The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the quarterback-needy teams picking in the top 10. After Josh Freeman turned into a bust, the new regime moved to bring in veteran Josh McCown to be the short-term starter. The Buccaneers obviously need a long-term starter, and they are going to target a quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft to groom behind McCown for a year. Sources have told us that the Buccaneers are operating under the premise that they won't be moving up from No. 7 overall and are giving consideration to whom they would target if they move down.
Tampa Bay also has needs at wide receiver and the offensive line to help improve the NFL's last-ranked offense from 2013. The draft class is strong at offensive tackle and wideout, so the Buccaneers could still land a player who will provide an immediate impact while moving down to get more picks to address other needs.
Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht inherited a roster that had a lot of holes. The new regime has done an excellent job of revamping it by bringing in a number of new starters and moving on from some bad contracts that paid players far beyond their value. Sources from other teams say that it is clear that Tampa Bay has upgraded the front office, coaching staff and roster this offseason.
One source told us that the Buccaneers will take Central Florida's Blake Bortles if he falls to the seventh pick. Considering the time of year, that has to be taken with a grain of salt, but the intelligent and hard-working Bortles meshes well with the new coaching staff. With his pocket presence and mobility, sources with the team say that Bortles is a good fit for Tedford's offense. However, the Buccaneers also don't believe that Bortles will get to their pick considering the Texans, Jaguars, Browns or Raiders all need help at quarterback.
Lately, there has been a lot of talk in the Tampa Bay media about the Bucs taking Johnny Manziel. The Bucs have shown a lot of interest in Manziel along with the other top quarterback prospects, so if Bortles is gone, they could easily take another quarterback like Manziel, Derek Carr or Teddy Bridgewater.
If a good deal presents itself, the team could move down. The Bucs don't feel the need to move up and cost themselves picks that could strengthen their roster. With so many good options along the offensive line, wide receiver and quarterback, Tampa Bay feels it's in a nice position to hold tight at No. 7 and take the best player available at one of those three positions