Why the Buccaneers Should Covet the No. 1 Overall Pick in 2015 Draft

You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Tampa Bay zone. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers currently exist in a vortex where reality meets potential. 

Due to the ineptness of the NFC South, the Buccaneers are only three games behind the division-leading Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints despite a 2-11 record. If the NFL draft were held today, Tampa Bay would also hold the No. 1 overall pick.

No team should approach the end of its season with the intention of tanking the final few games. This isn't the NBA, and the Buccaneers aren't the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Buccaneers head coach Love Smith quashed any thought of the team simply evaluating its future during the final three games when he spoke with the media Wednesday, per the team's website: 

"

It would be pretty hard to tell the guys we’re looking to the 2015 season and we’re just going to start doing it that way. What I’ve talked to the team about is that you come to work, you try to win every week, so how could you do it any other way besides that? The future is not here right now. This is the 2014 season and we feel like we can get some things accomplished. With the organization we’re all on board with what we’re going to do on these last games now, whether that means looking at someone, if we look at someone it’s because we feel like they give us the best chance to win and we’ll see how that goes.

"

A three-game losing streak to complete the season shouldn't be viewed as a bad thing for the Buccaneers, though. It doesn't have to come at the expense of the team's overall growth. 

The organization can take areas from which to build into the offseason, even with a 2-14 overall record.

The play of defensive end Jacquies Smith, who was signed after the start of the season, is one of the team's bright spots. Rookie Mike Evans already developed into the level of wide receiver the team expected when it selected him with the seventh overall pick. Danny Lansanah emerged as a potential starter as an inside or outside linebacker. And Gerald McCoy, the team's best overall player, signed a seven-year, $98 million contract extension in October. 

These are the types of building blocks the Buccaneers already laid into place during the 2014 campaign.

Buccaneers quarterback Josh McCown even told reporters, via Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, that the competitive nature of these final games can be an experience the team learns from as it prepares for next season. 

"

[The other team] will bring a lot of juice because they’re in that mode and it will be a good opportunity for us to match that and feel that and kind of learn from ourselves. Even though you’re not in it – and the carrot is gone a little bit – you still feel the playoff intensity from those guys, because they’re playing for something, they’re trying to get ramped up. These reps of playing against a team that’s doing that will serve us well down the road. If we find ourselves in this position next year where we’re one of these teams [in the playoff hunt], we’ll be able to recall and go, 'You know, that’s what it feels like.' So, for the guys that remain on the team, I think it will serve that purpose.

"

All of this can be achieved whether Tampa Bay wins another game this season or not. 

Whereas the No. 1 overall pick provides the Buccaneers organization with a plethora of options that can serve the franchise well over the long haul. 

Three defining options will dominate the conversation if the Buccaneers secure the top pick in the 2015 NFL draft.

Draft top quarterback prospect

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Neither McCown nor Mike Glennon is the team's answer at quarterback. Smith also made it quite clear that he isn't interested in evaluating Glennon as the season wanes, per the Tampa Bay Times' Greg Auman: 

Smith will instead stick with his chosen quarterback even though McCown is only completing 51.7 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and five interceptions over the last three weeks.

The quarterback position is going down with the ship this season. It will be up to Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht to acquire the franchise quarterback the organization has lacked since it entered the NFL in 1976—sorry, Steve Young and Doug Williams don't count since their best years came with different teams. 

The Buccaneers spent a first-round pick on a quarterback four times during the organization's history. Miami's Vinny Testaverde was even the No. 1 overall selection in 1987. However, none of those previous picks lived up to their billing. 

Licht can't miss if he's given an opportunity to rewrite the team's history at quarterback. There are two options he'll consider. 

Oregon's Marcus Mariota is a finalist—and odds on favorite—for this year's Heisman Trophy. Mariota stands 6'4" and weighs nearly 220 pounds. He is also one of the most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks to play in college football over the last three seasons. This talented signal-caller from Honolulu, Hawaii, isn't a run-first quarterback, though. His decision-making is as good as any quarterback prospect in recent memory. 

ESPN ranks Mariota as its top quarterback in college football over the last 10 years: 

Mariota even shattered Oregon and Pac-12 conference records with 129 total touchdowns. The quarterback threw 101 touchdowns compared to a microscopic 12 interceptions. 

Mariota isn't without his faults, though. There are questions about his ability to throw into tight windows due to Oregon's quarterback-friendly system. His ball placement can be erratic. And he has a tendency to fumble the football when caught in traffic. 

Even if Mariota needs a year or two of seasoning—he won't turn 22 years old until October—before taking over a franchise as its starting signal-caller, the Oregon product has all the tools a team looks for in a franchise quarterback. 

Florida State's Jameis Winston will have a say in which quarterback will be the first selected. 

If the evaluation were based purely on Winston's 2013 campaign, he'd likely be taken first. During a Heisman Trophy campaign, Winston led his team to a 14-0 record and a national championship. The quarterback also completed 257 of 384 passes for 4,057 yards, 40 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. 

Winston's performance in 2014 has been a completely different story.

While the Seminoles remained undefeated for a second straight season, their quarterback's performance dropped off dramatically, particularly with his decision-making. Winston already threw 17 interceptions this season prior to the start of the College Football Playoff. Florida State and its quarterback continue to overcome these mistakes, but NFL decision-makers are slightly uneasy with the continued trend of poor choices. 

