Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft History

0This page is a list of every player drafted by the Buccaneers, including the '76 expansion draft.

1976 NFL Draft

 * 1) Lee Roy Selmon, DE (No. 1/1976, excellent pick): Lee Roy Selmon was the Bucs' first-ever selection. He was a perennial Pro-Bowler, the first and (for now) only Buccaneer in the Hall of Fame, as successful off the field as he was on it and a real pillar of the Tampa Bay society. Was the associate AD for the University of South Florida Bulls and owner of a successful restaurant in Tampa. Holds the franchise records for sacks (82.5) and held the record for Pro Bowl appearances (6), and was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 1979. Probably the best Buccaneer draft pick and player ever.
 * 2) Jimmy DuBose, RB (No. 30/1976, average pick): Jimmy DuBose played 3 seasons in Tampa Bay and started 15 games. Jimmy DuBose made history when he ran for 109 yards against the Giants in 1978 and got injured when tackling Harry Carson on an interception return that same game and tried to play through it and ended up ending his career. He was traded to the Dolphins in 1979, but never played a down for them because of his injury.
 * 3) Eddie Lewis, CB (WB No. 57/1976, bad trade): Never played a down for the Buccaneers. Eddie Lewis was traded to the 49ers pre-draft for former draft bust Steve Spurrier, who would lead the Bucs to a 0-14 record, and throw 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Meanwhile, Lewis intercepted 3 passes for 17 yards and recovered a fumble, taking it back 24 yards, and could have been a valuable cornerback on the Buccaneers' team, escpecially if it was a year like 1976.
 * 4) Dewey Selmon, RDT/MLB (No. 60/1976, great pick): Dewey Selmon had a good career and ended up playing 5 seasons with the Bucs (and nearly every down, he called the defensive signals), finishing top 3 in total tackles 3 times (1977 with 167, 1978 with 158, and 1979 with 125) as he finished his Bucs career, starting 65 games (but he only registered 17.5 sacks.) Coach Tom Bass described Dewey Selmon as not being as nice as his brother, saying "If Lee Roy tackled you, he helped you up. If Dewey did, he would trodden on you instead."
 * 5) Steve Young, LT (No. 61/1976, okay pick): Steve Young ended up starting 11 games for the expansion Bucs having become a starter when Dave Reavis was lost for the season through injury. Was famously featured on the NFL's official 1976 Bucs' highlight video as being one of the franchise's building blocks for the future, but was traded to the Dolphins in a deal for CB Jeris White before the team played another NFL game.
 * 6) Ron Lee, RB (WB No. 90/1976, great trade): Never played a down for the Buccaneers. Ron Lee was traded to the Colts pre-draft for the Buccaneers to get Mike Washington, one of the best corners in team history, starting 96 of 100 games for them. He was the key member of the 1979 Bucs' defense ranked the best in the NFL. He is also memorable for a 79-yard blocked punt return (yes, the opposing team tried to punt from the Bucs' 21-yard line). He was also one of the first Buccaneers to wear a neck roll, but it was brief. Meanwhile, Lee finished his 3-year career with 986 yards and 7 scores.
 * 7) Steve Maughan, LB (No. 91/1976, wasted pick): Never played in the NFL. He made the roster, but was placed on IR with an injured shoulder, when he collided with another player during a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins. He then spent 1977 battling Hodgkins' disease. He was given a clean bill of health to enter training camp in 1978, but his health was still weak and in training camp, he broke his ribs and did not make the roster.
 * 8) Gerald Taylor, WR (No. 94/1976, poor trade): Never played in the NFL. He was traded to the Rams so they could select former Ram Jim Peterson, which was a very poor trade, since Peterson started only 2 games at right outside linebacker and registered 17 tackles and a sack.
 * 9) Richard Appleby, WR (No. 121/1976, wasted pick): Never played in the NFL. He was more recognized for having a strong arm than for his hands in college, when he threw an 80-yard game-winning option pass to win a game against the Florida Gators. He did suit for the Bucs' first preseason game, but did not see any playing time, he was released shortly after that.
