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Bruce Arians: If you draft for need, you get fired

30th Annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 04: (L-R) NFL football coach Bruce Arians speaks onstage during the 30th Annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party on February 4, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Leigh Steinberg)

Tasos Katopodis

Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians says his team will take the best player on the board, and won’t focus on improving any particular decision.

Arians said he doesn’t believe in drafting for need, saying he’d rather strengthen an already strong position than reach for a player just because of the position he plays.

You can’t draft for need,” Arians said, via the Tampa Bay Times. “If you draft for need, you get fired. You take the best player. If you got two players, now you’ve got three of them. Just take the best player available. Now if you’ve got four players right there together and one of them is a need? That’s a home run.’’

A lot of mock drafts are penciling in LSU linebacker Devin White to the Bucs with the fifth overall pick, but if he’s the Bucs’ guy, it’s because they think he’s the best player on the board at the time, not because they need a linebacker.