Tampa Bay Buccaneers Select Safety Mark Barron #1 in NFL Draft

Looking to help on defense, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have selected Alabama’s Mark Barron as their number one pick in the first round of the NFL draft. The Bucs’ selection of a safety for their top pick in Thursday night’s draft was a historical moment for the team as it was the first time the Bucs picked a safety in their first round.

Barron was the seventh overall pick in the NFL draft, according to a release from the Tampa Bay Bucs organization today. In the last twenty years, only nine other safetys have been selected in the top tem picks of the NFL Draft.

According to the Bucs, Barron, a two-time captain and a two-time national champion at Alabama, and an integral component of a defensive unit that stifled opponents week-in and week-out, will be a big contributor to helping the Bucs powerful defense.

If playing elite defense in the pressure cooker of SEC football and multiple BCS bowl games, as well as serving as an unquestioned leader on the best defense in the country (and one of the best units in recent history) hasn’t prepared Barron for the challenges he’ll face at the next level, it’s likely that nothing would have.

The Bucs’ are confident that Barron’s experience in the high-pressure intensity of the SEC give him the mental and physical toughness to help make the Tampa Bucs defense strong.

“You’ll see an athletic range; speed; he’s physical,” said General Manager Mark Dominik. “If you put on any football game of Mark Barron playing at Alabama this year, you’re going to see a guy that’s a physical football player, has range, wraps up – I love the way he tackles. He’s a force. He’s got great size to him. He’s a smart football player and has all those things. People involved in Alabama football [who] know him, know him as the captain of that football team. They see the toughness and dedication he brings to the football team, and that’s really important to us.”

“Character was one of the reasons [for Barron’s selection],” Dominik said. “Obviously, being a two-time captain at the University of Alabama, a two-time National Champion, [and] a very productive football player at a very important position in the National Football League. Safety has become an extremely important position. It’s a position we value and other teams value. We felt that we got an extremely productive guy who has a lot of leadership experience.”