This 2012 NFL draft do-over has the Bucs making up for the Mark Barron selection

Gil Brandt of NFL.com reimagines the 2012 NFL draft and has the Bucs finding someone to play alongside Gerald McCoy.

The NFL draft is next month, and after posting a 7-9 record in 2019, the Buccaneers find themselves sitting near the middle of the first round with the 14th pick.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Bucs will use that pick to take an offensive tackle to help their O-line and protect six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, who chose to leave the Patriots after 20 years and set up shop in Tampa. Whoever Tampa Bay picks in round one, let’s hope they have as big an impact as last year’s first-round pick Devin White, who came on strong at the end of the season and proved to be the franchise cornerstone the team was hoping for.

But, even a prospect that seems like a future star can turn into a bust. Take former Bucs first-round pick Mark Barron, who many people, including current Raiders GM Mike Mayock, who was a draft analyst for NFL Network at the time, thought was a perennial Pro Bowler in the making. Barron was traded midway through his third season after never turning into the defender the Bucs envisioned.

And, in his redo of the 2012 NFL draft, Gil Brandt has the Bucs passing on Barron at the No. 7 spot in favor of defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who ended up getting drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 12.

Here’s why Brandt loves the thought of Cox joining the Bucs:

“Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy made the Pro Bowl six times in his nine Bucs seasons, but can you imagine how much more he would have flourished if he’d been playing alongside a defensive lineman of Cox’s caliber instead of the rotating cast of characters Tampa fielded?”

For what it’s worth, Cox has been named a Pro Bowler the past five seasons and even earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2018 following his 10.5-sack season. Hindsight is always 20/20, and at the time the Barron selection seemed like a slam dunk. But, as we’ve come to find out, there’s no such thing when it comes to the NFL draft.

As for who Brandt reimagines the Eagles taking now that Cox is a Buc, well, he has some linebacker named Lavonte David going to Philly at No. 12. David, of course, was drafted by the Bucs in the second round of that year’s draft.

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2020 NFL draft: LB Malik Harrison NFL draft profile

Steelers Wire draft profile featuring LB Malik Harrison (Ohio State Buckeyes).

Columbus, Ohio born and raised, naturally Harrison chose to attend The Ohio State University. He came into OSU with a reputation for the ability to play anywhere on the field. In high school, Harrison played on both sides of the ball – quarterback, strong safety, and returned punts.

Harrison played in 12 games as a reserve his true freshman season. He appeared in 14 games his sophomore season with one start (36 tackles, three for loss, 1.5 sacks). In Harrison’s junior season, he tied for the Buckeyes’ lead with 81 tackles. The linebacker entered his true senior season second on the team in career tackles with 130 and solo tackles with 87 and ended the season as the leader in tackles with 75 stops.

The linebacker capped off his Buckeyes career with 205 tackles, 29 for loss, nine sacks, nine pass breakups, an interception, and three fumble recoveries.

An early-down player for most teams, Harrison brings more value against the run than the pass. With more development in zone, his playing time could increase. He’s projected to be a starter within two seasons.

Malik Harrison | LB | Ohio State University

Height | 6-3

Weight | 247

Class | Senior

College Bio

Career Stats

Beyond Vince Williams and Devin Bush, there is no depth at inside linebacker. The Steelers lost reserves Tyler Matakevich to the Buffalo Bills in free agency, and Mark Barron was released, which signals that the Steelers will be snagging an ILB via the NFL Draft. If Harrison is on Pittsburgh’s radar, it would have to select him with the third-round pick.

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Steelers release LB Mark Barron

The cuts keep coming fast for the Steelers as they clear salary cap space.

We have terminated the contracts of LB Mark Barron, LB Anthony Chickillo and WR Johnny Holton.https://t.co/FXLGm4G9yD

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) March 16, 2020

One of the players most likely to get released this offseason was linebacker Mark Barron. His play compared to his salary was completely out of whack. The Steelers placed the franchise tag on Bud Dupree on Monday, meaning the team had to clear salary cap in a hurry. This means Barron’s time with the Steelers is over.

Releasing Barron frees up $5.2 million in cap space. This paired with the $5 million saved by releasing Anthony Chickillo and the Steelers are a little over $5 million away from having the room to cover the $15.8 million due to Dupree this season.

Barron was supposed to get his career back on track in Pittsburgh. But unfortunately, he never played up to his salary and with Vince Williams on the roster, the Steelers no longer had a need to overpay Barron.

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Michael Brockers sees Aaron Donald, Mark Barron in two of draft’s top prospects

Isaiah Simmons and Chase Young drew comparisons to a former and current Ram, according to Michael Brockers.

Two of the best defensive prospects in this year’s draft hail from powerhouse programs Clemson and Ohio State. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons and edge rusher Chase Young are both expected to be taken in the top 10 come April, with potentially both going in the top five.

Michael Brockers has been in the NFL for eight years and played alongside arguably the best defender for six years (Aaron Donald), so he knows a good defender when he sees one. And when looking at Young and Simmons, Brockers sees flashes of a current and former Ram.

