With the 20th Pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Mock Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Select...

With the 20th pick in the 2011 Dawgs By Nature Community Mock Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select...

Justin Houston, DE/OLB, Georgia

This selection and write-up was made by Legoman0721:

From what I could gather on the Buccaneers, their one glaring need is a pass rush to help out their total pass defense.  Other than that; safety, cornerback, and offensive guard were also needs.  With how this draft has turned out, I think Houston might be the best remaining pass rusher on the board. 

Other players I considered for this pick:
DT Corey Liuget
DE/DT Muhammed Wilkerson
DE Cameron Heyward
DE Adrian Clayborn
CB Jimmy Smith
S Rahim Moore

All the defensive linemen I considered seem to be lacking in a pass rush that the Bucs can rely on.  There is a lot of talent there, but they just put two high picks into their defensive tackles and their run defense is already excellent.  Ronde Barber is getting old, but Jimmy Smith has a huge question mark concerning his character, so he may be around as late as round two.  I was almost ready to pull the trigger and take Rahim Moore because he seems to be a ball-hawking safety that would be just what they need, especially considering the questions around Tanard Jackson, but then I fell in love with Houston.  He's very athletic, and is drawing comparisons to Terrell Suggs.

Here are his Combine numbers:
40 yard dash: 4.68 seconds
Bench press:  30 reps
Vertical Jump:  36.5 inches
Broad Jump:  10'5"
3 cone drill:  6.95 seconds
20 yard shuttle:  4.37 seconds
60 yard shuttle:  11.46 seconds

He finished his junior year with 10 sacks and 44 QB hurries (from fftoolbox.com).  That's quite a season for a pass rusher in the SEC.  He may be a bit undersized, depending on how he enters the season but Tampa Bay needs a pure pass rusher in their defense.  Houston has experience as an OLB, but he will most likely play as a normal DE in Tampa.  His role should be very simple in his rookie year:  Go get the quarterback!  4-3 DE isn't a position that has a steep learning curve, and rookies can have a big year before their opponents game plan to stop them (see:  Kamerion Wimbley).

Honestly, from day one I was set on JJ Watt, who went to the Patriots in our mock draft.  The Buccaneers have a tendency lately to move up a few spots and get their guy, so that could happen in the real draft.  If Mike Pouncey had slipped to this spot, he also would've received a lot of consideration.  The RG spot in Tampa is not very solid, and he could start from the very beginning.  With how this draft has turned out, I think the best pick for Tampa is Houston.

I really liked Tampa Bay's offense under Josh Freeman last year, so I'm happy to see a defensive player taken here. Going with defensive linemen in back-to-back years should help strengthen that unit up front and attacks one of the Buccaneers' biggest issues last year: they could not rush the passer. I wonder how quickly he will be able to develop into an effective pass rusher though. I think Tampa Bay won't mind taking a shot with him after just barely missing the playoffs last year.

The Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock next (email has been sent to Mehouf).