Sixth-round pick fills two holes

TAMPA - After devoting Sunday's first three picks to upgrading the offensive line, the Bucs addressed two other concerns with their final pick, selecting Pittsburgh cornerback Torrie Cox in the sixth round to help at defensive back and special teams.

"I'm feeling so blessed right now," Cox said. "I thank the whole Tampa Bay staff, and they got one of the best players out of the draft. It feels good to come play for the Super Bowl champs. Let's go for Round 2."

Cox, a 5-foot-9, 181-pound senior who earned first-team All-Big East honors, could help the Bucs replace Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson, who signed with Arizona.

Nickel cornerback Dwight Smith will get a look at safety, and second-year pro Tim Wansley could step in for Smith at nickel cornerback, allowing Cox to take Wansley's spot as the sixth cornerback.

"He's a guy that, to us, stood out athletically as a cover guy and played particularly well in the East-West Shrine game," coach Jon Gruden said.

Cox brings extensive special teams experience, having been the unit's MVP and captain for the past three seasons at Pittsburgh. He averaged 24.2 yards on kickoff returns, including a touchdown, though general manager Rich McKay said he wasn't drafted for returns.

"We wanted to come away with one cornerback that could help us in special teams, and that was Torrie Cox," McKay said. "He's our type of corner in the sense that he's a quick guy, has very good ball skills, is a tough kid, contributed on special teams there and looks like he would be a very good special teams player.

"At corner, we're not as concerned about size as we are with toughness and tackling ability and ball awareness, which he has."

STILL MORE TO COME: The Bucs likely will sign eight to 10 undrafted free agents before this weekend's minicamp.

Among those expected are Florida running back Earnest Graham (5-9, 225 pounds), Georgia Tech tight end Will Heller (6-5, 241), Wake Forest receiver Fabian Davis (5-10, 174), Alabama receiver Sam Collins (6-foot, 183), Clemson linebacker Altroy Bodrick (6-1, 215) and Louisville linebacker Michael Brown (5-10, 215).

"We have numbers by position that we need to practice," Gruden said. "We run a lot of plays in a short period of time, and we need X amount of players at each position.

"We've got to pick up a couple more offensive linemen. We've got to pick up a couple more linebackers and secondary men and a pot full of receivers to execute the amount of plays we're trying to get off."

One area the Bucs could address is punting. Veteran Tom Tupa is an unrestricted free agent.

"I'm hoping we improve on offense, and we don't have to punt at all," Gruden said. "We've been talking to Tom Tupa and talking to Tom's agent. We're optimistic that something can work out there."

LINEBACKER LOVE: Forgive linebacker coach Joe Barry for feeling a little jilted. For the third consecutive year, the Bucs did not draft a linebacker.

But the Bucs will start defensive player of the year Derrick Brooks, Pro Bowl middle linebacker Shelton Quarles and recently signed Dwayne Rudd. They also re-signed Nate Webster and have second-year players Ryan Nece and Justin Smith.

"We're not done," Gruden said. "We're going to continue to probe free agency and what occurs on June1. In the meantime, we're going to try to develop some of the young people and hopefully lure a free agent or two here between now and minicamp (this) week."

HELP AT LEFT TACKLE: The re-signing of starter Roman Oben and drafting of Lance Nimmo in Round 4 indicates left tackle could be set entering training camp. Veteran Lomas Brown indicated he would like to return, but that is becoming more remote.

"When you take a guy like Lomas, who was a good player for us and filled a role for us, the problem becomes that he was a one-positional player," McKay said. "So when you dress on Sunday, he becomes a little bit constricting because he really didn't back up at right. Then you have to dress a backup right tackle also, and it becomes much tougher to do."

McKay said part of Nimmo's appeal was he could fill that void.

"It would be nice if we could make that adjustment," McKay said. "I wouldn't foreclose that we would potentially sign a veteran minimum type tackle. But I think for now, that's not our plan. We're going to try to give Nimmo a go at that position."

SPEAKING OF TACKLE: The Bucs aren't too concerned about Kenyatta Walker's run-in with the law Saturday. Walker was charged with disorderly conduct after a skirmish at a nightclub, but his job apparently won't be affected. McKay said the Bucs were pleased with Walker's development late last season, his first at right tackle, and don't have plans to move him.

"We want to go with Kenyatta at the right tackle," McKay said. "So our thought was let's re-sign Roman and let's get someone else that we can begin to develop at that position. It doesn't foreclose the position to Kenyatta, but I don't think (moving him is) something we're looking to do."

Gruden said the Bucs are comfortable with their depth at right tackle.

"We expect Kenyatta to continue to improve as a right tackle," Gruden said. "(Backup) Cornell Green is still a young guy. Those are two young guys at the right tackle position we expect to continue to improve and compete with each other."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Who? Simms hasn't made any plays at One Buc Place. We'll just call him rook."

- Bucs All-Pro defensive tackle Warren Sapp when asked about quarterback Chris Simms on ESPN on Sunday while at the Magic game.

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