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ESPN Names Buccaneers’ Biggest Draft Bust

By James Yarcho

Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view as Carson Wentz (North Dakota State) is selected by the Philadelphia Eagles as the number two overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Anderson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view as Carson Wentz (North Dakota State) is selected by the Philadelphia Eagles as the number two overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Anderson-USA TODAY Sports /
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ESPN released a column naming every team’s biggest draft bust. When it came to the Buccaneers, their pick was a bust.

It’s easy to look back at previous drafts and determine where teams went wrong. Who they reached for, who they overlooked, and who they flat out whiffed on. There are plenty of misses in the Buccaneers’ up-and-down history.

ESPN released their choices for each team’s biggest bust, some of which are slam dunks. Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russel – the usual suspects. For a team like the Buccaneers, it’s a little more difficult. There have been a lot of misses. And as much as I love Jenna Laine, she missed on her pick;

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Bo Jackson.

Jenna explains;

"“The Bucs couldn’t have screwed this up any worse. Jackson was ruled ineligible during his senior baseball season at Auburn for accepting a plane trip from the Bucs to work out for the team. He has long felt the Bucs deliberately tried to make him ineligible, telling him that they had cleared his visit with the NCAA. He refused to play for Tampa and then-owner Hugh Culverhouse, who did not have a very good reputation for his treatment of players.”"

Maybe it’s just me, but the term “draft bust” should relate to a player’s performance. Bo Jackson didn’t have on-field issues – he was great in his short stint with the Raiders. The bust here was Hugh Culverhouse and his idiocy during the process.

Jackson told the Bucs not to draft him because he would never play for them, for Culverhouse. They did it anyway and missed out on an impact player. Instead of Jackson, the Bucs could’ve selected Tony Casillas, Jim Everett, Leslie O’Neal, or fellow running back Ronnie Harmon – all of which would go on to be Pro Bowlers.

Instead, Culverhouse’s ineptitude cost Jackson his senior season of baseball at Auburn and cost the Bucs a chance to have someone actually play on their team.

Next: Bucs Address Defense In Latest Pewter Plank Mock

Perhaps I’m just splitting hairs here, but I just can’t consider Bo Jackson the biggest draft bust in team history when he never put on the uniform because the owner was such a moron.

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