2010 NFL Draft: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pick the Real Gerald McCoy

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did the right thing Thursday night.

They kept their third pick in the NFL draft and hopefully have taken the real McCoy.

That's Gerald McCoy, defensive tackle from Oklahoma.

He's the right man for this needy Buccaneer defense and that's because former Buc great Warren Sapp said he's the right man.

The Buccaneers, dead last in the pass-rushing stats in the league last year, were desperate for a three-technique player.

"The three-technique is the engine that makes it go," former Buccaneer head coach Jon Gruden told the ESPN panel just prior to the McCoy pick.

Sapp, who took a close look at Ndamukong Suh who went second to the Lions, said McCoy fits the Buccaneer scheme better than Suh would.

Here's why:

A three-technique player lines up on the offensive lineman's inside shoulder and needs to have a variety of moves to get into the opposition's backfield.

Suh played head-up on linemen and would use both hands to grab offensive linemen. He had only one move, a bull rush. He would push linemen into their own backfield or throw them out of the way. It will be difficult for him to do that against NFL linemen.

McCoy, like Sapp did, uses his quickness off the ball to penetrate.

Sapp's signature move during his Buc days was the "ghost" move. He was so quick with it, that you needed to watch film in slow motion to see his technique.

Surely the Bucs are hoping that McCoy might learn that move from Sapp.

McCoy showed plenty of emotion Thursday night. He squirmed and looked anxious prior to the third pick. When his name was called by commissioner Roger Goodell, tears flowed down his face.

Surely he was thinking of his deceased mother, who did not live to see this most exciting night of his young life.

Goodell opened the night, referring to the draft by saying, "It's about hopes and dreams."

Now, McCoy's dreams have come to fruition.

He now faces the task of providing hope for Buccaneer fans through his performance on the field.