Buccaneers could trade up for tackle Ereck Flowers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be active in trades on draft day. Specifically, Charlie Campbell reported on the Pat and Aaron Show on 620 WDAE that they could trade back up into the first round to draft Miami tackle Ereck Flowers. Campbell used to cover the Bucs for Pewter Report, so he certainly has some connections in the area.

Flowers is an intriguing prospect, playing left tackle for Miami over the past three years. CBS Sports have him as their 21st overall prospect, while ESPN have him as their 16th overall prospect. At 6'6", 329 lbs. he has outstanding size and he moves very smoothly in pass protection, although he can get sloppy. His size probably precludes him from moving inside, and tall guys like him tend to have leverage issues in run blocking, but the consensus seems to be that he's very talented if a little raw in technique.

Campbell also noted that T.J. Clemmings wasn't a very hot prospect among teams.

Trading up for a quality tackle would make sense, because the Bucs simply need offensive linemen. They're likely to sign one or two in free agency, but they need to build up young talent at the position too. Logan Mankins is old, Demar Dotson won't be around forever, and Evan Dietrich-Smith is highly replaceable. They really don't have any long-term building blocks.

So yeah, trading up for Flowers or some other offensive lineman would make quite a bit of sense.


(bucsnation.com)