Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Top 10 Draft Mistakes in team history

2005: Drafting Cadillac Williams fifth overall

Like Bell, this is in no way a knock on Cadillac Williams’ skill as a running back. The guy was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2005 after all. Williams burst onto the scene with a powerful hard-nosed running style that the Tampa faithful has grown to love over the years. Unfortunately, he was never able to duplicate the success of his rookie season.

The primary reason for this Cadillac rolling downhill was thanks to that old devil hooch, the injury bug. Unfortunately, the position of running back is the one most often bitten by the bug, which is why drafting one so high is an absolutely colossal risk.

That risk didn’t exactly prove worth it for the Buccaneers especially when you consider this. The quarterbacks on the roster at the time were Brian Griese and Chris Simms. Now granted, they would go on to take the Bucs to the playoffs that season (along with Williams), with Griese playing very well before his injury, but there was no way of knowing that at the Draft.

Many thought they could use an upgrade at the position, especially when the best quarterback on the board was a little ballplayer by the name of Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers himself even thought he was Tampa bound, so with that miscalculation the decision to drive home the Cadillac from Radio City Music Hall deserves ranking here.