2013 NFL Draft: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Seven Round #MockThree Recap

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past couple of weeks, I got the chance to be an assistant GM for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Mockone.net‘s amazing #MockThree mock draft. This is a completely blogger and fan run mock draft where every team is represented, and the mock draft runs through all seven rounds, with GM’s able to trade picks and make selections for their teams. The experience was very interesting, and while it’s likely not representative of exactly what the NFL Draft is going to be like, it gives an idea of what every fanbase is looking for, and how things can potentially go if certain scenarios unfold.

Our GM was not afraid to make some deals, so we were able to shift around the draft a bit and pick up some players at more appropriate positions. Let’s recap the Buccaneers’ #MockThree draft and see how we did.

• Round One: We were able to trade down from the 13th pick to the 20th selection, because the 49ers were targeting Kenny Vaccaro to replace Dashon Goldson. The Niners moved up the board twice to snag Kenny, and that allowed us to move down to 20 and still grab a player we wanted. With the 20th pick, we selected Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington. He will come in right away and compete for a starting job at corner.
• Round Two: We saw a player fall to us in Round Two that we simply could not resist. Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State was available at our 2nd round selection, and we snatched him up to pair with Gerald McCoy in the middle. He’s a borderline first round talent, and we probably got him 10-20 picks after where he’ll go in the real draft. But if he does fall, I have to believe he’ll be a target for the Bucs this April.
• Round Two: That’s right, we’re in Round Two twice! As a draft room, we really wanted Gavin Escobar, TE from San Diego State. So we used the ammunition from the trade with the 49ers to move up into the second round and snag him. He would provide a pass catching threat from the tight end position, and has maybe the best receiving hands in the draft. We got him at the end of Round Two, but still had picks left to make.
• Round Three: We made two picks in Round Three, neither of which were the Buccaneers’ original pick in the round. Players were falling down the draft board, and we targeted them specifically rather than hoping they’d fall all the way to us. With the 23rd pick of the round, we selected Stedman Bailey, WR from West Virginia. The GM of the team in the mock draft loved Tavon Austin, and I had to talk him out of selecting him in the first round. But near the end of the third round, I was okay with taking the other West Virginia receiver. This was before the Bucs signed Kevin Ogletree, but I would expect Bailey to beat Ogletree and Tiquan Underwood and find a place as the third receiver in Tampa Bay. We then traded almost all of the rest of our picks in the 2013 mock draft to move back up into Round Three and selected Logan Ryan, CB from Rutgers. He had fallen way too far, and no one that would have been available with the picks in round four or later could have the same potential as Ryan. He’s a Schiano guy through and through, and gives more depth at corner.
• Round Six: We had one pick left, and we were able to grab Mike Gillislee, RB from Florida, at the bottom of the round. He’s a steady runner who is SEC battle-tested and provides a solid runner to spell Doug Martin from time to time.

In all of the wheeling and dealing, we also traded away a 5th round pick in 2014. But we wound up with 5 picks in the first three rounds, and they’re all filling needs on the team. Combine this mock draft with the real life signing of Dashon Goldson, and the Buccaneers would have virtually every need filled heading into 2013.

So what do you think of our mock draft? Let us know in the comment section below!