DraftInsider.net's Tony Pauline discussed the issue: 

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...talk with scouts or next level decision makers who watch the film in its entirety rather than the highlights and they’ll tell you Winston’s penchant for turning the ball over very disconcerting. Talent? Lots of it. Upside? An enormous amount. But also an equal amount of downside risk which is dangerous for any signal caller, especially one who seems to struggle controlling himself off the field.

"

When Winston's litany of off-field concerns are added to this combustible mix, the Buccaneers could lean toward Mariota as the safer option. 

If the Buccaneers chose to select a quarterback with the potential No. 1 overall pic, it's absolutely crucial the franchise finally gets it right. 

Draft top offensive lineman

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A quarterback may seem like an obvious solution to the Buccaneers' problem, but there are other options for the team to pursue. 

Multiple veteran quarterbacks—such as Cleveland's Brian Hoyer, Washington's Robert Griffin III, St. Louis' Sam Bradford and Philadelphia's Mark Sanchez—could be available during the offseason. The organization might prefer to sign a veteran option. It wouldn't preclude the Buccaneers from still selecting a top quarterback prospect, but there are enough concerns with both Mariota and Winston that a franchise like Tampa Bay may decide to shy away from making a bold decision. 

The safe choice, while still addressing a major need, would be to select the top offensive lineman in the draft. 

The options along the offensive line aren't quite as enticing as the previously discussed quarterbacks, but a few names can be considered. 

First, Iowa left tackle Brandon Scherff, who won this year's Outland Trophy as college football's best interior lineman, could add a completely different dynamic to the Buccaneers offense. This may be an odd statement in regards to the play of an offensive lineman, but Scherff brings the level of intensity and nastiness the Buccaneers were searching for when they traded for Logan Mankins. Scherff plays with a nasty demeanor, finishes his blocks and is a beast in the weight room—watch this, courtesy of CBSSports.com. 

Scherff isn't an ideal athlete on the blind side, though. The lineman plays with a little bit of stiffness in his hips, and it affects his lateral movement when pass-blocking. This would obviously devalue Scherff as a prospect, but he still has All-Pro potential at right tackle or even guard. 

If the Buccaneers are searching for a more athletic option at offensive tackle to replace Anthony Collins, who has disappointed after signing a five-year, $30 million contract in free agency, then Texas A&M's Cedric Ogbuehi or Notre Dame's Ronnie Stanley become intriguing targets. 

Ogbuehi is arguably the most athletic offensive lineman in this class. His movement skills in both his pass set and as a run-blocker are impressive. However, the one concern with Ogbuehi is he struggled with the transition from right to left tackle this season. The senior was eventually moved back to the strong side. If he can't seem to find a comfort level on the blind side, his overall value takes a hit, too. 

Stanley may be the best pure left tackle prospect in this year's draft class. He's athletic, long and displays ideal footwork to mirror pass-rushers at the next level. As a potential early entrant, the primary concern with Stanley is inconsistency. Notre Dame's left tackle can be a dominant pass-blocker at times. It's that potential that should have teams like the Buccaneers intrigued. 

An offensive lineman certainly wouldn't be a sexy pick, but the Buccaneers would be addressing one of the basic building blocks of a franchise. 

Top talent available

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Let's go a little deeper down the rabbit hole and consider a couple defensive studs that might be too enticing to let slip through the Buccaneers' needy fingers. 

Licht already invested heavily in the defensive line this year. McCoy is now one of the highest-paid defenders in the NFL. Defensive end Michael Johnson signed a five-year, $43.75 million contract in free agency. Clinton McDonald already receive a hefty four-year, $12 million agreement during the offseason. Plus, the team discovered Smith, who turned out to be a bigger presence at defensive end this season than Johnson.

There is a truism in the NFL that the Buccaneers would consider: "You can never have too many pass-rushers." 

Once the quarterbacks are taken out of the equation, Nebraska's Randy Gregory and USC's Leonard Williams are generally considered the top two prospects at this point in the evaluation process. 

Gregory has been slowed this season due to injuries, but he's a lithe and lanky athlete with a track record of getting to the quarterback. After transferring to Nebraska before the 2013 campaign, Gregory accumulated 17.5 sacks over the past two seasons. The junior edge-rusher is an ideal fit for Smith's beloved Cover 2 scheme due to his length (6'6", 240), speed and athleticism. 

Williams, meanwhile, plays a different style compared to Gregory. The USC product is an inside-out player with experience as both a 3-4 defensive end and a 4-3 defensive tackle. Williams is quick off the snap even at 6'5" and 300 pounds. He is also stout at the point of attack. Due to the escalating value of interior pressure, Williams is an intriguing option to play defensive end on running downs and then slide inside alongside McCoy to create havoc in the backfield during obvious passing downs. 

Smith's teams have always been built around defense. While the strength of the Buccaneers is already their defensive line, Tampa Bay can come at teams in waves next season and make it nearly impossible for opposing quarterbacks to get comfortable in the pocket.

Five teams enter, one team leaves

The abominable NFC South actually helps the Buccaneers in their quest to obtain the draft's top pick. Five teams currently own a 2-11 record. Tampa Bay's woeful percentage among opponents' win-loss differential has granted it the top spot at this point in time. 

However, one win in the final three games could easily knock the Buccaneers from No. 1 overall to anywhere among the top six picks. Tampa Bay is then at the mercy of the teams in front of them, and the franchise's options start to dwindle. 

Wins are always important for an NFL team. Something can be gained with each successful weekend. When a team, like the Buccaneers, is one of the league's worst, something can also be gained with each loss.

The future of the franchise could rest on where the Buccaneers eventually select during April's NFL draft. 

All salary information courtesy of Spotrac.com. Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.