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Luke Stocker drafted by Tampa Bay in Round 4

The first Vol off the board goes to the Buccaneers:  Luke Stocker was selected by Tampa Bay with the seventh pick of the fourth round after they traded up to get him.

Stocker joins a team with Kellen "Soldier" Winslow as its starting tight end, who caught more passes than any other Buc last year.  Backup tight end John Gilmore caught just 13 passes and was targeted only 18 times, so perhaps there's an opening for Stocker depending on how often Tampa puts two tight ends on the field. 

The Bucs are up and coming behind QB Josh Freeman, winning ten games last year and narrowly missing the playoffs.  So Stocker goes to a good team where he won't be buried behind a number of proven threats at his position.

As is the case with Denarius Moore, who will hopefully be taken later today, Stocker played for four different play callers and with four different quarterbacks in his four seasons at Tennessee.  But he still became a real threat for the Vols in the passing game, and in the second half of both 2009 and 2010, the Vols had quarterbacks who were capable of getting him the ball.  He caught five touchdowns as a junior, then had 39 receptions for 417 yards in his senior season.  His career numbers certainly would've been higher had there been greater offensive stability in Knoxville the last four years.

This seems like a good fit for Stocker, and it's always good to see former Vols on competitive teams.  Best of luck to Luke in Tampa - for more on Tampa Bay, check out Bucs Nation and their thoughts on the pick.