The 1979 Buccaneer draft review Rd Selection Pos 1 traded to Chicago for DE Wally Chambers 2 (from Oakland) Greg Roberts G 2 Gordon Jones WR 3 Jerry Eckwood RB 3 (from Houston) Reggie Lewis DE 3 (from Oakland) Rick Berns RB 4 traded to Detroit for T Rockne Freitas 5 traded to Seattle 5 (from Houston) Chuck Fusina QB 6 traded to Oakland for LB Rik Bonness 7 traded to Washington for WR Frank Grant 8 traded to NY Jets for OL Darrell Austin 8 (from Miami) Eugene Sanders DT 9 Henry Vereen WR 10 traded to San Francisco for TE Jim Obradovich 11 Bob Rippentrop TE 12 David Logan DT Click here to review the entire 1979 NFL draft The Bucs dealt the 4th overall selection to Chicago for Wally Chambers. They gained additional 2nd and 3rd round picks from Oakland in return for DT Dave Pear. They also had the extra 3rd and 5th round picks from the Houston trade in 1978. The 8th round pick from Miami came in return for DE Council Rudolph. 1 - traded to Chicago for DE Wally Chambers - poor trade Giving up your No.1 pick is always a risky business and this deal can be viewed in two ways. Would the Bucs have got to the championship game without Chambers? If no, then it was an OK deal. If they would, and I think they probably would for the impact he had on the team in his two seasons, then it was a bad trade. Chambers was a great player for the Bears in the mid 70s but was way past his best when this deal was made. 2 - G - Greg Roberts - Oklahoma - OK pick Played four seasons for the Bucs, albeit with one hampered by injury, and was a starter at guard for most of that time. Never a dominant lineman but a serviceable one from the selection anyway. 2 - WR - Gordon Jones - Pittsburgh - OK pick Had two seasons, 1980 and 1982, as a starting receiver for the Bucs, but the emergence of Kevin House and later Gerald Carter, made him expendable after four years in Tampa. 3 - RB - Jerry Eckwood - Arkansas - good pick Had three fairly successful years in Tampa and only the arrival of the best back in franchise history, James Wilder, saw an end to his playing days as a Buc. 3 - DE - Reggie Lewis - North Texas State - poor pick Never did break into the starting line-up in his two seasons in Tampa but the defense was a serious strength in depth at that time. 3 - RB - Rick Berns - Nebraska - poor pick Highly-rated coming out of college but never did anything major for the Bucs save one game against the Lions as a rookie. 4 - traded to Detroit for T Rockne Freitas - OK trade NFL veteran who played one season for the Bucs after a long and distinguished pro career. A 4th rounder for a year's rental is probably worth it even now. 5 - QB - Chuck Fusina - Penn State - OK pick Spent three years as Doug Williams's caddy and threw one TD pass amongst his five attempts. Went on to serious success in the USFL where he led the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars to two of the three championships and even played at Wembley Stadium. 6 - traded to Oakland for LB Rik Bonness - good trade Was primarily a special teamer for his three seasons with the Bucs, but to only give up a 6th round pick for that length of service and decent depth at linebacker, then it has to go down as a good deal for the Bucs. 7 - traded to Washington for WR Frank Grant - bad trade Mid-season deal done during 1978 for a receiver who played but half a season and had a grand total of eight receptions in that time including four starts. 8 - DT - Eugene Sanders - Texas A&M - One of the best late picks the Bucs have ever had. Sanders was converted to an offensive lineman in his second year and went on to start at tackle for the best part of three seasons in the 1980s. 9 - WR - Henry Vereen - UNLV -poor pick Never played a down for the Buccaneers. Had been a multi-purpose threat in college as a returner and receiver, but couldn't handle the switch to the pro game. Never played football in the NFL at all. 10 - traded to San Francisco for TE Jim Obradovich - good trade Became one of the main stays of the special teams for six seasons and was a solid No.2 tight end behind Jimmie Giles. 11 - TE - Bob Rippentrop - Fresno State - poor pick Never played a down for the Buccaneers - had been used extensively as a blocking tight end in college and had a grand total of four, yes four career receptions in his entire college time. Never played football in the NFL at all. 12 - DT - David Logan - Pittsburgh - superb pick What a fantastic selection - in the final round, the Bucs acquired their starting nose tackle for seven seasons and one of the finest people ever to play for the franchise. Summing up 1979 Only the trade for Wally Chambers can put a cloud on a very productive draft for the Bucs. Some necessary trades, some great late round selections, and fairly solid if not spectacular production from the early picks.