Would you believe watch out for Tampa Bay?
With four No. 1 picks in coach Tony Dungy’s first two seasons, is it finally time to take the lowly Buccaneers seriously?
The Bucs added the two most explosive offensive selections in the NFC Central Division on Saturday in Florida State running back Warrick Dunn and Florida wide receiver Reidel Anthony. Except for Bears second-round tight end John Allred, Dunn and Anthony were the only two early-round skill players selected in the entire division.
As the lowest-scoring team in the division, the Bucs can use all the help they can get.
“We need points and this guy (Dunn) can get us points maybe better than anybody in the draft,” Dungy said.
Tiny at 5 feet 7 inches and 180 pounds, Dunn nevertheless was the first running back selected. If he doesn’t immediately break into a backfield with Errict Rhett and Joliet native Mike Alstott, Dunn can contribute by returning kicks.
“It’s usually the team who has the most picks (and) Tampa did well early with the two guys they took,” Bears coach Dave Wannstedt said.
Anthony, one of Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel’s targets, gives quarterback Trent Dilfer the receiving threat he never had last year after Horace Copeland was injured and free agent Alvin Harper turned out to be a bust.
The Bucs also picked Wisconsin right tackle Jerry Wunsch and Arizona guard Frank Middleton, a pair of 320-pound blockers and Virginia cornerback Rhonde Barber in the first three rounds.
“We’ve got most of our needs hit,” Dungy said.
Last year, the Bucs drafted defensive linemen Regan Upshaw and Marcus Jones in the first round. In 1995, they landed defensive tackle Warren Sapp high in the first round and he came through with nine sacks in his second season.
The Detroit Lions addressed their pressing need for cornerbacks by taking Texas’ Bryant Westbrook with the fifth pick in the opening round, then trading up in the second to land Kevin Abrams of Syracuse. However, they balked at trading up in the first round to get Ohio State’s Shawn Springs.
Arizona State guard Juan Roque was a second-round choice of the Lions who was rated below Bears third-round guard Bob Sapp by most scouts, although Roque was a tackle in college and might be able to play both.
The world champion Green Bay Packers stayed with their own last-place picks in the opening rounds and settled for Iowa guard-tackle Ross Verba and William & Mary safety Darren Sharper.
For the third year in a row, the Minnesota Vikings took a defensive front seven player, adding Alabama linebacker Dwayne Rudd. The Vikings also landed Virginia Tech safety Torrian Gray in the second round.
The Bears, Bucs, Lions and Vikings all have plenty of work to do to catch the Packers, who not only finished four games in front of the division but finished ahead of every rival in every yardage category–total offense, rushing, passing, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense.
