DT Dre Moore emerged late in his career at Maryland before being selected by the Bucs in the fourth round
The first day of the 2008 NFL Draft saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers add playmakers on the outside of both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, as the Bucs added cornerback Aqib Talib and wide receiver Dexter Jackson.
However, as the draft rolls on through the second day, the focus seems to have shifted to the trenches. After spending their third-round pick on guard Jeremy Zuttah of Rutgers, the Bucs snapped up defensive tackle Dre Moore of Maryland in the fourth round.
After swinging a trade with the Chicago Bears to move up five spots to the 115th overall selection in the draft, the Bucs tabbed Moore, a 6-4 305-pounder who appeared in 44 games with 26 starts while at Maryland.
Moore recorded 140 tackles, 10.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two passes defensed and one interception in his collegiate career and is a strong, powerful lineman who plays with a mean streak. He played just one year of high school football and took some time to emerge at Maryland, but came on late in his collegiate career, earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference first-team honors as a senior, and impressed scouts with his strength and quickness.
Moore, whose full first name is Marchondray, led his team with six sacks last year, the most by a Terrapin since Shawne Merriman recorded 8.5 sacks in 2004, and added 63 tackles. As a junior, Moore racked up 47 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
The Bucs have now selected a defensive tackle in each of the past four drafts after taking Greg Peterson in the fifth round in 2007, Julian Jenkins in the sixth round in 2006 and Anthony Bryant in the sixth round in 2005. Prior to that, however, the last defensive tackle the Bucs drafted was first-round pick Anthony McFarland in 1999.