 * 10) Everett Little, RG (No. 124/1976, average pick): Little ended up playing ten games and starting one, which was the season opener against the Houston Oilers (great by late round standards). Everett Little further played as a special team guard, but he proved to be an inagural blocker. He did not make the 1977 roster and retired from football.
 * 11) Mishael Kelson, CB (No. 125/1976): Never played in the NFL. He played the entire pre-season with the Buccaneers in the secondary and finished with only 1 interception for 40 yards (but he batted down four passes), but was released shortly after during training camp.
 * 12) Steve Wilson, C/RG (No. 154/1976): Wilson played ten seasons with the Bucs and switched from right guard to center where he remained a fixture on the Bucs' offensive line for a decade, he retired as the franchise's leader in games played (125). He goes down as one of the Buccaneers' biggest draft steals.
 * 13) Dwight Scales, WR (No. 155/1976, poor trade): Never played a down for the Buccaneers. Traded pre-draft to the Rams for the Bucs to select Jim Peterson (see pick #8). He finished his career with 58 receptions for 1,155 yards and 4 scores. His most memorable year(s) came with the Giants in 1979, with 222 receiving yards.
 * 14) Curtis Jordan, CB (No. 158/1978, great pick): Jordan played 5 seasons with the Buccaneers and started 33 of the 71 games he appeared in. When he left Tampa Bay, he had 7 interceptions, 305 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and 43 passes batted down.
 * 15) Parnell Dickinson, QB (No. 183/1976, good pick): While Dickinson was throwing more interceptions than touchdowns (1-5), he proved to be a great escape artist/scrambler but was disciplined and only ran when he needed to, even though the Buccaneers always needed to. His side-to-side scrambling help the Buccaneers win a pre-season game 17-3 against the Falcons, with Dickinson (along with Bubba Bridges, who did not make the regular season) the star of that game.
 * 16) Joe Davis, G (No. 211/1976): Never played in the NFL, he was traded pre-draft to the Jets so they could select middle linebacker Steve Reese, who started most of 1976, registering 53 tackles and 1 pass batted down.
 * 17) Bruce Welch, G/C (No. 238/1976): Never played in the NFL, honorable mention for All-American with the Aggies the previous year. He did suit up for their very first preseason game against the Rams, but did not actually step onto the field.
 * 18) Sid Smith, MLB (No. 267/1976): Never played in the NFL.
 * 19) Melvin Washington, DB (No. 292/1976): Never played in the NFL, known for his track speed (4.24 in the 40-yard dash) rather than his footballing skills. Could not make the Buccaneers roster and was released during training camp.
 * 20) George Ragsdale, RB/WR (No. 321/1976): Ragsdale came out of college as a receiver and halfback, but made the roster as a RB only. He missed the entire season through injury and came back as a back-up running back and kick returner. He amassed more than 220 total yards, and ammassed nearly 1,300 return yards in 3 years as a Buccaneer. He played 39 games.
 * 21) Brad Jenkins, TE (No. 348/1976): Never played in the NFL, Jenkins announced that he no longer wanted to pursue a career in pro football. He became a coach from 1987-95 and won less than 58% of his games.
 * 22) Carl Roaches, KR/WR (No. 377/1976): Never played a down for the Buccaneers. One of the few early Bucs who went on to success with another team. Made the Houston Oilers roster in 1980 and spent five seasons there and part of 1985 with the Saints as a specialist punt and kick returner. Only ever had four receptions in his entire NFL career, all of them coming in 1984. Played in the first four pre-season games and was then released.
 * 23) Bob Dzierzak, DT (No. 404/1976): Had started for three seasons in college under then head coach Phil Kreuger who was a Bucs' assistant in 1976 and went on to become GM in later years, and he was drafted for that sole reason. Never played in the NFL but did have the distinction of suiting up for the Bucs' first pre-season game against the Los Angeles Rams.
 * 24) Tom West, LB (No. 433/1976): Played running back and tight end in college but was drafted as a linebacker despite not having played the position since high school. Not surprisingly, never played in the NFL.
 * 25) Jack Berry, QB (No. 460/1976): Had started for two and a half seasons in college and completed 47.4% of his passes with 27 TDs and 47 interceptions. Never even made it as far as training camp with the 1976 Buccaneers and never played in the NFL.

