NFL Draft 2010: Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Are Under the Gun

Can you feel the pressure building up at One Buccaneer Place?

A week from tonight the questions that started at the end of the 2009 season may get some answers. Then again, there might be more questions.

Those who think the 2010 draft prospects are going to help the Bucs win this fall might want to take a quick look back at last year's draft class.

Simply put, the most productive Buccaneer rookie from that 2009 draft class was seventh round pick Sammie Stroughter. He was the peoples' darling of a wide receiver who managed to catch 31 balls for 334 yards and a touchdown and his crowning moment was that 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Carolina.

Other than Sammie, consider the rest:

Josh Freeman was finally thrown in the mix after Raheem Morris wasted all the OTAs and summer camp staring long and hard at Luke McCown and Byron Leftwich. The 17th pick made nine starts, passed for 1,855 yards had 10 TDs and 18 interceptions. He went 158 of 290.

He did the best he could, considering the circumstances.

Roy Miller played in 15 games, got one start, chalked up 54 tackles and had two sacks at defensive tackle.

Then it gets, well, unproductive.

Fifth round pick Xavier Fulton, the offensive tackle, went on injured reserve, September 5.

Seventh round pick cornerback E.J. Biggers , went on IR September 19.

Kyle Moore , the fourth round pick, played eight games at defensive end, had 14 tackles and no sacks. He was plagued by nagging injuries.

Get the picture?

It's been said more than once that rookies historically don't make huge contributions.

So what you'll have this season are more rookies and some largely inexperienced second year players on the roster.

By now the world knows that the Buccaneers are going young and in many cases, inexpensive.

But there will either be new hope next Thursday or a lot more controversy surrounding One Pewter Place.

Whatever the case, there will be perhaps six new faces on the 2010 roster to join last year's mixed bag.