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With the seventh pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2014 NFL mock draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Texas A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews. Dave Marshall is serving as the Buccaneers' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
The Bucs are fortunate to be able to both fill a position of need, as well as take the best player available. Jake Matthews projects to be the cornerstone on a newly revamped offensive line. Since becoming offensive coordinator, Jeff Tedford has completely overhauled the offensive line, favoring more of a zone blocking scheme than power blocking. They released Donald Penn and Davin Joseph and signed Evan Dietrich-Smith and Anthony Collins.
Matthews is a physical lineman whose pedigree speaks for itself. His father, of course, is 10-time All-Pro and Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, and he is cousins with the Green Bay Packers' Clay Matthews and the Philadelphia Eagles' Casey Matthews.
Jake has great technique and displays exceptionally quick ups when pass blocking. His 6'5, 305-pound frame is the perfect size. I am very confident he will be opening sizable holes for Doug Martin, as well as giving Josh McCown ample time to find receivers downfield.
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Check out the 2014 POD Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.