National Football League

Bucs go heavy on defensive picks in draft

Published Apr. 25, 2010 12:27 a.m. ET

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Tampa Bay coach Raheem Morris likes to say the Buccaneers don't make any personnel moves without first considering how they might impact the development of young quarterback Josh Freeman.

Improving on defense is just as important to Freeman's future as adding productive playmakers on offense, although the Bucs feel they've done both with a draft class that will be critical to the team's chances of rebounding from its worst finish since 1991.

The first two days of the draft brought defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, along with receiver Arrelious Benn and cornerback Myron Lewis.

Those moves are expected to help revive a once fearsome pass rush, provide some much-needed firepower on offense and possibly produce the eventual successor to veteran cornerback Ronde Barber.

Talented but troubled receiver Mike Williams - the only other offensive player among Tampa Bay's nine picks - was the highlight from rounds four through seven on Saturday.

The former Syracuse star likely would have been selected earlier than the third pick of the fourth round - No. 101 overall - if not for an academic suspension in 2008 and another off-the-field issue that led to him quitting the Orange with three games remaining in the 2009 season.

Despite placing a heavy emphasis on getting better up front defensively, Morris feels the addition of Benn and Williams will make a big difference with Freeman, who started nine games as a rookie in 2009.

``He got a lot better. We added more bodies, more guys to catch balls, more to make him look better after they catch the ball,'' Morris said. ``As a quarterback, that's what you're looking for.''

General manager Mark Dominik defended the selection of Williams, saying the team researched the player and spent enough time with him at the scouting combine and during a predraft visit to Tampa to be comfortable with taking the 6-foot-2, 212-pound receiver.

``This kid, when you go back and do your research and see what's really in his past ... the only thing I can tell you right now is he had a speeding ticket,'' Dominik said, adding that he also had several conversations with Syracuse coach Doug Marrone.

``Other than that, this kid did make a mistake in terms of what happened with the Syracuse football team, and he regrets it. ... I don't think anybody spent more time (with Williams) than the Buccaneers did, and I think we're going to reap the rewards for it.''

Williams had 60 receptions for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2007, when he set a Syracuse record by catching a TD pass in nine consecutive games. He missed the entire 2008 season after being caught cheating on an exam, but was wasn't finished making big plays for the Orange.

The receiver re-enrolled at Syracuse in January 2009 and was on his way to another outstanding season with 49 catches for 746 yards and six TDs before Marrone - without elaborating - announced Williams ``voluntarily took himself off the team.''

Williams said he's motivated to prove he's not a quitter, and that the Bucs aren't taking on a problem.

``I'm not a bad guy. I didn't have off-the-field issues, I just had in-school issues,'' Williams said, declining to discuss details of leaving the Orange after playing in seven games last season.

``What happened, happened. It was a communication problem. That's as much as I want to say on that situation,'' he added of what transpired during a conversation with Marrone. ``We moved on. ... We're still great friends, we still talk to each other. It was just a bad communication problem that went wrong.''

Williams finished with 20 career TD receptions, tied for second in school history with Marvin Harrison. He averaged 106.57 yards per game in 2009, finishing with 133 catches for 2,044 yards in 29 career games.

The Bucs were impressed that while he was out of school for violating Syracuse's academic integrity policy that Williams attended junior college to get his grades up and re-join the football team.

``He made a poor choice. I'm not going debate that,'' Dominik said. ``I think he paid the price, dropping all the way to the fourth round, because the guy is a first or second-round talent - especially at his position.''

The Bucs selected Virginia Tech punter Brent Bowden in the sixth round, then added Hokies safety Cody Grimm - son of former NFL player and current Arizona Cardinals assistant head coach Russ Grimm - with the first of five picks they were scheduled to have in the seventh round.

After selecting Florida State linebacker Dekoda Watson, the team dealt two of its three remaining seventh-round picks to Denver in exchange for a fifth-round selection in 2011. Stanford defensive end Erik Lorig was Tampa Bay's final choice, No. 253 overall.

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