It appears Bucs coach Raheem Morris will use Florida cornerback Ahmad Black, who the Bucs drafted in the fifth round today, as a safety. The way Pat Kirwan talked about Black, that would be a smart move.

Currently the Bucs are loaded at safety as Joe types this:

Vince Anderson (practice squad)
Larry Asante
Ahmad Black
Dominique Harris
Cody Grimm
Tanard Jackson
Sean Jones
Corey Lynch

With all of these safeties, Joe has a hunch: Could it be that all Bucs fans who have been kvetching over the fate of troubled cornerback Aqib Talib be talking about the wrong stud in the secondary?

Could it be that in fact, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik will jettison Tanard Jackson when his suspension ends and not Talib?

Here are some Ahmad Black highlights courtesy of the good people at FoxSports.com.

Well, the Bucs finally drafted a cornerback Ahmad Black from Florida.

Pat Kirwan on Sirius NFL Radio is not high on Black at all due to his slow 40 times.

“He doesn’t fit in [Raheem Morris’] defense if he is really a 4.7 [in a 40-yard dash] guy, but he can play fast. His cone drills say he can move faster.

But [the Bucs] are not playing press-man there. They play some off-man, but they will play around with a guy like this to try to find a spot. He will be around the football and he will break in as a special teams guy and if he continues to run slow he will be cut in a couple of years.”

A lot of fans — granted, not all — are pretty stoked about the drafting the past three days by Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik. But it seems it’s not just Bucs fans who are happy.

Enter “The Professor,” John Clayton. After monitoring the first two days of the draft, he believes Dominik has pulled off the greatest haul of any NFL team.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: You’ve got to be kidding me. Last year, the Bucs rebuilt their defensive line with the additions of defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, their top two draft choices in 2010. After getting a pass-rushing defensive end in Adrian Clayborn in the first round Thursday, the Bucs landed Da’Quan Bowers in the second round. Bowers has talent to become rookie of the year, but he has knees that might not allow him to last through a five-year contract. No problem for the Bucs. They will sign him to a four-year deal at second-round money. Drafted with the 51st pick, Bowers will be eager to prove his worth. To make life even better, the Bucs added linebacker Mason Foster in the third round.

Well, naturally, it will take roughly three or four years to see how this draft pans out. But Joe likes the attitude and character of the guys Dominik has drafted thus far.

There are various ways players celebrate being selected in the NFL draft.

Some, like Gerald McCoy, get to celebrate at Radio City Music Hall and bear hug NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell.

Others celebrate with family members.

Perhaps Joe’s favorite player celebration was when Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas decided to get away from all the hoopla and went fishing, despite being a high first round draft pick. Thomas was spotted by a helicopter getting the news with rods in the water.

Now in the 21st century, players have a different way of celebrating: Social media.

Bucs fourth round draft pick Luke Stocker, a tight end from Tennessee too to Twitter to celebrate the good news.

@LukeStocker88: I’m a Buc!!!! Words can’t describe how happy I am right now!!!!

Joe thinks that this Stocker will fit in very nicely for quite a few years.

It seems the Bucs got a well-rounded tight end in Luke Stocker. The Tennessee product is equally adept at blocking as he is catching passes in traffic, which he excels at by force of necessity as he isn’t quick enough to separate in man-to-man coverage, though he does have good hands.

Joe knows that Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune had said all along the Bucs were going to draft a tight end and many fans mocked him for it.

To Joe, this may signal that the Bucs have a hint of concern over Kellen Winslow’s knee. Remember last year that Wiinslow skipped most training camp practices to spare his knee.

Perhaps the Bucs are planning to use Stocker in an effort to take some wear and tear off of the tread of Winslow’s tires thereby extending his shelf life?

For the draftniks out there, here is Stocker’s combine workout video.

Here are some highlights of Tennessee tight end Luke Stocker who the Bucs traded up for in the fourth round to grab. Video courtesy of FoxSports.com.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik wasted lilttle time this afternoon to pull off a trade to move up in the fourth round to pick Tennessee tight end Luke Stocker.

Stocker is a former basketball player who was recruited to play at Kentucky.

Pat Kirwan, on Sirius NFL Radio said of Stocker, “Two things jumped out at me with Stocker in the Senior Bowl: “He can catch in traffic; he muscled the ball away from people. And he totally understood route running and running into zones. He knew exactly what to convert the route to.”

The Bucs gave up this year’s fourth round pick and next year’s fourth round pick to move up in Philadelphia’s position. Barring another trade, the Bucs won’t pick again until the 20th pick in the fifth round.

Former Bucs great Warren Sapp is a Bucs legend through and through. Those his playing days are long over, he’s trying his best to help out.

