NFL Draft: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Could Find Future Star at No. 32 Overall
The first round of the NFL Draft is set to start Thursday night live from Cleveland and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold the No. 32 overall selection. It will be well into the evening by the time the Bucs finally make their first-round pick however it'll be worth the wait.
While most of the attention will be on the first five picks and the top quarterbacks in the draft, there's still plenty of drama that could unfold late in the first round. Having the No. 32 overall draft pick allows the Bucs to sit back and wait for the night to come to a close or potentially move up in the first round.
Nonetheless, the No. 32 overall spot has produced top talent over the years and throughout the history of the draft. Look at last year's draft: the Kansas City Chiefs used the pick to take LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who rushed for just over 800 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.
With that in mind, let's take a look at four all-time notable selections at the No. 32 draft pick and how the Bucs could end up with a future star during the first round:
2018 Baltimore Ravens: Louisville QB Lamar Jackson
Jackson had to wait and wait and wait until he heard his name called in 2018. The Heisman Trophy winner was the fifth quarterback taken in the first round behind the No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, the No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold, the No. 7 overall pick Josh Allen and the No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen.
Jackson has since proven the doubters wrong having gone 30-7 as the starter in the regular season for the Ravens. The 2019 league MVP has thrown for 7,085 yards with 68 touchdowns and 18 interceptions over his young career. Jackson finally won his first playoff game this past season advancing past the Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card Round.
Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He is already 12th on the all-time rushing yards list for a quarterback with 2,906 yards and there's still plenty of playing time left for the young quarterback.
2005 New England Patriots: Fresno State OL Logan Mankins
Mankins spent the majority of his 11-year career with the New England Patriots but played his final two seasons in Tampa Bay.
The offensive guard hardly missed a beat playing in and starting at least 15 games in nine of his 11 years in the league. Mankins was a seven-time Pro Bowler and received All-Pro honors six different times, including being named first-team All-Pro in 2010.
He was named to New England’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, the Patriots’ All-2000’s Decade Team, the Patriots’ All-2010’s Decade Team, and to the NFL’s All-2010’s Decade Team. He is considered one of the best interior lineman in franchise history.
1953 San Fransisco 49ers: Tulsa OL Bob St. Clair
Back in the day, the No. 32 overall pick was actually part of the third round of the NFL Draft. Despite being selected in what was then the third round, St. Clair finished his 11-year career known as an "outstanding blocker, both on passing plays and rushing attempts," according to the Hall of Fame.
St. Clair was named first- or second-team All-NFL nine times and was selected to play in five Pro Bowls. He wore No. 79 for San Fransico and the team later retired his number.
Known for being a tough competitor, St. Clair is a member of the NFL All-Decade Team for the 1950s and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 1990.
2001 San Diego Chargers: QB Drew Brees
Quite possibly the greatest player ever selected at No. 32 overall, Brees is also considered one of the best quarterbacks to play the game of football.
Similar to St. Clair, No. 32 overall was not a part of the first round in 2001, and instead Brees was picked by the then-San Diego Chargers in the second round. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Chargers before leaving for New Orleans where he went onto win Super Bowl XLIV.
At the time of his retirement in March, Brees is the all-time passing yards leader and the only quarterback in league history to throw for over 80,000 yards. He also holds the record for the most completions in league history and is No. 2 all-time for career passing touchdowns with 571, only looking up to Bucs' quarterback Tom Brady.
