Imagine the Buccaneer defense with John Abraham at defensive end.

Or Julian Peterson at linebacker.

Nate Clemens patrolling the secondary.

Better yet, Ed Reed taking the place of John Lynch at safety.

Or, the best yet, Shawne Merriman at linebacker.

And on the offensive side, consider Shawn Alexander running the football in Red and Pewter.

All could have been Buccaneers. All were available when the Bucs drafted or, the Bucs had traded their picks.

And before you start throwing darts at the Bucs decision to send the Raiders four picks and millions for Jon Gruden, hold on.

The most deadly trade was the deal for Keyshawn Johnson. The Bucs sent 2 first round picks in 2000 to the Jets for Keyshawn. The Jets immediately chose Abraham with that pick. The Bucs also would have had their choice of Peterson and Alexander with that 13th pick.

In 2001, the Bucs traded 2 picks to move up for Gator offensive lineman Kenyatta Walker. If the Bucs had kept their pick, they would have had the choice of Nate Clemens, Deuce McAllister and Reggie Wayne.

And to rub a little more salt to that wound, the Bucs could have taken either Chris Chambers, Travis Henry or Shawn Rogers with the 2nd pick they traded to the Bills.

Again, while "Bruce Allen-bashing" has taken on an artform, those moves were made by Rich McKay.

Don’t worry, Allen has his share. In 2004, the Bucs drafted Michael Clayton with the 15th pick. Yet running back Steven Jackson was on the board and he has become a Pro Bowler with the Rams.

And, as for those four picks going to the Raiders for Gruden, the Raiders did little with those picks. However, the Bucs would have had defensive back Ed Reed in their hip pocket in 2002. They also missed out on kick returner Antwaan Randle El and wide receiver Deion Branch.

The Bucs have become the "poster child" for the evils of trading away draft picks. Every team has hits and misses in the draft. Bottom line for the Bucs, Gruden has complained loud and often about his lack of depth. The Bucs should be enjoying the depth of Abraham, Clemens, Chambers and Reed. And that doesn’t even account for the Bucs taking Cadillac with the 5th pick in 2005, yet three Pro Bowlers were drafted after him. Merriman - the most dominant defensive force in the NFL - is the most obvious pick.

Granted, who knows if the Bucs would have drafted these players if they had kept their picks. The draft is a crapshoot. But still, the lack of drafting solid starters goes back deeper than Allen’s time with the Bucs. It goes back to 2000 and the Keyshawn Johnson deal. So when Gruden demanded that Keyshawn be banished, there went $56-mill and missed starters from the 2000 draft. Even if the players taken had not developed into Pro Bowlers, chances are the Bucs would have had at least two solid starters.

And again, these are only early picks. Other than Bruce Gradkowski, when was the last time the Buccaneers had a late round pick make an impact?

It is easy to sit back and criticize what the Buccaneers have not done in the draft. There are several other teams that missed out on Merriman, Jackson, Reed and others. However, if Gruden and the Bucs are moaning about injuries and lack of depth since winning the Super Bowl, it is not hard to find places where they could have helped themselves.  Al Keck