SAD NEWS: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ head coach, Todd Bowles, is leaving due to…
Getty Warren Sapp, the Tampa Bay Bucs defensive tackle and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In only two years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will celebrate their 50th anniversary. It’s been an amazing ride that has included two Super Bowl titles and extended stints as what may have been the NFL’s worst team.
The finest teams in Buccaneers history were built on the basis laid by the NFL draft. With the 2024 NFL draft scheduled for April 25–27 in Detroit, these are the top five first-round picks in franchise history.
5. Doug Williams, quarterback for Grambling State (drafted No. 17 overall in 1978)
Doug Williams spent five seasons as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback and was a member of the postseason team three times, including a 1979 trip to the NFC championship game. Williams eventually left the Buccaneers for the USFL after the 1982 season because he and owner Hugh Culverhouse couldn’t agree on a contract.
In the end, Williams’ offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay and the head coach of the Washington Redskins, Joe Gibbs, assisted him in returning to the NFL. Williams led the Redskins to victory in the 1987 Super Bowl, earning him the title of Super Bowl MVP.
4. Wide receiver Mike Evans of Texas A&M (No. 7 overall, 2014)
Mike Evans made NFL history in 2023 when he recorded 1,000 receiving yards in a season for the eighth time. Evans helped the Bucs win their second Super Bowl in 2021 as well.
No. 13 in NFL career history with 94 touchdown receptions, Evans is a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. Upon the expiration of Evans’ current deal in 2025, his career earnings will total $151.3 million.
3. Lee Roy Selmon, DE, of Oklahoma (The entire 1976 No. 1 ranking)
The fact that Lee Roy Selmon was chosen first overall in the 1976 NFL Draft wasn’t the only factor. He was also the first overall pick in the franchise’s history. Being a five-time NFL All-Pro and one of just three players on this list to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he was chosen for the NFL 100th Anniversary Team.
The Buccaneers exceeded expectations during Selmon’s nine-year NFL career, all of which he spent in Tampa Bay. They qualified for the postseason in three of their four seasons from 1979 to 1982, including a trip to the NFC Championship Game in 1979—the year Selmon was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Selmon, 56, departed from this life in 2011.
2. Warren Sapp, DT, of Miami (selected 12th overall, 1995)
Other than Tom Brady, Warren Sapp is possibly the most well-known player in Tampa Bay history. and justifiably so.
The outgoing Sapp was a member of Tampa Bay’s 2002 Super Bowl winning squad, a seven-time Pro Bowler, a six-time NFL All-Pro, and the 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft, along with linebacker Derrick Brooks, as one of the two Pro Football Hall of Famers.
1. Derrick Brooks, linebacker, Florida State (Total No. 28, 1995)
Derrick Brooks played football only in Florida, from high school through college and the NFL. He also helped Florida State win its first national championship in 1993.
