NFL: The best trade in each franchise’s history

Best trade in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history: Acquiring Warren Sapp

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a boatload of draft picks during the 1995 draft. While they packaged a ton of them to move up and down the board, their most memorable move came when they gave up two picks to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to grab defensive end Warren Sapp with the 12th overall pick.

Talent evaluators can sometimes overthink things. The overwhelming thought process heading into the draft was that Sapp should be one of the first names taken off the board. However, he failed multiple drug tests for cocaine and marijuana. It may have been a worrying sign but if those NFL teams that ultimately passed on him knew how good he would become, they would’ve taken him regardless.

Sapp spent nine seasons in Tampa and put up incredible numbers. During the 1997 league year, he wrapped his hands around the quarterback 10.5 times. He also recorded back-to-back seasons of double-digit sacks in 1999 and 2000, the latter totaled 16.5.

Sapp was always included when it came to accolades at the end of the year. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time First-Team All-Pro, the Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 and had the cherry placed on his football career sundae when he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013.