Buccaneers: Last Five Selections Made with Second Round Choice, Number 50

Who are the last five draft picks taken at number 50, the Buccaneers current second round position?

More from The Pewter Plank

• Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
• ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
• Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
• Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
• The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023

The second round of the NFL draft has taken the Buccaneers on a roller coaster in the past. It certainly did that last year, did it not? The same draft that brought us Noah Spence in the second round, also brought us Roberto Aguayo.

That’s a roller coaster that had quite the steep drop.

Go back another year and we saw Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet, two current starters on the offensive line. A year before that it was Austin Seferian-Jenkins, a talented player but too much trouble to keep around the roster. Now he is the headache of the New York Jets.

That is why it makes for interesting discussion to look back into the history of different draft picks. Yesterday, we reviewed the last five picks at number 19, the team’s first round choice. Today we move the trip down memory lane to round two.

Jason Licht and the Bucs currently hold the 50th overall selection in the second round. Today we are going to look back at the last five selections at number 50. We start once again with 2016.

2016: Nick Martin

In 2015, the Houston Texans fielded a very pedestrian offense, and it started up front with the offensive line. They allowed 36 sacks. The rushing offense was ranked 15th in the NFL, posting 108.2 yards per game. They gained 3.7 yards per carry, which is not a number that is going to impress anybody. Per Football Outsiders, the Texans line was outside the top ten in pass protection as well.

They needed help, so in comes Nick Martin with the 50th pick of the 2016 draft. Here are some thoughts from his draft profile:

"Loves to play the game as physically as he can. Plays with a mean streak and then some. Finishes a block with authority if he gets the advantage. Showed ability to anchor and play with strengths against power across from him…Three-year starter who possesses the leadership, intelligence and toughness that general managers and offensive line coaches look for from their centers. A season ending knee injury in 2013 might have taken away some of his natural bend and athleticism, but Martin’s play strength and toughness should make him an early starter in the league at either guard or center."

So here we have a player that the Texans were in need of, and were hopeful to get him into the starting lineup. Unfortunately for Houston, Martin never saw the field in 2016. An injury landed him on injured reserve, ending his season before it started. So obviously we cannot evaluate the success of the pick to this point.

2015: Ronald Darby

A lot has been said about coach Rex Ryan. No matter your opinion of him as a head coach, he has always been widely regarded as one of the best defensive minds in the game. So, when he left the New York Jets to head to Buffalo, New York, we knew he wouldn’t step away from what he does best. We knew he would look to build a defense in his image.

His first pick with the Bills came in the second round of the 2015 draft. With that pick came cornerback Ronald Darby. He was projected to go either in the second or third round, and here was the bottom line analysis from his draft profile:

"Cover corner with average size and outstanding speed. Has shown the instincts to play off coverage and the athleticism to play press. It is a bit of a concern that scouts and even opposing coaches have commented on Darby’s toughness, but he doesn’t have very many missed or broken tackles on his docket and his cover skills should be prioritized over his run support regardless. He clearly has starter’s ability at the position."

Darby did start right away, starting 15 games at the cornerback position as a rookie. He notched two interceptions, 21 passes defended and 68 total tackles. In a November matchup with the Miami Dolphins, he was all over the field, posting ten solo tackles.

Darby followed up in 2016 with 69 total tackles and 12 passes defended. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the second best cornerback in run defense with a grade of 86.3, higher than the likes of Aqib Talib and our own Brent Grimes.

Not bad for a second round pick.

2014: Jeremiah Attaochu

In 2014, the Chargers looked to add some beef to their linebackers, selecting Jeremiah Attaochu with the 50th selection. Here are his stats from his days at Georgia Tech (via Sports Reference):

San Diego clearly acquired an active college performer. He did not start right away, but he did register a strip sack and a blocked punt in his debut against the Arizona Cardinals. Attaochu’s best year to date came in 2015 when he started 12 out of 15 games. That year, he posted six sacks, 52 total tackles, a pass defended and a forced fumble. He registered two sacks in a game on two separate occasions, once against the Cleveland Browns and again against the Green Bay Packers.

Unfortunately, injuries limited Attaochu to just eight games in 2016, when he posted two sacks and seven tackles. When healthy, however, Jeremiah Attaochu is a quality linebacker that is around the football and can get to the quarterback.

2013: Jonathan Bostic

Ever the defensive coach, Bucs fan favorite Lovie Smith always wanted to bulk up his defense with the Bears. In 2012, he used his second round pick, number 50, to select linebacker Jonathan Bostic out of Florida. Let’s take a look at his college numbers, courtesy of Sports Reference:

The level makes no difference. Posting 94 tackles, ten for a loss, and three sacks, is a big season. 68 tackles his senior year is not too shabby either. Bostic was drafted to be part of that great Bears linebacker tradition.

Bostic played the most historic position on that Bears defense his rookie year, middle linebacker. He started nine games, posting 57 tackles and two sacks. He recorded an interception, becoming the first rookie linebacker to do so for Chicago since Lance Briggs. He didn’t post a sack in 2014 but increased his tackles to a career best 83.

In 2015 his career bottomed out a bit. He was traded to the New England Patriots, but only managed to see the field enough to post .5 tackles. In 2016, he was traded to the Detroit Lions, but ended up on injured reserve in September, ending his season before posting a single statistic.

2012: Isaiah Pead

We had to go back to 2012 to see the selection of a skilled position player on offense.

It’s no surprise that the Rams were looking for help at the running back position. After all, they were ranked 23rd in the NFL back in 2011. They averaged just over 104 yards per game and scored a “whopping” seven touchdowns on the ground. Despite 1,145 yards from Steven Jackson, the Rams needed help. After going defense in round one, they selected Isaiah Pead out of Cincinnati with the 50th overall choice.

Here are his stats from his days with the Bearcats (per Sports Reference):

At the Combine, he ran the forty yard dash in 4.47 seconds, and led the position with a Three-Cone Drill performance of 6.95 seconds. But something very telling came in his draft profile overview:

"Pead is an electrifying running back who has produced in all areas. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, make a guy miss and turn upfield for a score, or run inside the tackles. He uses his vision and athletic ability to find a hole. There are few question marks about Pead’s skill set; some may worry about his play transferring to the next level, as he has shown the tendency to disappear at time. Pead should be one of the first three backs taken in the draft, with second-round value."

This paragraph proved to be an excellent example of foreshadowing. Clearly Pead has talent but it just hasn’t translated at the NFL level. For his career, which has taken him from the Rams to the Miami Dolphins, he has carried the ball 27 times for 100 yards. That doesn’t make him much of a player in anything other than helmet holding.

It’s the draft, it happens.

Next: Bucs Pick Up Evans' Option

All in all, this position has not performed well of late. Hopefully, if the Bucs remain in it, they can buck the trend.