Could the Buccaneers trade up for Ndamukong Suh?

The draft rumors are swinging in full effect with less than a week until the NFL Scouting Combing in Indianapolis. It was reported earlier today that scouts for the St. Louis Rams are leaning heavily towards Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, but there is now speculation that the Rams could do a blockbuster deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who hold the third overall pick in the upcoming draft.

Chris Steuber of Scout.com said today that the Buccaneers are one of many teams who are convinced that Suh is a can’t miss prospect and their interest in him could lead the team to make a trade up in the draft to land the top prospect.

St. Louis has been rumored to be looking into the possibility of acquiring either Michael Vick or Kevin Kolb from the Philadelphia Eagles and their determination to grab a future quarterback could make them look at trade possibilities with the Bucs, because St. Louis is also interested in Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Johnson.

According to Steuber:

"n addition to finding a franchise quarterback, the Rams are interested in trading out of the top spot in this year’s draft, moving down a few spots and acquiring additional draft picks and players. I’ve been told that the Rams and Buccaneers have had exploratory discussions on a deal, which would involve the team’s first round selections (No. 1 and 3), possibly one of the Buccaneers second round picks (they have two picks in the second round: No. 35 and 42) or their third round pick (No. 67). Again, these discussions have been exploratory, as the Rams continue to investigate all of their options, but the deal involving the Rams and Bucs first round picks and Tampa Bay’s third round pick, not one of their second-round picks, is where it gets interesting.A source close to the situation in St. Louis told me that if a deal with the Eagles can’t be consummated prior to the draft, they may take the Bucs third round pick over one of their second round picks, because they’re “very high” on third-year quarterback Josh Johnson, who they would insist being in a potential trade with Tampa Bay. Rams officials compare Johnson favorably to Vick athletically, but they feel that he has a greater upside as a passer."

Steuber’s source also said that if the top two defensive tackle prospects — Suh and Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy — are off the board that Tampa Bay would look at South Florida defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul over safety Eric Berry of Tennessee.

While Steuber’s report is very interesting and would be a huge trade in the upcoming draft, the folks at Pewter Report believe Tampa Bay will not trade up to the No. 1 pick because they do not want to take on the contract of a No. 1 pick.

I am sure this is just the beginning of the trade rumors that we will hear in the months leading up to April’s draft, but this report has the possibility to really shake things up.