Last year much was made of Warren Sapp taking a good chunk of his time to work out with Gerald McCoy at One Buc Palace.

It looks like Sapp plans to do the same with Da’Quan Bowers. On Twitter last night, Sapp reached out to Bowers and it looks as if Sapp wants to get rolling with Bowers.

@QBKILLA: @DaQuanBowers93 Gotta a Few Things For You Young Fella!!

Joe just thinks this is cool that Sapp is still trying to help the Bucs return to their glory days, despite the fact he can’t help on the field.

Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com gives his report outside Radio City Music Hall of what he loved about Day 2 of the NFL Draft. In this FoxSports.com video, No. 1 on his list was Bucs third round draft pick Mason Foster.

Joe’s absolutely loving all this real football chatter during draft week. Joe is fired up for the season.

Here are links to videos Joe just watched to help you get fired up, too, as if you need it.

1) The “Top 100 Players of 2011” series kicks off tonight on the real-man channel: NFL Network. Here’s the preview of Mike Williams, who checks in at No. 83. If you don’t get chills, seek medical attention.

2) THE OPTIMIST, who runs the fabulous BucStop.com, has unearthed video of the 1981 draft from ESPN, when it was about sports and not shtick. It’s a great old school look at the NFL. Joe confesses his parents didn’t have cable TV when the ’81 draft aired. Joe was probably hoping Pete Rose was playing on the NBC Game of the Week.

Enjoy.

As Joe hammers out more research on linebacker Mason Foster, the Bucs’ third-round pick out of Washington, Joe keeps seeing a common thread: Foster has a high football IQ enhanced by his time switching from defense to quarterback during his senior season in high school and playing multiple linebacker spots in college.

Former Bucs coach Herm Edwards and Foster come from the same Northern California coastal neighborhood (Foster’s going to get a rude awakening from the Tampa humidity and heat) and it seems Edwards knows the kid, so he told their hometown newspaper, The Herald of Monterey County, Calif.

Foster, among his other comments, thinks he flew under scouts’ radar and his savvy can make up for his physical shortcomings.

“Honestly, I kind of got overlooked playing on the West Coast,” said Foster before the draft. “On the big stage, I raised my game to another level.”

Foster’s versatility was an attraction. The 6-foot-1, 245-pounder can play the run inside, or line up on the outside and blitz or drop back into coverage.

“You don’t have to be a big linebacker to play in that system,” Edwards said. “You have to be instinctive. That’s what Mason is. He’s going to get a shot right away.”

Foster’s stock began to rise at the Senior Bowl. During the NFL combines, he was praised for his understanding of defenses during meetings with teams. What might have hurt Foster was his 40-yard dash time, which was 4.75 at the NFL combines. He had a best of 4.65.

“Some players are workout warriors,” Foster said. “But can they play?”

Per the Seattles Times, UW coach Steve Sarkisian said [Friday] that he thinks Foster will be “a great pro.”

“He’s such a versatile guy. He’s got the ability to play in space but yet play hard-nosed football. He’s an excellent pass rusher, and he’s got ball instincts. I don’t know how many times in two years, the ball gets tipped into the air and it finds its way into No. 40’s hands. He’s just got great instincts, and in the NFL he equates to a three-down linebacker, meaning he can play first- and second-down football, but even in nickel situations, he can rush the passer or cover people – he can do that really well too.”

Joe likes Foster’s legitimate versatility. Hopefully he can light a fire under the asses of all the Bucs’ starting linebackers, assuming they’re still wearing pewter when the dust settles on free agency.

If there’s clearly an end to the lockout come next week, courtesy of the courts, it seems the NFL would have to rule immediately on what to do with all the restricted free agents who were tendered by their teams in February.

Plus, the league would have to craft operating rules for 2011 to avoid chaos, as the legal mess plays out in court and negotiation resumes between owners and players.

Popular speculation has both sides agreeing to play 2011 by 2010 rules.

If so, that means a pile of Bucs restricted free agents could have new guaranteed contracts by virtue of Mark Dominik tendering them offers before the lockout. The Tampa Tribune reported the list of Bucs in that boat back in February.

Defensive ends Stylez White and Tim Crowder were given tender thumb-ups by Dominik, and with Da’Quan Bowers, Adrian Clayborn and Michael Bennett all but locks for the roster, Joe’s sniffing the end of the Kyle Moore era. That would leave E.J. Biggers, Sammie Stroughter, Roy Miller and Josh Freeman left from the class of 2009.

Also on the tendered list, per the Tribune, were Jeremy Trueblood, Davin Joseph and James Lee. With Demar Dotson coming back from injury, Joe wouldn’t be shocked if the Bucs don’t touch an offensive lineman in Day 3 of the draft.

