Buccaneers Love Idea of Bills Moving Up to No. 3

Andrew Luck. Robert Griffin III.

That much is set in stone.

When the league starts the clock on the Minnesota Vikings Thursday, it’ll be the first time of night no one knows what’s coming. And this third pick in the draft is also the first time a decision can affect what happens with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Minnesota has been rumored in the last few weeks to have interest in USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil, wideout Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State, LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne and Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

The smart money’s been on Kalil, but then the Vikings started chirping about Claiborne.

Why that upsets the Bucs is because it’s common knowledge that Tampa Bay has its targeting system firmly locked in on either Claiborne or Richardson. There’s no way Richardson is going to get past Cleveland at No. 4, so Claiborne has been the topic du jour in Tampa.

When news broke—and I use the word “news” loosely, as I should have said rumor, or misdirection possibly—that Claiborne might come off the board before No. 5, the Tampa Bay contingent scrambled.

Should the team trade up to secure one of their coveted targets?

The Bucs might not have to.

Another rumor started gaining steam Thursday that the Buffalo Bills were looking to move up from their spot at No. 10 to the Vikings so the Bills could grab Kalil. That’d work nicely for the Bucs.

If Buffalo traded up to take Kalil, that would ensure that Tampa Bay would get either Richardson or Claiborne.

The flip side of that coin isn’t fun for the Bucs.

If the Vikings, or anyone who traded up to get that No. 3 pick, took Claiborne and then Cleveland landed Richardson, Tampa Bay would have to drastically alter its plans.

Kalil would be a nice fit to help protect young quarterback Josh Freeman. But that’s not really as much of a team need as corner. Blackmon would offer Freeman a great target opposite of newly acquired Vincent Jackson, but might that not be overkill without fixing a team need?

Tampa Bay could even switch gears altogether and grab linebacker Luke Kuechly from Boston College. Kuechly could instantly give the Buccaneers a 100-tackle option in the middle of the defense. That seems more important to the team than Kalil or Blackmon.

It’s all a guessing game at this point. At least until the Vikings hand in their pick.

At that point, Tampa Bay will have to get to work.