Everyone can analyze the Bucs’ draft 20 different ways, but it’s very clear the Bucs made at least one bold statement: the team is happy returning its 2010 offense.

It’s interesting, considering the Bucs were 20th in the NFL last year in points scored and 19th in total yards, even with Josh Freeman have a stunning season through the air and on the ground.

The Bucs didn’t address the offense until halfway through the draft. Fourth-round pick Luke Stocker seems to be a solid player, but Kellen Winslow is still the go-to guy in the passing game, and there’s no reason to think that’s going to change. And sixth-round running back Allen Bradford has about zero chance of being a starter.

Obviously, the Bucs envision Freeman, the receivers, LeGarrette Blount and the offense improving from experience, but that’s hardly a given. 

The odds of the Bucs adding a skill position player in free agency seem about as likely has Joe dating Bucs cheerleaders, so this is it. There’s a lot riding on Freeman and Blount’s big shoulders.

Popular sports radio personality Adam Schein is driving the Bucs bandwagon through Manhattan with FoxSports.com’s Peter Schrager riding shotgun in this FoxSports.com video.

Another positive element of the Bucs drafting Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn is that, per widely excepted perception, Iowa is a well-coached team.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz comes from the Bill Belicheat family coaching tree, having coached with Belicheat when Belicheat coached the Cleveland Browns. This, per Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register, Clayborn’s coaching at Iowa helped Clayborn overcome a substandard senior season to become a first round pick.

Clayborn was the fifth first-round selection from Iowa since Ferentz became the coach in 1999, and the second in as many years. Offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga was the 23rd player selected last season, by the Green Bay Packers.

“I’ve had general managers tell me in the past that when you draft an Iowa player, it’s like getting a second-year pro,” said former Iowa player Matt Bowen, a writer for the National Football Post. “You’re getting players who have already played in pro offensive and defensive schemes when you draft Iowa guys.”

Well, certainly this is a plus for Joe. The thing that will be very interesting to Joe is how the two new defensive line coaches the Bucs hired coach up these young guys, including Gerald McCoy and Brian Price.

Joe just has a hunch that Clayborn had better coaching at Iowa than Todd Wash provided to the Bucs the past two seasons.

Reggie Eller is a Bucs fan who owns a website “Plant the Spear,” and is a hardcore Florida State fan who covers Florida State football like Joe someday wants to blanket himself around Rachel Watson. Eller was giddy the Bucs drafted Clemson defenisve end Da’Quan Bowers not just because he’s a Bucs fan, but also because Florida State won’t have to face the guy again.

Here, Eller decribes what a terror Bowers was against a pretty fair offensive line the Seminoles had. He also provided some screengrabs of Clemson against Florida State to demonstrate how often Bowers was in the Seminoles backfield.

By Reggie Eller
PlantTheSpear.com
When the Clemson Tigers came to Tallahassee on Nov. 13, I was able to see Da’Quan Bowers up close and personal and the talent he brought really jumped out at me.

The first thing I noticed with Da’Quan Bowers is his size and tremendous bulk at the defensive end position. He is a prototypical 4-3 defensive end and has always shown great instincts when playing the position — even back in high school.

When he lined up against Florida State — honestly the only times he was stopped with any consistency was when he was held. Bowers managed to push around around offensive lineman Zebrie Sanders as well as anyone else he lined up against.

Bowers always managed to get good penetration on the offense against Florida State, not only with his excellent hands, but a stellar burst off the ball (even injured), as well as good leverage at, before, and after the contact point. His bread and butter is the pass rush, but he sometimes gets overlooked for his excellent rush defense as well which he was able to show off versus Florida State.

At the time of the Florida State game this past season, Bowers’ knee already had been injured, and looking back on that assuming he can get back healthy, this pick by the Buccaneers may be the steal people are talking about years from now. I say that because Da’Quan still showed great lateral movement, good closing speed, the ability to penetrate a very good offensive line in FSU, great agility, and no problem with change of direction.

Da’Quan is a guy who anchors really well, and even going up against a solid offensive lineman, Bowers has some of the best disengaging technique I have seen in a long time from a DE.

