Sep 11, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Aqib Talib (25) intercepts a pass and returns it 28 yards for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Here’s the early information, Stephen Holder, amongst a myriad of other reporters have written that the Vikings frankly aren’t all that enamored with Matt Kalil at three. Kalil is a monster tackle out of USC and the Vikings have a pressing need on their line so it does make sense that they would want to address it, but they also have a need at corner and they’ve at the very least insinuated they could take LSU corner Morris Claiborne, the Bucs’ (assumed) preferred target.

Now “rumors” are beginning to come out that Tampa may be willing to deal Talib to the Vikings to better their odds of landing Claiborne with the fifth pick.

I have rumors in quotations because this is being reported on as news by some Bucs sites, and it may be good info for all I know, but draft week is also a notorious time for misinformation and with the advent of Twitter, everyone’s got a “source.”

Here’s my take, and let me preface by saying this is little more than an educated opinion: That’s baseless.

The only way that deal works under the rationale provided is if the teams swap first round picks and that’s never going to happen.

The Bucs aren’t assured they will get Claiborne at five even with the deal. The problem is the Browns reside at four and could either trade the pick to another team or grab Claiborne themselves. No NFL team is honestly going to ship a corner of that caliber, even with baggage, to another team and then spend ten minutes sitting in the war room with their fingers crossed that the move pays off.

What happens if Claiborne’s not there at five?

Then you just traded your best corner (probably not for much), your targeted guy is already gone and you have to decide whether to reach for another corner (because at five Kirkpatrick is a reach) or you just made your already beleaguered secondary a lot worse.

No, I’m sorry as much as it makes sense, if Talib ends up in Minnesota it will be because the Vikings put together a good package, not to ensure Morris Claiborne…

Food For Thought

Though think about it, if Mark Dominik could work his magic he might be able to pull of a real draft day doozie.

IF the Bucs could convince the Vikings to take Talib and swap first rounders (the Bucs would likely need to throw another pick in too) then Tampa holds the best pick in the draft. One and two are decided on, Luck and RG3 have known they were the picks for over a month. But three is wide open and any team looking to move up knows that’s the slot to do it.

If Mark Dominik could swap the picks, toss up a smoke screen with Cleveland and get Miami GM Jeff Ireland convinced that Ryan Tannehill may not make it to 8, you could likely get the Fish to give up a bunch in order to jump those five spots and snag him. That would be a coup for Tampa who would then be able to add a couple extra quality picks. You still roll the dice on the corners but hey, at this point we’re living in fantasy land anyway so why not. This is never going to happen.

The one saving grace, both GM Rick Spielman of the Vikes and Ireland have one thing in common, they both ran the Miami Dolphins franchise into the ground as their head personnel guy. Ireland is still doing it. That means there’s hope. Nobody breeds front office incompetence like the Miami Dolphins.

Hit the phones, Mark.

Luke Stocker is the newest Buccaneer.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started Saturday off with a bold move, packaging their 116th pick and a 4th rounder in next year’s draft to swap picks and move up to 104. They then picked Luke Stocker, the big talented pass-catching Tight End out of Tennessee. The pick had formerly belonged to the Redskins and Eagles but the Bucs traded for it so they could grab a guy that could help the team at Tight End.

Stocker comes out of a pro-style offense as a true Tight End and has a better frame than a couple of the other guys already off the board. What he doesn’t possess is their athleticism. Stocker is a very talented pass-catching tight end, he makes a big target in the middle of the field and has very soft hands. He’ll also bail his quarterback out on a lot of bad throws, something that is huge for a tight end. After the catch Stocker is a load to bring down but lacks elusiveness and certainly won’t run away from anyone. But he will make a fantastic compliment to Kellen Winslow and a good target for Josh Freeman.

This is another solid move for the Buccaneers, they saw a player who could help them and hopped up to grab him. The 4th round pick next year is tough to give up, but I’m not all that disappointed to lose it when you get a solid player in return. Stocker won’t supplant Winslow, he’s being brought in to be the 2nd tight end, but he will be a contributor immediately. He needs to improve his blocking and add a little bit of strength and the coaches will need to work on his route-running, he does have a tendency to get lazy at times. But make no mistake about it, Stocker is a value in the 4th round and he will help the Bucs from the start. Now to get him a playbook… somehow…

Prince Amukamara is a player the Bucs might jump at.

The class of corners in this year’s draft is a bit thin, there’s a few very good ones and then things drop off considerably. If the Bucs are looking for someone that can play their rookie year and swim instead of sink, the pickings are thin. That’s why I’m skeptical of Rick Stroud‘s report the Bucs plan to cut Aqib Talib. Without free agency, with Ronde Barber aging and with a thin class of NFL-ready corners, whose going to replace him?

The Bucs aren’t going to have a shot at Patrick Peterson, the price is just too high to move into the top 3-5 picks and grab him. If he fell to the bottom half of the top ten the conversation would probably come up in the Bucs’ war room but that’s still a pretty high price. We can talk about that later. Going on the understanding Peterson is out of the picture though, there are two options, we looked at Jimmy Smith over the weekend, the other is Prince Amukamara.

Now, the Buccaneers aren’t going to have a shot at Amukamara at 20 unless the stars align. They won’t. But if Prince falls to 15, which still isn’t likely (though Pat Kirwan has the Dolphins selecting Amukamara at 15, trust me they won’t), things could get interesting. If Prince makes it to Miami at 15 the Dolphins are a team desperately looking to move down. The Brandon Marshall trade cost the Dolphins two second round picks, they pick 15th and then not again until round three. If the Bucs really are serious about moving on from Aqib Talib, Amukamara is a the kind of high-character, Ronde Barber-like replacement they would dream about. If that’s the Bucs’ plan they’d jump at the chance for an alpha corner like Prince Amukamara.

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