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Mayock: lack of quality corners makes Revis trade a no-brainer for Bucs

Posted Apr 18, 2013 by Roy Cummings

Updated Apr 18, 2013 at 04:15 PM

 
BY ROY CUMMINGS
Tribune Staff

TAMPA – NFL analyst Mike Mayock has studied the Buccaneers depth chart and the prospects available in this year’s draft and concluded that trading for Darrelle Revis is the best way for the Bucs to correct their cornerback deficiency.

“From my perspective, if I’m Tampa Bay I’m all over trying to get Darrelle Revis,’’ Mayock said Thursday during a national conference call with NFL media.

The Bucs would probably have to surrender the 13th pick in the draft to complete such a deal. Mayock doesn’t believe that’s too high a price for the Bucs to pay but he does believe it’s too low a price for the Jets to accept.

“If I’m the Jets I’m going to find a way to make that work,’’ he said of retaining Revis, who is slated to become a free agent after the 2013 season and may prove too costly for the Jets to retain.

“I think sometimes we get too carried away with all these draft picks, and I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Man, corner is a position of need (for the Jets), they are hard to find and this is the best corner in football and he’s probably going to be one of the best (corners) of all time. And he’s still only 27 years old, so if I’m New York, I’m not going there. On the other hand, to me, that’s pretty exciting.

“I’m giving up (the 13th pick) to get him and I’m also talking about some of those other picks because if I’m looking at (Tampa’s) depth chart at corner I’m going, ‘OK, I just re-signed Eric Wright at a reduced number but how long is he going to be here? And now E.J. Biggers is gone and here I have a bunch of young guys that for whatever reason probably aren’t going to be starters.’’



Clearing up a major misconception in the Revis trade matter

Posted Apr 12, 2013 by Roy Cummings

Updated Apr 12, 2013 at 12:00 PM


 
BY ROY CUMMINGS
Tribune Staff

TAMPA – It’s hard to know exactly where this notion of an April 18 deadline to complete a trade for Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis came from but fans pandering for accurate information on this front need to know this:

It certainly did not come from the Bucs.

It’s possible, though unlikely, that the Jets might have set such an internal deadline, but they haven’t told the Bucs about it if they have and the Bucs have no reason to set such a deadline themselves.

Granted, there is a need on the Bucs part to do a complete examination of Darrelle Revis’ reconstructed knee and to agree on the parameters of a contract with him before finalizing any trade, but they don’t need a week to do that.

The Bucs could complete a thorough examination of Revis and work out the basics of a contract in less than 24 hours, so the only real deadline that exists in this matter continues to be Draft Day, which is April 25.

In theory, the Jets could wait until the day before the draft to finally decide they want to trade Revis and a trade could still go down as long as the Bucs can get the exam and contract done by the time their pick comes.

That is cutting it rather short and it’s certain that the Bucs won’t rush through their examination of Revis or the contract negotiation, but where there’s a will there’s a way and neither element requires seven days to complete.



Leverage works both ways

Posted Apr 11, 2013 by Ira Kaufman

Updated Apr 11, 2013 at 04:45 PM

BY IRA KAUFMAN

TAMPA—Leverage is in the eye of the beholder.

During this ongoing Darrelle Revis saga between the Jets and Bucs, many observers have declared that Tampa Bay holds all the cards. It is assumed Jets owner Woody Johnson wants to flee Revis Island and ultimately, new GM John Idzik has to do what his boss wants.

So the common wisdom suggests the Bucs can wait the Jets out. If Revis plays out his contract and becomes a free agent in 2014, New York could end up getting little in return for the NFL’s premier cornerback, when healthy.

But the Bucs also enter this situation with a sense of urgency.

One of the worst pass defenses in league history has added Pro Bowl safety Dashon Goldson in free agency, but cornerback remains a pressing need.

In Idzik’s mind, the Bucs are desperate to finalize a trade for Revis because the alternative is hard to digest for Buc fans. Without Revis on board, Tampa Bay’s depth chart at the corner this summer would likely read Eric Wright, Leonard Johnson and a draft pick or two.

That lineup isn’t likely to cause Julio Jones and Roddy White many sleepless nights.

The reality is both sides need this deal to happen, based on their objectives.

While the Jets are in rebuilding mode, trying to get younger, the Bucs are poised for a playoff run if they can turn their defense into an acceptable unit.

We’re not talking Top 10, just middle of the pack.

In reality, both sides feel they have some leverage. That sounds like a good formula to get a deal done.




DT, TE and of course CB are among Bucs first-round options

Posted Apr 9, 2013 by Roy Cummings

Updated Apr 9, 2013 at 01:24 PM


  BY ROY CUMMINGS
Tribune Staff

TAMPA – Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik has been saying since the Senior Bowl that something other than a cornerback could be the team’s first selection in this year’s draft.

It seems the analysts at the NFL Network agree.

In the Draft War Room segment found here http://goo.gl/sjtXX Charles Davis breaks down several early-round options the Bucs, including the possibility they’ll draft something other than a cornerback with their first selection.




Sudden but not unexpected rise of CBs could be good for Bucs

Posted Apr 8, 2013 by Roy Cummings

Updated Apr 8, 2013 at 11:52 AM


  BY ROY CUMMINGS
Tribune Staff

TAMPA – Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik noted a few weeks ago that cornerbacks always have a tendency to climb up draft boards as draft preparation increases and draft day draws near.

The reason for the annual jump, Dominik said, is the universal need for cornerback help throughout the league and the fear some teams have of missing out on what they judge to be the cream of the crop.
 
Well, not long after March turned to April, a couple of cornerbacks who had previously been pegged as late first- or early second-round talents began showing up in the middle rounds of mock drafts.

One such climber is Florida State’s Xavier Rhodes. Rated just a couple weeks ago as top-40 talent by most scouts, Rhodes is now predicted to go 12th overall to the Dolphins in both Walter Football’s and ESPN analyst Todd McShay’s mock drafts.

Another climber is Washington product Desmond Trufant. Like Rhodes he was rated a second-round pick just a couple weeks ago, but McShay now has him going 21st overall to the Bengals while counterpart Mel Kiper has him going 19th overall to the Giants.

Noted independent scout Chris Landry is now giving Trufant a first-round grade as well and Scouts Inc., which does a lot of the legwork for ESPN’s draft pages, has him rated the 22nd best prospect.

What it all means is hard to tell, because the draft seldom if ever goes the way the analysts predict it will and this year’s draft is proving to be more difficult than most to gauge.

But it could mean that the Bucs, who pick 13th overall, won’t have to do what so many thought necessary just a week or two ago and trade up or down or reach for the starting caliber corner they need so badly.

With cornerbacks seemingly climbing draft boards just the way Dominik predicted they would a few weeks ago, the cornerback they need could suddenly show up right in their target range come draft day.



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