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Bucs’ draft-day agenda already set

Posted Dec 22, 2009 by Ira Kaufman

Updated Dec 24, 2009 at 01:50 PM

Seize him.

The NFL draft may be four months away, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should already know the first player that needs to be fitted in a pewter uniform for 2010.

Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh just became the first defensive player to be named AP College Football Player of the Year. ESPN’s draft pundits can’t say enough about the senior who finished with 12 sacks by terrorizing Texas QB Colt McCoy in Nebraska’s near-upset earlier this month.

Mel Kiper has Suh rated as the No. 1 prospect in the three-day draft, which opens April 22 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Todd McShay, ESPN’s director of college scouting, is running out of superlatives for Suh.

“He’s as strong as I can remember watching a college player in terms of his upper body with the way he controls blockers,’’ McShay said. “I can’t remember evaluating a defensive tackle with the kind of instincts that you see out of Suh - the interceptions, the fumble recoveries, always around the ball. He’s flat-out dominant.’‘

McShay said the top of the 2010 draft is stocked with premium defensive prospects, with perhaps as many as 12 linemen off the board by the end of the first round. He predicts Florida QB Tim Tebow will likely be drafted in the middle of the second round.

Suh fits Tampa Bay’s need for a dominant defensive tackle, a disruptive inside presence who can raise the level of his fellow linemen by drawing constant double teams and creating pressure up the middle.

“I think he’s (Suh) got a real strong chance of going No. 1 overall,’’ McShay said, “depending on the team that’s picking at that No. 1 spot.’‘

If the season ended today, the Rams (1-13) would select No. 1. The Bucs and Lions are each 2-12, followed by the Chiefs and Browns at 3-11.