With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being the subject of this season of HBO’s Hard Knocks, get ready to barely get to know any of these players they should actually draft in favor of a handful of undrafted free agents that won’t even make the team. Still, with the Hard Knocks cameras rolling you might get a glimpse of the Bucs 2017 draft class… somewhere in the background of a scene with a kid falling down over her soon to be unemployed father’s cleats.
Tampa Bay was in the playoff race for most of last season, which should mean they’re just a few players away from breaking through. They have their full seven, seven-round picks available to add talent and depth. Unlike other teams, they don’t have a desperate need to get two or three starters out of this class, considering they’ve got solid guys at pretty much every position. That doesn’t mean they can’t get beaten out by a set of talented rookies.
The Buccaneers are in the enviable position of being a young, talented team that can take the best player available with no huge, glaring needs on their roster. I would say you can enjoy watching the new guys battle for position on Hard Knocks but somewhere out there right now, tossing hay bails on his father’s farm, there’s a Division III long snapper named Pud McTurdburger with just the cutest pet goat that will end up featured on about 60 percent of the show.
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Round 1, Pick 19: Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
2016: 34 tackles, seven for a loss, 1.5 sacks
McDowell was hurt some last season which took a toll on his stats, but not on his draft stock. As a sophomore he lived in the opponent’s backfield, recorded 13 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks. The Buccaneers already have Gerald McCoy and just added Chris Baker in free agency, but McDowell will probably be the best player on their board at this point and could beat Baker out as a starter before the year is up. McDowell is 6-6 and 295 pounds, in peak physical shape. He can play either tackle spot and even slide out to defensive end on rush downs.
Round 2, Pick 50: Marcus Williams, Safety, Utah
2016: 64 tackles, one for a loss, five interceptions, three passes defended, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles
The Bucs just locked up safety Chris Conte for two more seasons and upgraded their strong safety spot with J.J. Wilcox as a free agent. That still shouldn’t keep them from shopping for a serious upgrade on the other side. Enter Marcus Williams, the ballhawking safety out of Utah. Williams will push both starters immediately and probably usurp Conte’s starting spot midway through the season. At 6-1 and 195 pounds, he has the size and length to guard down the seam, especially against pass-catching tight ends.
Round 3, Pick 84: Antonio Garcia, OT, Troy
Again, the Bucs are looking for depth and guys to push starters in this draft and Garcia fits that molde. He started 36 of 37 games for Troy at left tackle, but probably projects more as a right tackle in the NFL. His performance on the blind side netted him a first-team All-Sun Belt nod last season. Garcia is a good athlete and a former star high school basketball player. At 6-6 and 302 pounds, he has the physical prototype size to fit the NFL mode.
Round 4, Pick 125: Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo
2016: 262 carries, 1,475 yards, 10 touchdowns, 41 receptions, 403 yards, one touchdown
The Buccaneers never know what they’re going to get from Doug Martin. When healthy, he’s almost guaranteed a 1,500 yard season. But those healthy seasons don’t seem to stack up back-to-back. It’s the reason Tampa Bay has invested in back up Jacquizz Rodgers and why they should be looking at a running back in this draft. While Rodgers and Martin bring similar size and skills to the position, Hunt is a much bigger dude at 6-0 and 225 and could provide some real thunder to the Bucs’ running attack.
Round 5, Pick 162: Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois
2016: 56 tackles, 15 for a loss, five sacks, one pass defense, two forced fumbles
Tampa Bay got decent production out of their defensive ends last season and obviously the plan is for 2015 second-round pick Noah Spence to play a starting role this season on the outside. The Buccaneers brought back William Gholston, who produced all of three sacks last season, showing they know they need an upgrade. Will Smoot be that guy? Probably not at first, but what he can be is a solid rotational guy and possible No. 2 rusher once the Buccaneers shed Gholston’s contract in a year.
Round 6, Pick 204: Ishmael Zamora, WR, Baylor
2016: 63 catches, 809 yards, eight touchdowns
The Bucs are set at starting wideout with Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson and even have their slot covered with Adam Humphries. That makes Zamora a No. 4 wideout that enables the Bucs to bring another 6-4, 215-pound frame into the game on third downs and in the red zone. Zamora averaged 12.8 yards per catch as a sophomore and 14.7 yards per catch as a freshman. Baylor doesn’t use an NFL route tree, but Zamora doesn’t need to know one to be effective as a rookie. He just needs a few signature plays to get open for 10-plus yards and score touchdowns.
Round 7, Pick 237: Jeremy Clark, CB, Michigan
2016: 11 tackles, two passes defended
Clark tore his left ACL early in the season and has been a spectator ever since. The injury and the lack of production drop him to the seventh round, but his 2015 tape shows a kid that can make plays in on a tough, Jim Harbaugh team. Clark had 21 tackles, three picks and three passes defended in 2015. At 6-3 and 220, he cuts an imposing figure in the secondary and is one of the few corners that can physically match up to some of the bigger receivers in the game. It should be a rare draft where a team doesn’t pick at least one corner, considering how often they play on special teams, but Clark is a guy that can pay big dividends as he continues to recover from his knee surgery.
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