Da’Quan finished the game versus FSU with nine tackles, six of which were solo, a sack, and an interception.

The kudos continue to pour in for Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, as NFL fans largely veg on the couch today after three days of non-stop football chatter. It’s like it’s New Years Day and nursing an ugly hangover soaking up college football (only Joe is enjoying the Rays).

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com is on board with all the accolades Dominik is receiving after looking over what the Bucs did the past three days.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Best pick: Getting Da’Quan Bowers in the second round will be a huge steal if the medical holds up. I love the risk. Wow.

Questionable move: Taking Bowers. Because, then again, it could blow up in their faces.

Third-day gem: Safety Ahmad Black, the team’s fifth-round pick, is small for his position but he’s a heck of a football player. He should be able to excel on special teams as a rookie.

Analysis: For the third straight year, the Bucs hit big in the draft. General manager Mark Dominik is building something special down there. The first two picks of ends Adrian Clayborn and Bowers means Tampa Bay has used four premium picks on the line in the past two years.

Grade: A

Of course, it’s way too premature to judge if Dominik hit an 80-yard bomb this weekend or if he had a pass returned for a pick-six. The key to how huge this draft will be is Bowers.

As Pat Kirwan said yesterday on Sirius NFL Radio, if someone told you that you would only have Bowers for four years due to his gimpy knee but those four years would be lights out seasons, you couldn’t sign him quickly enough.

He sucks. He’s great. He’s an irreplaceable cog in the Bucs defense. He’s softer than natural breasts.

There are so many opinions on Barrett Ruud, easily the most polarizing figure among Bucs fans. Not since blocking icon Michael Clayton left the building has a player risen the blood pressure of so many.

St. Pete Times beat writer Stephen Holder threw more gasoline on the debate today speculating that Bucs third-round pick Mason Foster might have been drafted as Ruud’s replacement.

The selection of Washington linebacker Mason Foster in the third round was billed by the team as a choice that gives the Bucs numerous options. And this seems apparent given the fact Foster literally played all three linebacker positions for the Huskies as well as showing a great deal of edge rush ability.

But here’s a window into the Bucs’ thinking on Foster: They intend to use him as a middle linebacker. That’s the team’s intent right now, and it doesn’t bode well for Barrett Ruud. We can’t say that any decision has been made on Ruud, who will be a free agent whenever the NFL re-opens for business.

But here’s the thing: At minimum, even if the Bucs intend to re-sign Ruud, they had to protect themselves against losing him on the open market. By selecting Foster, the Bucs feel they’ve done that.

Of course, what makes Holder’s premise a bit difficult to completely accept is his beat comrade at the Times, Rick Stroud, just explained Raheem Morris “loves” Ruud. Which is it, guys? And Mark Dominik has talked over and over again how the Bucs’ core beliefs include re-signing their own free agents, and Ruud is one of those guys.

Joe likes the Foster pick, but for those who hope he’s going to walk in and be an upgrade from Ruud, that’s a tall order for a late third-round pick, or for Tyron McKenzie, the former Patriots third-rounder waiting in the wings.

The reason why Joe refers to Bucs general manager Mark Dominik as a rock star is because at one point late last season he was so sought after by national media types as a guest on various radio and TV shows that it was as if he was a rock star.

The way things are going, he’s reaching Eddie Van Halen status.

Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com, writing for CBSSports.com, is of the mind that Dominik is among the elite general managers in the NFL based upon this weekend’s draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A-

The Bucs entered the 2011 draft desperately needing to find pass rushers; Stylez White led the team last year with 4.5 sacks. In adding Iowa’s Adrian Clayborn in the first round, the Bucs seemed to ease their concerns. They may have eliminated them entirely in the second round by taking the gamble on Clemson’s Da’Quan Bowers returning to the form that saw him register a nation-leading 15.5 sacks last year. Statistical production was clearly important to the Bucs on draft day, as they added Washington linebacker Mason Foster – who racked up more solo and total tackles last year than any other player in the draft. With local products in Florida safety Ahmad Black and Florida International cornerback Anthony Gaiter on the third day, the Bucs not only appealed to their fans, but added playmakers to their secondary. The 2011 class proved that Mark Dominik (and his staff) is indeed one of the true rising stars in the talent evaluation business. Only Bowers’ medical concerns keep this from ranking among the elite draft classes.

