On a day in which the Bucs used their top pick to continue upgrading their offense, the rest of the NFC South made defense a priority.
After a run on offensive players early in the draft, former Bucs general manager Rich McKay got the first cornerback as his Falcons selected Virginia Tech's DeAngelo Hall with the eighth pick.
New Orleans and Carolina used their top picks on defense as well, with the Saints taking Ohio State defensive end Will Smith at No.18 and Carolina trading up to get Buckeyes defensive back Chris Gamble at No.28.
Hall, a speedy return threat who took five punts for touchdowns at Virginia Tech and has the school record with a 4.15 40-yard time, brings a confidence to match his stats.
"He will bring ... a real element of toughness and swagger to this football team, and we like that about him," coach Jim Mora Jr. told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He has what we term "athletic arrogance.' That means he doesn't feel that anybody on the football field can beat him."
Hall said a "pretty good source" told him he was going to Atlanta. That source was quarterback Michael Vick, another former Hokie and close friend, and one he could moonlight with: Hall caught seven passes as a part-time receiver and could dabble on offense in the NFL.
Just as the Bucs used their top pick on LSU receiver Michael Clayton, their division rivals tapped into the deep receiver class with their second picks. Atlanta traded from 38th to 29th so it could take Ohio State's Mike Jenkins, a 6-foot-4 Tampa Leto graduate who could be the No.2 receiver alongside Peerless Price.
New Orleans used its second-round pick on another LSU receiver, speedy Devery Henderson, and Carolina chose USC's Keary Colbert 12 picks later. The Saints also traded their third-round pick to Washington for a fifth-round choice today and a second-round pick in 2005.
Mora, a former defensive backs coach in San Francisco, has overhauled the Atlanta secondary to retool a defense that ranked among the NFL's worst last season. Hall will likely start opposite Jason Webster, who played for Mora last year with the 49ers and signed as a free agent.
New Orleans, picking 18th, got the first outside pass rusher taken, Smith. The Saints have used top picks on the defensive line four times in five years. New Orleans spent first-round picks the past two years on Georgia's Johnathan Sullivan and Charles Grant and a second-rounder in 2000 on another Ohio State star, Darren Howard of St. Petersburg.
Carolina, the defending NFC champion, lost three starting defensive backs in free agency and helped fill that void by giving up a fourth-round pick to land Gamble, a two-way star for the Buckeyes (he also plays wide receiver).
As he did last year with Chris Simms, McKay made a splash by taking a quarterback late in the third round Saturday. The Falcons used the 90th pick on Virginia's Matt Schaub, the first quarterback taken after four went in the top 22 picks.
Carolina closed out the division's first-day selections by taking South Carolina guard Travelle Wharton with the 94th pick.
