Speaker 1: Welcome into our first edition of Road to the Draft
Speaker 1: for this year. This is our segment we do every
Speaker 1: time this year leading up to the draft, talking about
Speaker 1: all the different news how it affects the Bucks who
Speaker 1: they might pick. This is the time of year that
Speaker 1: everybody loves to prognosticate. We love to predict, even though
Speaker 1: we get it wrong almost every year, but we don't
Speaker 1: need to worry about that. It's not important. Everybody gets
Speaker 1: it wrong every year. So the combine is always a
Speaker 1: really fun time to start talking about this now that
Speaker 1: it's in the books, because it always leads to some
Speaker 1: shakeups after you see the way that the guys performed there.
Speaker 1: So based on the combine, what are some maybe the
Speaker 1: positions you felt like we're being discussed as a good
Speaker 1: idea for the Buccaneers. Well, I've been tracking mock drafts
Speaker 1: since the Bucks got eliminated from the playoffs, because it's
Speaker 1: kind of like when your team no longer can win
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl, then the next thing, your next super
Speaker 1: Bowl is the draft, right, That's what all the fans
Speaker 1: start to care about. So a lot of prognosticator us
Speaker 1: out there, I think, for good reason, have paired the
Speaker 1: Bucks with a cornerback. For one thing. The cornerback group
Speaker 1: is pretty deep this year, and also the Buccaneers have
Speaker 1: Jamal Dean Sean Murfy Bunting, both potential free agency losses,
Speaker 1: so there's definitely a chance that there's a need there
Speaker 1: and we'll know by the draft. Of course. The thing
Speaker 1: about it is before the combine you saw a lot
Speaker 1: of different orders of how those guys were going. At
Speaker 1: the combine, a guy like Christian Gonzales of Oregon sort
Speaker 1: of cemented his stats status as the top cornerback, and
Speaker 1: a lot of it looked like it fell into place
Speaker 1: a little bit more. And the funny thing is Brianna
Speaker 1: Dick's team reporter and I have been alternating drafts and
Speaker 1: we've done four of them mock drafts, and each time
Speaker 1: we landed on a cornerback, but each time was a
Speaker 1: different guy at this point, like one time one of
Speaker 1: us chose Devon a Witherspoon, one time one of us
Speaker 1: close Christian Zalz. We think both those people are going
Speaker 1: to be gone now. We think Joey Parter will be
Speaker 1: gone by nineteen and the guy that's rising as Maryland's
Speaker 1: Dionte Banks, who had a great combine. He was productive
Speaker 1: at Maryland. He ran a four three five forty, was
Speaker 1: in the ninety nine percent Island athleticism. So I think
Speaker 1: he's moved up to the point where where he would
Speaker 1: be in play at pick number nineteen. Yeah, that's going
Speaker 1: to be interesting to see. And then I know another
Speaker 1: position that's going to be intriguing maybe for the Bucks
Speaker 1: is an edge rusher. I mean, we know that Shack
Speaker 1: Barrett's coming off the injury. You never know what that's
Speaker 1: gonna look like. And again with the free agents, not
Speaker 1: a lot of people that we know for a factor
Speaker 1: on this roster right now. Is there anybody that you
Speaker 1: feel like people are mocking saying, you know what, this
Speaker 1: could be a really good person to add. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: Todd Bull said at the combine that we have to
Speaker 1: get more edge rush. He said it was weird to
Speaker 1: have your nose tackle V to V a B year
Speaker 1: leader in sacks. You really can't have that in a
Speaker 1: three four defense. So he made it clear we need
Speaker 1: more pressure from the edges. So I definitely think that's
Speaker 1: in play, no matter how well Shack comes back or
Speaker 1: Anthony resigns. And a guy that was sort of at
Speaker 1: the back end of the first round for most of
Speaker 1: the mock drafts in February. Is on the rise is
Speaker 1: George's Nolan Smith, who just blew up the combine, just
Speaker 1: incredible numbers. He's only two hundred thirty eight pounds, which
Speaker 1: is a little small for an edge, but he actually
Speaker 1: played the run really well at Georgia, as you see
Speaker 1: right there, and he ran a four three nine wow
Speaker 1: at two hundred and thirty eight pounds, just blew away
Speaker 1: the vertical and the broad jump. And he didn't have
Speaker 1: a ton of pretend production at Georgia. But last year
Speaker 1: Travon Walker same thing, didn't have a ton of sacks,
Speaker 1: blew up the combine, ended up going first overall. Guy
Speaker 1: from Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith's numbers to the combine
Speaker 1: were better than Trayvon Walker. So I think he's on
Speaker 1: the rise. He may not be available at nineteen, but
Speaker 1: I think he's a the guy that is much more
Speaker 1: in play at that part of the draft than he
Speaker 1: was a month ago. Yeah, this is where some of
Speaker 1: the people that you think might be mocked to the bucks.
Speaker 1: You're like, could you do a little worse? Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: stop telling everybody how great you are right now, and
Speaker 1: then of course we know that the Bucks recently announced
Speaker 1: releasing Donovan Smith, and so now here we are just
Speaker 1: like last year, talking about some changes on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: How do you fill some of those holes? Do you
Speaker 1: move people? Do you add people? So do you feel
Speaker 1: like now this makes it where offensive tackle could be
Speaker 1: a position the Bucks are looking at. Yeah, and an
Speaker 1: offensive tackle is reasonably deep this year. It's not like
Speaker 1: when we the EUREI drafted Tristan Morris of are like
Speaker 1: four blue chip prospects that literally could have gone in
Speaker 1: the top ten. They went in the top thirteen. But
Speaker 1: it's still a pretty deep group of pretty good prospects
Speaker 1: and a guy that's that you know. I don't think
Speaker 1: the Bucks would be in play for Peter Scosky or
Speaker 1: Paris Johnson. They're probably going to be gone by then.
Speaker 1: But if they are looking forward offensive tackle Georgia again,
Speaker 1: here we go with Georgia. Georgia's Roderick Jones could be there.
Speaker 1: At nineteen he started, He didn't have a ton of
Speaker 1: experience starter for about a year and a half for Georgia,
Speaker 1: but he played left tackle, and you could leave Tristan
Speaker 1: war right tackle and put him at left tackle, and
Speaker 1: he had a very nice continent too. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know how much important forty yard dash is for
Speaker 1: offensive tackle, but he was the fastest one there and
Speaker 1: he had a real nice ten yards split, which is
Speaker 1: more about quickness in that the amount of room they're
Speaker 1: going to have to actually be involved in. Right, So
Speaker 1: he's a guy that the Buccaneers might be able to
Speaker 1: look at it pick nineteen. Yeah, based on how they've
Speaker 1: played these last few years. It does feel like when
Speaker 1: in doubt drafted Georgia person. Even though sure all the
Speaker 1: Florida people here are not loving me saying that, but
Speaker 1: it does seem like save a lot of talent on
Speaker 1: a lot of talent. For sure, they're all right, that's
Speaker 1: going to do it for us. On this first edition
Speaker 1: of Road to the Draft again, we'll be coming to
Speaker 1: you over and over between now and the draft with
Speaker 1: any updates to things that affect all those mock drafts
Speaker 1: and who the Bucks might take. So we'll see you
Speaker 1: next time.