Bucs trade up in sixth round to pick Miami RB Mike James

The Bucs, having just traded running back LeGarrette Blount, added some depth in their backfield by trading up in the sixth round to pick Miami running back Mike James.

Tampa Bay shipped their 196th overall pick in the sixth round -- plus the seventh-rounder they netted in the Blount deal with New England - to get James.

James, a 5-foot-11, 222-pound senior, is a versatile back, rushing for 1,340 career yards while also racking up 585 yards receiving. 

A Haines City, native, James also won the 2012 Community Service Man of the Year Award and Captain's Award at the team's end-of-the-season banquet.

“I like Mike James,’’ ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper told the Miami Herald. “He was one of the guys you can get probably a little later in the draft. It’s a kid over 220 pounds [who] has better quickness than he does 40 time. He runs inside very effectively” but “can bounce it to the perimeter. He’s got some skills.

“You saw what Alfred Morris [of FAU] did last year as a sixth-round pick.”


(tampabay.com)