It will be hard to gauge last April’s draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until down the road a bit
The Buccaneers wanted to bring 1st round pick (#17 overall) QB Josh Freeman (out of Kansas State) along slow last season but they couldn’t. With Byron Leftwich hurting and Josh Johnson failing the Bucs just threw Freeman into the fire. He played in 10 games for the Buccaneers last season and he completed 159 of 291 passes (54.6%) for 1,857 yards with 10 TD passes and 18 INTs (59.9 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 30 times for 161 yards (5.4 ypc) last season for the Bucs. If Freeman takes better care of the football he could turn into a really good QB for the Bucs because he has great arm strength and he is a great runner. The 2nd best pick of the Bucs’ last draft wasn’t until the 7th round (#233 overall) when they selected WR/KR/PR Sammie Stroughter. He played in 13 games for the Bucs before his season ending with a injury and he caught 31 passes for 334 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab. Stroughter also returned 11 kickoffs for 324 yards (29.5 avg) with a 97-yard TD return. He also returned 12 punts for 119 yards (9.9 avg) and he made 2 tackles on special teams. He is a solid all-around football player for the Bucs and he has a bright future for them. DT Roy Miller was taken in the third round (#81 overall) out of Texas. He played in 15 games for the Buccaneers last season and he made 33 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks and he defensed 1 pass. Miller could develop into a starter down the line for the Bucs. DE Kyle Moore was picked in the 4th round (#117 overall) out of USC and he played in 8 games in which he made 10 tackles and he defensed 1 pass. OT Xavier Fulton out of Illinois (5th round, #155 overall) spent his rookie season on I.R. CB E.J. Biggers (7th round, #217 overall) out of Western Michigan did not get on the field as a rookie last year.
GRADE FOR 2009: C
GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: B
