Buccaneers: Five Biggest Draft Steals in Franchise History
1. Ronde Barber
If a guy going to the Hall of Fame as a third round selection isn’t a steal, I don’t know what is.
Like Lynch, this man doesn’t need a lot of introduction. Ronde Barber was drafted in the third round of the 1997 draft with the 66th overall selection. He stayed with the Bucs through the thick and the very thin, spending his entire career in Tampa until he retired after the 2012 season.
He started nine games in 1998, recording the first two interceptions of his storied career. He started 15 in 1999 and then all 16 in the year 2000. That year he earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in week two. That day against the Bears he recorded three tackles, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a score (retrieved from Wikipedia). Barber also posted at least 70 tackles each year starting in 1998.
In 2001 he was selected to his first Pro Bowl and his first All-Pro team. (He would be selected to the Pro Bowl four more times and All-Pro twice more). Barber was dominant in 2001, leading the league with ten interceptions. In a December win over the division rival Saints, Barber notched three of his ten interceptions, including a pick six.
The following year, Barber came up in the NFC Championship game. That day he took an interception 92 yards to the house to cement the 27-10 victory over the Eagles and send the Bucs to their eventual Super Bowl title.
For his great career, Barber racked up 1,231 total tackles, 28 sacks, 47 interceptions, 166 passes defended, 15 forced fumbles and 12 fumble recoveries.
Easily our number one steal, number twenty, Ronde Barber!
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Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless otherwise noted.