With The 19th Pick In The First Round, The Bucs Select…

There’s plenty of doubt that goes with the Bucs’ first-round pick in the NFL Draft, but there shouldn’t be.

If Florida State’s Dalvin Cook is still on the board, Bucs’ personnel at the Draft should be running up to the podium to meet Roger Goodell with Cook’s name, before anyone changes their mind.

I’ve read most of the reasons why they shouldn’t touch Cook in the first round..his 3 shoulder surgeries since high school..his supposed inability to run between the tackles..his checkered past off the field and character issues in Miami.

I prefer to look at the tape at what Dalvin Cook did at FSU..like his 1,600-plus yards rushing each of the past two seasons.. his 700-plus yards receiving the past two seasons. That’s a lot of yards for an injury-prone player.  And don’t dismiss those receiving yards out of the backfield.  We all know how important that has become in the NFL.  And to become another weapon for fellow Seminole Jameis Winston is huge for the Bucs’ offense.

Just like you, I’ve read the mock drafts and the other first-round possibilities...Corey Davis, John Ross, Cam Robinson, David Njoku, Derek Barnett, Taco Charlton, Charles Harris, Jabril Peppers, Obi Melifonwu, Budda Baker..all of them, good selections with a decent chance to be a productive starter in the NFL.

Let me tell you the feeling I get about Dalvin Cook.

Emmitt Smith.

Now, I’m not comparing Cook to the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, that’s unfair. But I remember back in 1990, after covering Emmitt at Florida for 3 years, how terrific a running back he was…how smooth he was in finding the hole, following his blockers, breaking tackles. Emmitt wasn’t the fastest RB, nor the biggest at 210 pounds. But I felt then that he would turn into a star at the next level, a top 5 pick.

And he wasn’t picked until number-17 by the Cowboys. The rest of the story, you know.

I think similar things could happen for Dalvin Cook, especially in a developing offense like the Bucs, lead by his former teammate in Tallahassee.

Dalvin Cook is a game-breaker. GM Jason Licht, don’t pass on him Thursday night.