The Buccaneers hit with some nice offensive players last April, but this time around the focus is going to be on the defensive side of the ball.  Here’s who I have the Bucs picking in my mock draft:

1st round (#20 overall) – Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri

2nd round (#51 overall) – Aaron Williams, CB, Texas

3rd round (#84 overall) – Jurrell Casey, OLB, USC

4th round (#116 overall) – Kelvin Sheppard, ILB, LSU

5th round (#151 overall) – Cheta Ozugwu, DE, Rice

6th round (#187 overall) – Anthony Allen, RB, Georgia Tech

7th round (#222 overall) – Jeron Johnson, S, Boise State

7th round (#238 overall) – Zac Etheridge, S, Auburn

Mission accomplished.  It the Bucs have a haul like this one next weekend, the rest of the NFC South is going to be in big, big trouble.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a very solid draft last April and that’s not even including guys like LeGarrette Blount, Al Woods and Dezmon Briscoe who were snapped up from other teams.  Here is a look at how the Bucs’ 2010 draft picks fared in 2010:

Gerald McCoy:  The Buccaneers took DT Gerald McCoy with the 3rd overall pick (1st round) out of Oklahoma.  McCoy played in 13 games (all starts) for the Bucs last year and he had 28 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, he defensed 4 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  McCoy has a huge upside as he will be part of the new foundation of the Bucs’ D.

Brian Price:  DT Brian Price came to the Bucs in the 2nd round (#35 overall) out of UCLA.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Bucs last year and he only had 3 tackles.  He was placed on I.R. early last year but the Bucs still like Price’s upside.

Arrelious Benn:  The Buccaneers took WR Arrelious Benn in the 2nd round (#39 overall) out of Illinois.  He played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Bucs last year and he caught 25 passes for 395 yards (15.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Benn also carried the ball 6 times for 35 yards (5.8 ypc) last year.  Benn tore his ACL during the Bucs’ week #16 game, so he might not be ready to help the Bucs much in 2011.  They like his upside though.

Myron Lewis:  CB Myron Lewis came to the Buccaneers in the 3rd round (#67 overall) out of Vanderbilt.  He played in 10 games (1 start) for the Bucs last year and he had 9 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  Lewis might have an increased role as early as next season due to the trouble that Aqib Talib is in.

Mike Williams:  The Bucs took a chance on WR Mike Williams in the 4th round (#101 overall) out of Syracuse.  He only slipped because of off the field issues but the Bucs weren’t scared off and they were rewarded big time because of it.  Williams played in 16 games (all starts) for the Buccaneers last year and he caught 65 passes for 964 yards (14.8 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Williams is going to be a Pro Bowl fixture as long as he keeps his head on straight.

Brent Bowden:  The Bucs took punter Brent Bowden in the 6th round (#172 overall) out of Virginia Tech.  Bowden didn’t even make it out of training camp before he was cut by the Bucs.

Cody Grimm:  Cody Grimm came to the Buccaneers in the 7th round (#210 overall) out of Virginia Tech.  Grimm played in 11 games (9 starts) for the Bucs last year and he had 57 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD) and he forced 1 fumble.  Grimm might win the starting job at free safety for the Bucs as he was impressive as a rookie in 2010.

Dekoda Watson:  The Buccaneers took OLB Dekoda Watson in the 7th round (#217 overall) out of Florida State.  He played in 15 games (1 start) for the Bucs last year and he had 30 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he defensed 1 pass.  Watson really played well late last year and he’s in position to get more P.T. in 2011.

Erik Lorig:  The Bucs took FB/TE Erik Lorig in the 7th round (#253 overall) out of Stanford last year.  He played in 9 games (1 start) for the Bucs last year and he caught 1 pass for 10 yards.  The Bucs like Lorig’s versatility so he’s going to have a good shot of making the roster again in 2011.

