Draft preview - the defensive line Well its been a couple of years since #99 left town, Chris Hovan has since arrived and Dewayne White’s development has not been as rapid as some expected when he was drafted in the second round. This leaves the Buccaneers in a situation along the defensive line, it is full of big names, with big contracts (Rice in particular) at some point one or more of these Buccaneers may have to find employment elsewhere because of cap restrictions, there was a lot of talk on various sites that Rice was a likely cap casualty. So drafting a defensive lineman at some point would make sense because sometime soon this line could be either get to expensive or too old. Defensive End Mario Williams is obviously the premium end in the draft, this guy is a stronger version of Julius Peppers but unless the Bucs go and recreate the Ricky Williams scenario and trade all the draft picks to move up we wont be seeing Mario Williams in a Bucs jersey any time soon. There is however a large drop off from Williams to the next defensive end and there is also not a lot depth at the position either. Mathias Kiwanuka (Boston College) – The hype around Kiwanuka to the start the season was as high as any one not named Reggie Bush, but a high ankle sprain early in the season was a big set back he never looked as quick or as dangerous following the injury and therefore his health has become an issue. When he was healthy he was a disruptive force in the backfield on more than a few occasions he has been labelled a poor mans Simeon Rice maybe Mathias could be the long term replacement for Rice putting Kiwanuka in a defensive system already set up for his type of skills. Tamba Hali (Penn State) – He was recently converted from defensive tackle, and for me he really isn’t that impressive an undersized prospect who is athletically limited does not make for a valuable prospect but his name will floated around. Just don’t see him making a big impact at the next level. But he has a wonderful motor and never takes a play off. Hard working but not a natural fit for the Bucs. In draft projections he has been moving around from mid first round to the end of the second round. Unfortunately at end there isn’t much else to get excited about there are a few other names that will come up around draft day including Daryl Trapp (Virginia Tech) and Mark Anderson (Alabama) both of these ends draft stock went up because they got the better of D’Brickshaw Ferguson towards the end of the year but they both are limited in ability. The remaining notable names are better suited to a 3-4 defense such as Parys Harison (Tennessee) who is another example of large amount of defensive ends that are projected as pass rushing linebackers, in recent drafts the Bucs have not really looked for these however they have been looking at Manny Lawson who a lot of teams are interested in the problem with Lawson (and other hybrid de/olb’s) is the questions over his ability to take the pounding that playing defensive end in a 4-3. Defensive Tackle While the cupboard is a bit empty at defensive end defensive tackle looks to have a bit more promise. Haloti Ngata (Oregon) maybe the only tackle that is out of the reach of the Bucs, it sound like Buffalo have targeted Ngata so it is difficult to imagine him getting past them, great range and size but didn’t produce like his talent suggests he should. Claude Wroten (LSU) There is a good chance that Wroten is the most talented tackle in the draft. His attitude and arrest for drugs possession has turned a lot of teams off drafting him, because of this he will drop in the draft and could potentially be a steal in the 2nd or 3rd round. He is a great talent that lacks ideal size but character questions remain and were amplified by his interviews at the combine. If you can get past these he is certainly worth drafting. Gabe Watson (Michigan) If this guy was consistent he would be a first round lock, when he comes to play he can be as dominant as any tackle in college football, massive run stopper, the problem is that more often than not he looks like he wants to be somewhere else, if a coaching staff can get him to concentrate he is a star in the making. Probably more suited as a nose tackle. John McCargo (N.C State) Every year you see a prospect that very few people are talking about and you think you have found a late round steal and then you realise that everyone is thinking the same and trying to keep it quiet and it’s a question of who grabs him first as ‘information’ comes out as we approach draft day his stock has been rising. Well McCargo is this years version, he was one of the best kept secrets on one of colleges best defensive lines, would be a nice pick for the Bucs but might be rising to a first round pick by draft day which is much higher than originally projected. He is very fast and athletic who lacks discipline and at the moment just can’t play every down due to stamina issues. Jesse Mahelona (Tennessee) A star one of the better line in college he doesn’t have ideal size and will be a 4th or 5th rounder but this guy was built to play in the Buccaneers defensive scheme. Rumours have the teams that employ the same defence (e.g. Bears and Colts) looking at Mahelona in the late rounds. Last season in the SEC he made a lot of plays in the offensive backfield leading the conference in tackles for a loss. I like the depth at tackle this year, while your might not find a Pro Bowler late in the draft there is talent available and solid contributors who could help out any team. Other names to look for include:- Orien Harris (Miami) - Brother of 49ers draft pick Kwame, lacks size but versatile. Jonathan Lewis (Virginia Tech) - Solid hard working tackle, great burst but not quite tall enough. Tony McDaniel (Tennessee) - Very immature and reminds many of John Henderson, 2nd day pick. High risk/reward. Dusty Dvoracek (Oklahoma) - It’s a Chris Hovan clone, not quite a productive in college but not far off. On the defensive line there is enough depth to make picking one late in the day a valuable exercise. Good to see that we got a few compensation draft picks this year, with this years draft been deep there could be teams looking to move down to collect picks this year so a few extra can only help. Wayne Maw, April 2006