Tampa Bay's Best Picks: The Top Ten First Round Selections in Bucs' History
Amidst the looming possibility of an NFL lockout transpiring in the coming week, the NFL draft will still go on, with the same long rounds as usual, filled with plenty of trips to the fridge while Mel Kiper talks about a pick you couldn't care less about.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their draft will most likely consist of a defensive end early, or maybe an outside linebacker. Maybe even both or a hybrid of the two.
The Bucs have had many first-rounders miss rather than hit over the years, but have also drafted a Hall-of-Famer and a couple of future Canton members in the first round of the draft.
Here's a look back at the ten best players to ever be drafted in the opening round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and have success in a Bucs uniform ( no, Bo Jackson doesn't make the list). Here are the ten.
10. Anthony "Booger" McFarland
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"Booger", as everyone called him, was the Bucs first selection in the 1999 draft, and quickly became another big piece to Bucs' defense that could puzzle any opposing offense.
The fact that McFarland only had 188 tackles and 22.5 sacks during his career does him no justice to what he really meant to the Buccaneers.
He was a run stopper, who could clog open holes for running backs quickly, and also took two men to keep him contained, which often led to Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice, or other defensive lineman to get pressure on a quarterback.
McFarland won two rings, a Super Bowl with the Bucs in the 2002 season, and another a few years later with the Colts.
Though Sapp worthily got most of the attention in the middle of the Bucs' defensive line, there was no doubting that Anthony "Booger" McFarland's big body had a big impact.
9. Trent Dilfer
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Now hold on a second, don't bash me in the ground just yet. While I believe Trent Dilfer wasn't the quarterback everyone thought he would be when he was chosen sixth overall in 1994, he still can be considered a top three or four QB to ever take snaps for Tampa Bay.
Doug Williams never made a pro bowl for the Bucs. Neither did Vinny Testaverde. Josh Freeman's only been an alternate. Brad Johnson made one, but wasn't drafted by the Bucs.
Dilfer had a horrible first year campaign in which he (hold your lunch) threw for four touchdowns and 18, yes I said 18, interceptions. But the next year, thanks in part to Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott, Dilfer produced a 19 touchdown and five interception season, thereby giving him a ticket to Honolulu.
He became the first Buc QB to go to the Pro Bowl in 1996. He would play six seasons in Tampa, but won a Super Bowl after with the Baltimore Ravens.
So while times may have been more on the bad side than the good while he was here, and many would consider him a bust, it's not like many other QBs to walk through One Buc Place were any better.
8. Josh Freeman
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Am I jumping the gun a little bit here? Maybe so. But I have confidence in putting Freeman here. After the season he had, it's hard not to.
Even though that's what it was, just one season, it's clear to see that this isn't a one time deal for the young Freeman. He ended up a Pro Bowl alternate for this season, in which he threw for 25 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
I had my doubts when he was drafted 17th overall in the 2009 draft, and just as many when he started a bit rough in his rookie season. But he seemed to grow before our eyes this past season, on his way to passing for close to 3,500 yards.
His 95.9 QB rating shows just how pinpoint he was with his accuracy, not wildly throwing the ball down the field like other young quarterbacks would usually be prone to do.
So the hope is bright for Freeman as he moves forward. Many may frown upon him already being in the top 10, but one day, almost every Buc could be looking up to him on this list. He could definitely be that good.
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7. Doug Williams
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Continuing the run of quarterbacks on the list is Doug Williams. Williams was the Bucs QB for only five seasons, but made a huge impact on, and much later in time, off of it.
Williams was leader of a team that was once awful, but became title contenders when he stepped in, after being drafted in 1978. In '79, Williams led the Bucs all the way to the NFC title game.
Later in his career, he would go on to win a Super Bowl for the Redskins, winning MVP honors in the big game.
If he had done the same for the Bucs, he would be much higher on the list, but he still easily makes it with how he helped make the franchise a winner, and later had success as an executive and the director of pro scouting with the organization.
They didn't win before him, and for a while, the Bucs didn't win after Williams left, taking his tight spiral throws to D.C. While he was here, he may of just been the best QB to ever don the creamsicled colors.
6. Hugh Green
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Though he played far more years in Miami than in Tampa Bay, Green's four and a half seasons in Tampa Bay were huge. He made a pair of Pro Bowls with the Buccaneers, being honored as an All-Pro in both of those years.
Green played a total of 11 years in the NFL, all starting when he was drafted seventh overall by the Buccaneers in the spring of 1981.