GRADE FOR 2010:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Buccaneers have lost 22-year old WR Arrelious Benn for the rest of the season due to a serious knee injury.  He has been placed on the Injured Reserve List.  Benn played in 15 games for the Buccaneers this year and the rookie caught 25 passes for 395 yards (15.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Benn was a 2nd round pick (#39 overall) last April out of Illinois and he was playing his best football of the year when he got hurt.  Benn has a nice upside and his role will likely expand next season for the Bucs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost 22-year old DT Gerald McCoy for the rest of the season due to a torn right triceps.  McCoy played in 12 games for the Bucs this year and he had 28 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 4 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  The Bucs will look to 23-year old rookie Al Woods or 25-year old Frank Okam to replace McCoy in the starting lineup.  Woods has played in 6 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has 10 tackles and 1/2 a sack.  Okam has yet to play in a game for the Bucs.  This is really going to hurt the Bucs’ run defense as McCoy was really starting to play well.

The Buccaneers have cut 23-year old rookie Brent Bowden and they have signed 28-year old rookie punter Chris Bryan.  Bowden was a sixth round pick out of Virginia Tech last April by the Bucs.  Bowden played in all 4 pre-season games for the Bucs and he didn’t look too good.  Bowden punted the ball 20 times for 729 yards (36.5 avg) during the pre-season for the Bucs.  Chris Bryan will be the new starting punter for the Bucs despite never playing football in college.  He played in all 4 pre-season games for the Packers this year and he punted the ball 8 times for 336 yards (42.0 avg).  This will be interesting to see how well Bryan punts when the real bullets fly this weekend against the Cleveland Browns.

The Buccaneers have picked DE Erik Lorig with the 253rd overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Lorig is 6’3″, 265 pounds and he runs a 4.9 40.  Lorig plays all out all of the time and that is the reason he likely got picked by the Bucs.  He played in 5 games (all starts) at Stanford last season in which he had 13 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, he had 1 sack, batted down one pass and he forced 1 fumble.  Lorig played in 41 games (25 starts) in his four years at Stanford in which he had 89 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, he had 8.5 sacks, batted down 4 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  This was another solid pick for the Bucs.

The Buccaneers have picked OLB Dekoda Watson with the 217th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Watson is 6’1″, 232 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40.  He is a outstanding athlete and he could very well be a steal for the Bucs.  He played in 13 games (12 starts) for Florida State last season in which he finished up with 65 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, he had 6.5 sacks and he broke up 1 pass.  Watson played in 45 games (32 starts) in his four years with the Seminoles in which he had 184 tackles, 32.5 tackles for a loss, he had 11.5 sacks, broke up 8 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Watson was another good value pick for the Bucs in the 7th round.

The Buccaneers have picked CB Cody Grimm with the 210th overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Grimm is 5’10′, 203 pounds and he runs a 4.59 40.  Grimm is a super aggressive safety who is a special teams dynamo.  Grimm had 106 tackles, he broke up 5 passes, had 12.5 tackles for a loss, has 4 sacks and he forced 7 fumbles.  Grimm finished up his 4 years with the Hokies with 214 tackles, 26.5 tackles for a loss, 11.5 sacks, he forced 9 fumbles, broke up 7 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Look for Grimm to be a core special teams player and maybe more for the Bucs down the road.

The Buccaneers have picked punter Brent Bowden out of Virginia Tech with the 172nd overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Bowden played in 13 games for the Hokies last season and he punted the ball 57 times for 2,495 yards (43.8 avg) and he placed the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 20 times (35.1%).  He played in 41 games in his time at Virginia Tech in which he punted the ball 214 times for 9,022 yards (42.2 avg) and he placed 72 punts (33.6%) inside the opposing 20-yard line.  Bowden will likely be the starting from day #1 for the Bucs and he has experience as a holder also.

The Buccaneers have picked WR Mike Williams out of Syracuse with the 101st overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Williams is a big guy at 6’2″, 205 pounds and he runs a 4.55 40.  While Williams is not the fastest receiver around he still finds ways to get open.  He is also a tenacious blocker on running plays.  He only dropped in the draft because of off-field issues but the Bucs’ brass seemed o.k. with it after they did their research on him.  Williams played in 7 games (all starts) for the Orangemen last season and he caught 49 passes for 746 yards (15.2 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Williams played in 29 games (22 starts) at Syracuse in which he caught 133 passes for 2,044 yards (15.4 avg) with 20 TD grabs.  Williams might step right into the starting lineup for the Bucs as they have a huge need at WR.