2012 NFL Draft: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Must Improve Dismal Draft Results

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold ownership of the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday, and while the first two picks ahead of them are well-known, picks No. 3 and No. 4 are clouded in mystery.

The Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns own the third and fourth picks, respectively, and smart money has any of four players coming off the board with these two picks: USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil, Alabama running back Trent Richardson, LSU corner Morris Claiborne and Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

Rumors have linked each of these four players to each of the two teams ahead of Tampa Bay, and to  make matters more confusing, Minnesota has announced that it would consider trading down in the draft, while Cleveland has actually done so twice in the last three years.

If I were betting on which team selected which player, there’s no way on earth I’d put money on the table with the third and fourth picks.

Instead of trying to forecast the early events of Thursday night, I’d rather talk about what the Buccaneers need to do regardless of who falls to them at the fifth pick.

According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, of all the draft picks Tampa Bay has made since 2009, only quarterback Josh Freeman has turned into a starter. General manager Mark Dominik admitted that the team has to do a better job at winning the draft. Dominik said:

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You have to go back and look at your draft classes. Our fourth-round pick was Kyle Moore. He's in the league (with the Bills) still. He was on a practice squad last year, so he's still playing. But you would want more.

"

If you need proof that Tampa Bay needs to start winning the draft game, look at the rest of the division. Since 2009, the Falcons have turned five picks into starters, the Saints six and Carolina turned three from last year's draft into starters.

The Buccaneers need to start moving some of their draft picks up the depth chart. But if Dominik is smart, and we all know that he is, he'll realize that he doesn't have to win with every pick this year for this year's depth chart.

It's safe to say that Tampa Bay isn't going to contend for the Super Bowl in 2012. There's no need for Dominik to go out this weekend and draft a starter with each of his picks. But a greater percentage have to turn into starters in 2013.

Adding free-agent wide receiver Vincent Jackson is going to help. So is getting a healthy defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (this will also increase Dominik's percentage) back into the starting lineup.

The Buccaneers are headed in the right direction.

Dominik needs to—especially with the fifth overall pick on Thursday—make the safest selection possible with the highest upside, regardless of position.

Whoever he picks in the first round must be a starter on the 2013 team. It'd be nice if more than one member of the 2012 draft class turned into a starter next season, but this first pick is terribly important.

I'm still not betting, but my money would be on Claiborne if I were putting it on the table.