Expansion Draft

 * 1) Larry Ball
 * 2) Joe Blahak
 * 3) Bubba Bridges
 * 4) Bubba Broussard
 * 5) Louis Carter
 * 6) Steve Colavito
 * 7) Mark Cotney
 * 8) Mike Current
 * 9) Anthony Davis
 * 10) Ricky Davis
 * 11) Earl Dolhitt
 * 12) Larry Ely
 * 13) Howard Fest
 * 14) Ira Gordon
 * 15) Jimmy Gunn
 * 16) Harold Hart
 * 17) Durwood Keeton
 * 18) Jim Kearney
 * 19) Vince Kendrick
 * 20) Morris LaGrand
 * 21) Willie McGee
 * 22) John McKay
 * 23) Bob Moore
 * 24) Manfred Moore
 * 25) Frank Oliver
 * 26) Dave Pear
 * 27) Calvin Peterson
 * 28) Dave Raevis
 * 29) Council Rudolph
 * 30) Dan Ryczek
 * 31) Barry Smith
 * 32) Ken Stone
 * 33) Doug Swift
 * 34) Dave Thompson
 * 35) Pat Toomay
 * 36) John Ward
 * 37) Lawrence Williams
 * 38) Dan Yochum 

Other
The 1976 Buccaneers had 152+ players (including ones who could not make the roster, preseason-only stars, etc.)
 * 1) Bill Bowerman
 * 2) Bill Cappelman
 * 3) James Foote
 * 4) Terry Henratty
 * 5) Larry Lawrence
 * 6) Gary Valbuena
 * 7) Jon Bradford
 * 8) Bob Burns
 * 9) Charlie Davis
 * 10) Anthony Davis
 * 11) Charlie Evans
 * 12) Dave Gagnon
 * 13) Essex Johnson
 * 14) Larry Martinez
 * 15) Rod McNeil
 * 16) Alan Pittman
 * 17) Billy Pritchett
 * 18) Edward Williams
 * 19) John C. Wilson
 * 20) Freddie Douglas
 * 21) Isaac Hagins
 * 22) Kent Gaydos
 * 23) Rick Jennings
 * 24) Curtis Leak
 * 25) Lee McGriff
 * 26) John McKay, Jr.
 * 27) Louis Neal
 * 28) Morris Owens
 * 29) Don Westbrook
 * 30) Wayne Wheeler
 * 31) Joe Wylie
 * 32) John Andrews
 * 33) Barry Burton
 * 34) Charles Cleveland
 * 35) David Grammell
 * 36) Vin Hoover
 * 37) Brad Jenkins
 * 38) Jack Novak
 * 39) Fred Pagac
 * 40) Tom Alward
 * 41) Mike Stanfield
 * 42) Randy Young
 * 43) Steve Bauer
 * 44) Steve Broussard
 * 45) Greg Enright
 * 46) Rod Garcia
 * 47) Dave Green
 * 48) Tom Klaban
 * 49) Booth Lusteg
 * 50) Pete Rajecki
 * 51) Mirro Roder
 * 52) Wolfgang Taylor
 * 53) Randy Walker
 * 54) Jim Cagle
 * 55) Steve Chomysak
 * 56) Pete Duranko
 * 57) Tim Guy
 * 58) Larry Jameson
 * 59) Ed McAleney
 * 60) Maulty Moore
 * 61) Glenn Robinson
 * 62) Mitch Sutton
 * 63) Brad Watson
 * 64) Pete Barnes
 * 65) Warren Capone
 * 66) Ralph Coleman
 * 67) Bert Cooper
 * 68) Charles Hunt
 * 69) Leroy Johnson
 * 70) Ted Kornov
 * 71) Tim Kearney
 * 72) Mike Lemon
 * 73) Steadman Scavella
 * 74) Jimmie Sims
 * 75) Richard "Batman" Wood
 * 76) Cedric Brown
 * 77) Biff Burrell
 * 78) Bill Deery
 * 79) Johnny Fuller
 * 80) Rod Greathouse
 * 81) Don Martin
 * 82) Reggie Pierson
 * 83) Danny Reece
 * 84) Pete Rome
 * 85) Mike Shaw
 * 86) Robin Sinclair
 * 87) Roscoe Word