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Can the Bucs use their all-important 10 draft picks this year as the foundation of their rebuilding program?

With the exception of starting quarterback, where the Bucs are Josh Freeman’s team for the foreseeable future, Tampa Bay has needs everywhere you look on the roster. Defensive end, defensive tackle, safety, cornerback, receiver, running back, guard, offensive tackle, you name it. There’s no way the Bucs are going to be major players in what figures to be a quieter than usual free agency period, so that makes this year’s draft absolutely critical if Tampa Bay is to return to relevance. Much like Detroit did in last year’s draft, the Bucs need to come away with four or five starters from the 2010 lottery, hopefully seeding each line of their defense with at least one potential standout.

*And another thing: Getting a sense of stability established after last year’s upheaval — new head coach, new GM, new coordinators, fired coordinators, three different starting QBs — would register as progress in and of itself in 2010.

As Joe pointed out yesterday in his interview with Gil Brandt of Sirius NFL Radio, the stability of the coaching staff may be wishful thinking unless Raheem the Dream somehow — at least — sniffs a .500 record.

The coaches are on one-year contracts and there’s likely a labor stoppage in 2011. Unless the Bucs surprise people, it’s not looking rosy for Raheem the Dream.