Joe’s good friend Derek “Old School” Fournier of WhatTheBuc.net gives his take on the Bucs first two draft picks, Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers. Dedicated that he is, he filed his video from Wheaton, Ill. You know what Wheaton, Ill. is famous for? First, it was the birth place of the Galloping Ghost, Red Grange, and it’s a friggin’ dry town… in Illinois of all places!!! A dry Friday night? Joe simply cannot fathom!

THE PESSIMIST is a diehard Bucs fan whose negative writings appear occasionally on JoeBucsFan.com. His views surely do not necessarily reflect those of Joe. However, Joe sure gets a kick out of them.

What’s amazing about this Da’Quan Bowers pick is every team, including the Bucs, passed on him obviously because of his crappy knee. This morning, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported Bowers has a bone-on-bone condition. There’s no cure for that, folks.

The last Buccaneer with a bone-on-bone knee was Antonio Bryant. You can read about it in Joe’s archives.

But Mark Dominik calls Bowers great “value.” Nice.

So what’s Dominik trying to prove? Sure, the GM does his homework and sorted through character issues with Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount and came up with gems, but you don’t talk to third-grade teachers and grill coaches to solve a knee. Bowers is damaged goods, and the Bucs gambled when they didn’t have to.

God forbid the Bucs went the seemingly safer route and prepared to break the bank to pay Ray Edwards, a healthy 26-year-old free agent coming off two eight-sack seasons in Minnesota.

THE PESSIMIST supposes the Bucs don’t think it’s prudent to actually pay a young proven player in his prime. Why the hell do that when you can toss a second-round pick after a busted up college dude?

THE PESSIMIST finds it comical that the Bucs say they’re building a lasting contender and they just drafted a guy unlikely to last.

The Bucs may have found the new Sack Exchange, but right now it’s rookie Bowers with a bumb knee, Brian Price with a mysterious hip/hamstring, Gerald McCoy coming off surgery, and Adrian Clayborn with one arm shorter than the other and coming off a 3 1/2-sack college season.

THE PESSIMIST can’t imagine any team will be scared of that bunch for a while.

Now Joe is not an NFL scout, though he prides himself in scoping young, tanned, skin-baring, nubile lasses at top shelf watering holes.

But just eyeballing Bucs third round draft pick outside linebacker Mason Foster, some things jump out at Joe:

1) He can shed blocks. Against damned good blocking teams as well.

2) Seems like a helluva athlete. Quick, good feet, solid hands. Here’s a look at his combine drills.

3) Has ball awareness. Just check out this video of a game-winning interception return against Arizona. Oh, one could call that clutch as well.

4) It appears Foster is a tweener. He can play in a 34 defense or as a SAM in a traditional 43. It seems hybrid defenses are not just the future of football, but the now. So Bucs rock star general manager Dominik is playing this one smart.

Here are some plays that Bucs third round draft pick, outside linebacker Mason Foster made against Nebraska this past winter. Joe likes how he is able to shed blockers, and Nebraska can friggin’ block. Joe’s good friend Justin Pawlowski of WDAE-AM 620 will be happy to learn this.

Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik has decided to go back to the PAC-10 to mine some more help on the defensive side of the ball, tagging Washington outside linebacker Mason Foster.

Foster is a tackling machine, second in the nation in tackles per game.

Joe doesn’t believe Dominik will spend a draft pick on a guy on the offensive side of the ball. Nor should he. Time to load up on linebackers and secondary help.

Hey, Joe’s all for any ballhawk linebacker. Dude that averages nine tackles a game can’t be too shabby.

In this less than quality St. Petersburg Times video, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik discusses why he pulled the trigger on defensive end Da’Quan Bowers and speaks at length to this issue of Bowers’ unstable knee.

One of the greatest truisms in football is that a good defensive line can make a mediocre secondary look good.

Now Joe’s not about to suggest the Bucs secondary is mediocre. Until this evening, it was the strongest unit on the team, sans Josh Freeman. Now Joe is convinced that the Falcons going out and getting Julio Jones will make no difference in Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik’s decision on whether to jettison troubled cornerback Aqib Talib.

Joe is of the opinion there won’t be much of a drop off if any at all if Talib is an ex-Bucs player in the coming weeks. Some suggested that the Dixie Chicks acquiring Jones sealed Talib’s job security with the Bucs.

With the selection of Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers, defensive ends each, along with current tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, potentially the Bucs have the strongest, youngest defensive front in football.

The way these guy should torment opposing quarterbacks, Joe expects the secondary to explode, with or without Talib.