ESPN's McShay expects Bucs to draft DE Kerrigan

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay has sided with counterpart Mel Kiper Jr. and now believes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will make Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan their first-round selection in the NFL Draft.

When each published his mock draft in January, Kiper predicted the Bucs would select Kerrigan, while McShay believed Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn made better sense. McShay predicted Kerrigan would be New England's 17th overall pick and off the board by the time Tampa Bay selected 20th.

In McShay's latest mock draft, he has Jacksonville taking Clayborn at No.16 and Kerrigan slipping to Tampa Bay.

"I think it's their No. 1 need and I think they should get a good quality player," McShay said of the Bucs during a Wednesday conference call. "If you can get Kerrigan at 20, that's a pretty good value pick when you consider how much talent is at the defensive end position."

McShay believes defensive end is Tampa Bay's greatest weakness.

Bucs defensive end Stylez G. White, 31, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent and unlikely to be re-signed. White finished 2010 with 4.5 sacks and lost his starting spot to Michael Bennett late in the season.

"When you look at the defensive end spot, they just haven't gotten the production out of those starters you'd like to see, (Tim) Crowder and White," McShay said. "Only 26 team sacks, which is close to the bottom of the NFL. They allowed 131 rushing yards per game, which is close to the bottom of the NFL.

"They've got the interior guys and you hope they build that interior for a long time with (Gerald) McCoy and Brian Price, but I think addressing defensive end becomes the primary need. To be honest, I don't think there is a position with more quality depth than the defensive end position this year."

During the 2010 season at Purdue, Kerrigan had 70 tackles, including 26 for loss and 13 sacks. He also forced five fumbles.

Tampa Bay ranked 30th in sacks per pass play last season.