2nd Round (50th Overall)
DAN FEENEY – C, Indiana
This is the first time I’ve seen this particular player attached to the Bucs in draft discussion, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The team certainly needs to bolster the offensive line, and if they do draft Cook in the first round – they won’t – then they’d be wise to put some meat in front of him to provide him some lanes to run through.
Feeney is a 6’4” 304 lbs. mauler of a lineman who is mocked as a center here, but would almost assuredly be worked out as a guard for Tampa Bay.
With the retirement of Logan Mankins prior to the 2016 season this team went out and dropped some green on former Seahawks guard J.R. Sweezy who then injured his back before ever giving the organization a reason to believe he was the answer.
Now, he is planning on coming back, but if you’ve ever had or known someone dealing with back injuries then you know how certain he is to come back at the same level or for an extended period of time.
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Unfortunately, there’s a better than average chance Sweezy is about to become an expensive rotational player going on and off the injury report, so adding an interior lineman with some versatility is a good idea at this point.
Some notable players still on the board at the time of this selection are Jabrill Peppers, Budda Baker, Dede Westbrook and D’Onta Foreman.
With the first round pick going running back, obviously there’s no need for Foreman here, but any of these other three would cause a good amount of healthy debate inside the Bucs war room as Jason Licht figures out which name to write on the card.
I’m partial to Baker personally.