Now time will tell if Clayborn and Bowers work out. Yeah, there’s risk there. But as Pat Kirwan of Sirius NFL Radio said yesterday about those two draft picks, think Nick Saban wishes he wouldn’t have passed on Drew Brees?

Bucs coach Raheem Morris talks about a variety of subjects in this BSPN video with Suzy Kolber, mainly about the Bucs top two draft picks but also about the Aqib Talib issue.

Rockstar general manager Mark Dominik loves to draft those college captains. Hell, all but two of the Bucs’ 2011 draft picks were team captains, men of high character and responsibility who garnered the ultimate respect of players and coaches. 

It’s a key measuring stick, Dominik explained to the media after the close of the draft Saturday.

“It is important to us. We look at that as a level of respect within a university, certainly within a team, certainly within the coaching staff. Anybody that’s got that kind of mentality, anybody’s got that kind of tag to him, deserves an extra bit of scrutiny in the right way,” Dominik said.

During a rare and interesting interview by Scott Smith, video master of Buccaneers.com, he put a camera and a microphone in front of two Buccaneers scouts and hit them with questions right after the close of the fifth round Saturday.

Scott Smith:  That’s 5-for-5 on team captains [in the first five picks]. Is that apparently something important to you guys?

Brian Hudspeth, Buccaneers South region scout: “Absolutely. Leadership’s important to us and high character kids. These are the kids we’re kind of targeting. And these are the guys we want on our team. Leadership is important; it’s kind of the glue that holds the whole thing together here. Ahmad [Black] is another one of those guys, along with Mason [Foster]. So these are guys that are really going to help us down the road.”

This captain-lover philosophy is nothing new for Dominik, but Joe finds it interesting to hear just how much weight a college player’s captaincy is given.

Back in 2008, the junior captain of the 12-1 Kansas Jayhawks was selected by the Bucs in the first round. That would be Aqib Talib.

Sure, Talib’s an unstable, unreliable teammate mired under a cloud of a felony assault charge, but there’s an awful lot of positive there, too. Kevin Carter talked about Talib’s upside last week. Jeff Faine’s on the record, as well, and so is Ronde Barber. And then there’s the NFL Alumni association that voted Talib its defensive back of the year a few months ago.

Yes, Joe is quite certain Dominik hasn’t made any sort of decision about the former Jayhawks captain.

Here are some video highlights of the Bucs final selection of the 2011 draft, tight end Daniel Hardy of Idaho.

The Bucs’ brass says it wants to build through the draft and treat free agency as a last resort. They speak of free agency as if dabbling seriously in it is like admitting to owning a frequent diver card at the Mustang Ranch.

Therefore, the Bucs’ offensive linemen and receiving corps should be breathing very easily right now. The Bucs didn’t draft an O-lineman or a wideout in the 2011 draft.

Joe believes this is a strong clue the Bucs think the NFL is likely to play the 2011 season under the 2010 league rules. If that’s the case, then the Bucs would have already locked up Jeremy Trueblood and Davin Joseph with restricted free agent tenders. And with Donald Penn, Ted Larsen, James Lee, Jeremy Zuttah, Jeff Faine,  Brandon Carter and Derek Hardman, plus Demar Dotson returning from injury, the Bucs are darn deep at the position.

As for wide receiver, rock star general manager Mark Dominik already told Justin “The Commish” Pawlowski, during an exclusive interview for WDAE-AM 620, that Arrelious Benn has made a miraculous recovery from his ACL surgery and his ready to take the field.  

Since free agency is The Great Satan, Joe assumes the Bucs like their receiving corps. Rightfully so.

Not just satisfied with picking a tight end who shined in the SEC, the Bucs, with their final pick of the draft, select a tight end for Idaho which plays in the WAC.

Daniel Hardy is the newest Bucs tight end with the second pick of the seventh round.

The positives about Hardy? He’s a good receiver and can exploit creases in the middle and he’s very good at catching passes in traffic.

