Maybe we should re-name this particular StoryStream. It's called the "NFL Mock Draft" stream, as if there is a wide variety of players that the Bucs will be targeting with their first round pick. Maybe we should just call it, "Which defensive End will the Bucs take this week?"
We know that is their primary need. Luckily for them, there are a few prospects that should be available to them in the first round that could help them fill it. This week, in their latest addition of the 2011 NFL Mock Draft, SB Nation gives them Aldon Smith from Missouri. Here is their rationale.
No matter how the first round projects each time we shake this up, a defensive end lands here. That's a beautiful thing for the pass rush-needy Bucs, and in this case, they're getting a guy in Smith that could very well be the best of the bunch when it's over with.
Smith is a player that has shot up draft board because of his potential. He doesn't have the production that some of the other players mentioned around this pick have, but he has all the physical tools to develop into a dominant pass rusher. He has excellent size and speed for the position, it is just a matter of whether or not he reaches that potential. If the Bucs choose him, and he is able to reach that potential, they could have a serious steal late in the first round.