Draft preview - the offensive line I don’t know who said it first and even how it was even phrased but over the coming months we will hear it more times than any of us care to mention, but the NFL truly has no Off-Season. I’ll give you that the Season has finished but at what point does the NFL leave the sporting consciousness, is it when the Buccaneers season officially ends, is it when the Vince Lombardi Trophy is lifted or it could be the ten days between the Pro Bowl and the Indianapolis Combine. While I understand for some the Draft holds no interest for others, it is the one shining light in the middle of all that baseball. February 1st, was High School National Signing Day, where the top High School Prospects sign with one of many schools. I only bring this up because the day before Signing Day I heard a so called expert say that “if you don’t do well tomorrow [February 1st] then you probably won’t do well in the next few years”, while in the NFL it is not quite as dramatic because of free agency it is not far away. Yes we can all name NFL stars who have been picked in the late rounds Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, Ahman Green, Zach Thomas etc and equally we can all name countless draft busts (we contributed to a number of them) but somewhere in the middle of these two extremes you can find the foundations of successful NFL Franchise for example the 1995 or 1997 Buccaneers Drafts. I said I would write a article(s) for the site on the upcoming draft, but where to start I looked on our forum and at buccaneers.com’s forum and correct me if I’m wrong but according to some we need QB - Simms isn’t the answer WR - Galloway has to slow up soon and what happened to Clayton OL - Who drafted #67? DL - Rice has a high Cap number LB - We need to get an understudy to Brooks CB - Kelly has be burnt to many times FS/SS - Not the same without Lynch These are just some of the ‘draft needs’ mentioned on Buccaneers forums, well at least we are set at running back. As I began to write this I remembered the New England Patriots game and decided to focus this article on the offensive line. Center At the end of the NCAA season there were 3 Centre prospect who were projected to go around the 2-3rd round, Nick Mangold (Ohio State), Mike Degory (Florida) and Greg Eslinger (Minnesota) . All 3 of these centres have a similar problem they have all struggled with large Defensive Tackles for a variety of reasons but the main one would be that they are all undersized, which one of these can maintain there athleticism while increasing in size will probably be the most successful at the next level, with that in mind I would not draft Degory (and I’m a huge Florida Gators fan) his technique is very good but he just doesn’t appear to have the power and leg drive that scouts look for. Mangold may be the most talented at this position, he forced current Arizona Cardinal Alex Stepanovich to move to guard in Mangolds sophomore year if any of these centres is certain to go in the second round it would be him, very tough, good leader who just needs to get bigger. Eslinger also has size issues PFW said he looked like a pumped up linebacker. Wild Card Pick: Patrick Ross of Boston College was highly rated going into the season but fell off the radar some what, would be a late round pick at best but has everything you want in a centre. Offensive Guard The BIG Name at guard this year is Max Jean-Giles all 341 lbs of him, a couple of drafts ago the now Philadelphia Eagle Shawn Andrews was strongly linked with the Bucs well Max is very similar, has played tackle but will be a guard at the pro level as he struggles with anything resembling a speed pass rusher , and just like Andrews he needs to get his weight under control, he is a dominating lineman who’s draft stock has dropped in the second half of the season. Davin Joseph is a guard prospect that the Bucs are said to have kept an eye since he flirted with declaring last year, he’s strong , has long arms and has that nasty streak that all good offensive linemen have he looks like he wants to bury every DL in the ground he faces, I think that Joseph may be an interesting option but a lot depends on where he projects following the combine. Wild Card Pick: Deuce Lutui, okay not much of a wildcard here a starting lineman for one of the best offenses in college football, but the information on him is very sketchy at best some project him as a mid first rounder while some have him as a 3rd rounder, another guard prospect where weight could be an issue. Lutui pro day/combine should clear up which end of the first day he will end up. Tackles We have a trade… The Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade up to the 14th selection and select Kenyatta Walker of The University of Florida, as I said I’m a Gator and I was happy with this, but even as a Gator apologist I can’t make a case for this pick. So maybe we will try again at drafting a tackle in the first round. We are not going to draft D’Brickashaw Ferguson but he is still worth a mention, he is the premier tackle in this draft and one of the better in recent memory according to most scouting services he grades out considerably better than Robert Gallery did, Ferguson was probably a top 5 pick following his junior season and scouts have had all year to pick fault with him, dominated Mathias Kiwanuka at the senior bowl. Looking through the variety of mock drafts that inhabit the internet one of the names that keeps coming up in connection with the Bucs is Marcus McNeil I’m not sure if its just because he spent most of his college career blocking for Cadillac but they might have something here, if the coaching staff decide to go with a tackle this could be the guy, should still be available when the Bucs draft, played in a run first offense but the knock on McNeil has been that he lacks the required nasty streak for an NFL tackle and is not quite explosive enough, but going into the season he was rated as a top 15 talent. I also briefly mention Winston Justice here, the tackle out of USC, last year the draft fell in love with the Auburn Tigers with a number going off the board early the same may happen with the Trojans this year and I imagine Justice going mid way through the first round, a good tackle but much more suited to right tackle and at this point in the draft you are looking for a franchise left tackle. Wild Card Pick : Eric Winston, again I’m not going out on a limb here but towards the end of last season Winston was seen as a top 10 calibre tackle until he tore his ACL, when he returned to the Miami line-up he did not look the same and has fallen down many draft boards, if Winston can get back to his junior year standard of play he might be a very good value pick for one franchise. Well there you go, hope that wasn’t too painful. If there is not too much objection I may be back soon looking at other positions that the Bucs may draft. If anyone has any suggestions of positions or players to look at, all ideas (and criticisms) are welcome as I continue on a one man quest to embarrass myself come Draft Day Wayne Maw, February 2006