Do not trade up

I read the Ira Kauffman blog entry about the possibility of the Bucs trading down in the draft, which includes the line, "If the Bucs intend to land Calvin Johnson, it's becoming more likely they may have to trade up to get the best talent in the draft." Umm...

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I can't think of a single scenario where trading up would work to the Bucs' benefit. According to the standard-issue draft value chart, trading up with the Lions would cost the Bucs the equivalent of both of their second round picks. BOTH! There's a lot of great value in the second round that the Bucs simply cannot afford to waste on the assurance of getting Calvin Johnson. Keep in mind, by most accounts they'll get Johnson anyway just by waiting until the fourth pick. Oakland hasn't done anything to address their QB situation and they still have Randy Moss and Jerry Porter on the payroll. Detroit needs a quarterback and, even though he isn't a big-name player, Shaun McDonald paired with Roy Williams and Mike Williams as a third receiver makes wide receiver lower on their priority list. Cleveland still has one of the shallowest quarterback pools in the league and only has Jamal Lewis on a one-year deal. All those teams have much deeper needs than receiver that can be addressed in the first round.

Those teams are using the media to hype Johnson (who they don't plan on picking anyway) to get some gullible team to cough up a handful of picks and/or players to move into their spot. Please, Bruce Allen, don't be the mark that does it. Tampa Bay absolutely needs those second-rounders to replenish the areas that were not addressed with free agency. Kevin Carter was a good signing, but not the long-term answer as a pass-rusher. I love that Cato June was brought to Tampa, but if he's not playing safety, you still have serious weaknesses there. Or how about finding someone to replace John Wade at center? There are still plenty of positions that need young depth, and late-rounders and undrafted free agents probably won't do much to address that.

If Johnson should happen to be gone, there are still plenty of options available at the fourth slot. It's a valuable slot… it cost twelve victories to get it. Don't throw it away.