Green may not be remembered as much and by as many, with the slew of good-to-great linebackers that the Bucs have had, but Green was the first really good player to step on the field at that position.
Derrick Brooks and a couple others may overshadow him at the top of the list of all-time Bucs linebackers, and Lee Roy Selmon did the same in terms of when the two played, but there's no denying that Green was a very talented player.
5. Warrick Dunn
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Warrick Dunn came to the Bucs in 1997 as the 12th overall pick. He quickly made a big impact for the Bucs, becoming the Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Dunn was one of the fan favorites in his time in Tampa Bay, where he played from 1997-2001, and also played his last year in the bay in 2008. Overall, Dunn made a total of three Pro Bowl teams during his career.
Dunn amounted for nearly 50 touchdowns and well over 10,000 yards during his 11 seasons in the NFL. Even with those great statistics, it wasn't only what he did on the field in Tampa Bay that made a difference.
Dunn was huge in the area community, and has bought and made payments on houses of those in need. Overall, Dunn was a solid man, and also a solid player. This is a no-brainer.
4. Paul Gruber
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Whether it's true or not that offensive lineman don't get enough love, I have to give plenty to this guy. Paul Gruber is by far the standard among Buccaneers' offensive lineman, setting the bar during 12 full seasons with Tampa Bay.
Gruber, the fourth overall pick in the 1988 draft, played the most games in Bucs' history until Derrick Brooks finally broke the record
No. 74 was almost assured to be on the field every Sunday during the season, playing every game in his first five years in the league. In only his second year in the league, Gruber was named an All-Pro, and later was selected in 1991 and '92 for the All-Pro team.
Gruber was one of the best at a position that was constantly growing in terms of importance, as a tackle on the blind side of a right-handed quarterback. He may of also been one of the top 10-12 Buccaneers of all-time, and is way up on the list here.
3. Warren Sapp
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Warren Sapp maybe the all-time greatest character in Buccaneers history, and was also one of the best players to ever take the field for Tampa Bay. Sapp started out as the 12th pick in the 1995 draft, and went on to play nine of his 13 years for the Bucs.
It's hard to believe that Sapp could be only the second best player taken in the 1995 draft by the Bucs, especially with seven Pro Bowl appearances and 96.5 sacks during his career. He also was voted to four All-Pro teams on his way to being placed on both the 1990's and 2000's All-Decade teams.
Sapp was one of the main components to the great Tampa Bay defense that led the Bucs to Super Bowl XXXVII, where they beat Oakland 48-21.
Along with Derrick Brooks and John Lynch, Sapp completed what may have been the best core of players on any defense in the league. Sapp is way up this list, and could one day find himself in a much better list, one of all NFL Hall-of-Famers.
2. Lee Roy Selmon
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Lee Roy Selmon was the first draft pick in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' organization, and lived up to the expectations of being the first pick. He did so by becoming the first, and so far only, Hall-of-Famer in Bucs' history.
Selmon made three All-Pro teams and six Pro Bowl squads, and he did those despite only nine years in the NFL, which were all with the Bucs. His number 63 has since been retired, and he has his bust in Canton to top it all off.
Selmon has been a grand force in the community, just like he was at defensive end for the Bucs. He is an amazing figure in the Tampa Bay area, a true legend. He was a member of the 1980's All-Decade team, and won the 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
It's hard not to put him first (trust me, it was hard to decide), because he without a doubt deserves to be at the top, but either way, Selmon will always be that first draft pick, the first Buc, and first great player in franchise history.
1. Derrick Brooks
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When looking at the top of this list, there's sure to be plenty of debate of who should be number one. I wasn't alive when Selmon played, so maybe I don't understand the full impact he had. Either way, there is no wrong choice on the top of this list.
Derrick Brooks may not only be the best first round draft pick in Bucs history, or the best player in Bucs history, but rather the biggest figure in the history of Tampa Bay itself. His 14 seasons with the Bucs is unprecedented, his nine All-Pro selections unmatched by any other Buc in franchise history.
While it may be hard to believe, Brooks has made just as much impact off the field than on it, becoming a great role model that is rare in today's sports' world. While on the field, Brooks compiled 11 Pro Bowl appearances and was a member of the 2000's All-Decade team. He also was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2002.
That same year, the Buccaneers won their only Super Bowl title, with Brooks as the catalyst to a defense that shut down opposing offenses left and right during their amazing run.
In the near future, Brooks is a sure fire first ballot Hall-of-Famer, just waiting for the day he's eligible to receive his bust in Canton. It all comes to the conclusion that Brooks has by far been the best Buc in history, truly an all-around great.
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