Simmons brings him back to the days of playing alongside Mark Barron, who the Rams acquired as a safety and moved to linebacker.

“Over the years that I’ve been in the league, the game’s changed. I’ve played with a hybrid linebacker and I think the first one that really came into the league was Mark Barron,” Brockers said on NFL Network. “He came from Alabama. I saw him at Alabama as a safety, he was feared in the backend. We trade for him in I think 2015, not sure, and we get him and Gregg (Williams) says, ‘Hey, blitz, blitz.’ We get him the first week and he plays against the Cardinals. And he’s like, ‘Blitz, blitz.’ And after that, we started seeing people don’t know what package we’re in – if we’re in sub-package or base package, so this could work for us. So then we start matching him up on tight ends and getting up on the line of scrimmage in that base personnel, so it worked well for our defense and he did a tremendous job and he’s a hell of a player.”

As for Young, his mentality reminds Brockers of Donald. He didn’t specifically mention the talent comparisons between Donald and Young, but both are prolific pass rushers and have the attitude to be great.

“After hearing his interview, it almost made me think about AD, Aaron Donald,” Brockers said. “His thought process is, ‘I want to be great. I don’t care about nothing else. I want to be great, just me.’ That self-motivation is going to take him a long way.”

The Rams won’t sniff Simmons or Young, sitting at No. 52 overall with their first selection. However, this is a deep draft class filled with solid pass rushers and linebackers. Brockers may not be around to see the Rams make their first pick in the draft, being a pending free agent, but there’s no doubt he wants to stay in Los Angeles with Donald lining up next to him.

Rams 2010s All-Decade Team: Defense and special teams

Breaking down the best defensive and special teams players to play for the Rams during the 2010s.

Despite an up-and-down decade on offense, the Rams have had one of the better defenses in the NFL since Jeff Fisher took over as head coach in 2012. They had a fearsome pass rush even before Aaron Donald arrived and their secondary has always been a tough out for opposing quarterbacks. The Rams became known for their defensive identity before Sean McVay arrived, and they continued to shine under McVay and Wade Phillips.

There are a lot of players deserving of a spot on the Rams 2010s All-Decade Team, at least compared to the other side of the ball. To choose this group, we only factored in the achievements of a player during their time with the Rams between 2010-2019. For example, Chris Long’s first two years with the Rams did not affect his status on this list.

You can read the selections for offense here. We’ll start with the defensive line, and we’ll end with special teams.

Defensive end/EDGE: Robert Quinn (2011-2017) & Chris Long (2010-2015)

Since the Rams ran two different styles of defense last decade, we’ll be combining some positions here. But this is one of the most obvious choices of the entire list.

Robert Quinn’s 2013 season was one for the ages. Quinn recorded 19 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, 34 quarterback hits, seven forced fumbles, and even scored a touchdown. He was named a First-Team All-Pro, the only All-Pro selection of the decade for a Rams defensive player not named Aaron Donald, and won the PFWA Defensive Player of the Year award.

The rest of Quinn’s tenure with the Rams wasn’t too shabby. He totaled 62.5 sacks in his seven years with the team, which is tied for the fourth-most in franchise history. He’ll likely go down as one of the more underrated Rams.

Though Chris Long’s numbers weren’t as flashy as Quinn’s, he was a perfect complement to him on the other side of the defensive line. In addition 45.5 sacks and 56 tackles for loss during his six years with the Rams last decade, Long was a locker room leader, a team captain, and a well-respected teammate. Players have long been vocal about how much they enjoyed playing with him.

Despite spending eight seasons with the Rams, Long will be remembered for what he accomplished in his three seasons after leaving. He won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Patriots and Eagles in addition to being selected as the Walter Payton Man of the Year in his final NFL season. Regardless, the bulk of his career starts happened with the Rams, and he’s more than deserving of a spot on this list.

Honorable Mention: William Hayes

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Steelers vs Week 14 Gut Reactions

My observations and reactions to the Pittsburgh Steelers week 14 win against the Arizona Cardinals.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers took care of business against a competitive Arizona Cardinals team in week 14. The defense continued to roll holding their fifth straight opponent to 21 or fewer points. Devlin Hodges turned in an efficient performance and became the first rookie undrafted free-agent quarterback to win his first three starts. The Steelers have won seven of their last eight games and control their playoff destiny. Here are my gut reactions:

Beating the Odds

It was good to see the Steelers actually get to play with a lead. The offensive game plan was still conservative, Hodges finished with 16 completions and a touchdown on 19 attempts, but that was good enough for a win. Just as important as Hodges 152 passing yards was the fact that he didn’t turn the ball over.

Hodges’ contributions as a rusher shouldn’t be overlooked either. He scrambled five times for 34 yards and ironically outrushed counterpart Kyler Murray. Hodges an undrafted free agent beat the first overall draft pick at his own game, but his solid performance was overshadowed by Dionte Johnson’s breakout day.

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