The negatives about Hardy? He can’t block very well. And he’s not very fast so separation is an issue.

Here is his combine video courtesy of NFL.com.

For those swept away by draft mania the last handful of days, the heinous NFL lockout has returned temporarily courtesy of the courts, meaning no undrafted free agents will be signed today at the close of the seventh round.

The lockout prohibits anything player-related outside of the draft. 

That means Joe gets to drink large quantities of beer and not worry about the Bucs signing new players tonight.

But it also probably puts Mark Dominik at a slight disadvantage. His preparation seems to let him excel at these off-the-street signings, and more time for the competition to figure out the market won’t do Dominik any favors.

The Bucs again drafted a defensive back in their second-to-last pick of the draft with Anthony Gaitor from Florida International.

How far down the radar are teams in their selections in the seventh round? Gaitor didn’t participate in the NFL combine.

Gaitor is originally from Miami and was this season an All-Sun Belt Conference first team member as both a junior and a sophomore. He had 45 tackles as a junior and 52 last season.

The kid is a burner and wanted to play for the Bucs, so reported the Miami Herald this week.

Gaitor wowed scouts at FIU’s pro day by running a 4.45-second 40-yard dash, prompting talent evaluators to give his collegiate game tape a second look.

What they saw was a player who held Troy wideout Jerrel Jernigan, who could be drafted as high as the second round, to just 32 receiving yards in a crucial FIU road win.

Gaitor also limited Toledo All-American Eric Page to just five catches for 24 yards in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in December — his final game in an FIU uniform.

Since the season ended, Gaitor has drawn the interest from the Dolphins, Bears and Jaguars, among others. But if Gaitors had his druthers, the Buccaneers, who also had him in for a visit, would take him. And preferably earlier rather than later.

“He has tremendous instincts on the defensive side of the ball,” FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. “A tremendous ability to cover. In the NFL, you have to be tough enough to take on the backs. Gaitor is that.”

Per the Herald story, Gaitor projects to be a nickel corner. The Bucs have plenty of those, but maybe Raheem Morris sees something special.

Joe dug up some background on “Monster” Allen Bradford, the Bucs’ sixth round pick today.

Bradford, as you can see in the video linked in the first sentence, is a linebacker playing running back and is expected to be a between-the-tackles kind of guy, specifically in short-yardage situations. In the NFL, his skills are pretty much a one-trick pony: pound the rock.

His problem is that too often he thinks he is Reggie Bush and is not nearly as elusive, nor does he have the hands to catch the ball effectively out of the backfield. Here is his combine workout video from NFL.com.

Here are some highlights courtesy of FoxSports.com of Bucs sixth round pick Allen Bradford. For a guy who is 5-11, 242, dude has some wheels.

From the west coast of the east coast, the Bucs decide to pluck a running back from the left coast.

In the sixth round with their sixth pick of the draft, Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik picks up a running back from USC, Allen Bradford.

Though Bradford wasn’t the leading rusher for the Trojans, he did have the highest yards-per-rush average with 7.2 yards a carry and scored five touchdowns playing in an NFL-style offense under Lane Kiffin.

Pete Carroll once said of Bradford, from the USC website: “You can see his explosiveness, the great hand-eye coordination he has and the big plays in him…He’s really a stud. He’s tough, he’s physical, he plays hard every day, he won’t back down from any challenge. The players respect him because they know he’s hard as nails and brings it. It’s a quiet toughness.”

The Bay area’s most astute Buccaneers analyst, former Bucs DE Steve White (1996-2001), has put his Twitter stamp of approval on the Tampa Bay’s fifth round pick, undersized and speed-challenged Ahmad Black from the University of Florida.

White’s running commentary on select draft picks included this:

@sgw94 Ahmad Black. Like the pick becuz he’s productive. Also you can hide speed deficit some with cover 2. Safety is definitely a need

If Black’s the smart, instinctive player he seems to be, the Bucs probably didn’t go wrong. Joe’s research also uncovered praise for Black’s future value on special teams.

On a side note, Joe’s also raising a cold beer in hopes that White resumes pounding out incredible Bucs analysis on his blog. C’mon, Steve. We’re aching for some of that meaty stuff.

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?