TAMPA, Fla. -- Insert two young players with virtually zero experience into an offensive line and the results are likely to be disastrous. Make sure the two youngsters are high-round draft choices with above-average athletic skills, however, and the infusion of new talent can make a difference.

Such is the rationale of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whose starting offensive line will feature rookie first-rounder Kenyatta Walker at left tackle and second-year pro Cosey Coleman at right guard. They figure to enhance the role of tailback Warrick Dunn in a scheme revamped by Clyde Christensen, the club's third offensive coordinator in three years.

	Rookie left tackle Kenyatta Walker is being trusted to protect Brad Johnson's blind side.

"We now have four linemen who might be among the most athletic at their positions," said coach Tony Dungy, adding center Jeff Christy and left guard Randall McDaniel to the mix. "And that should help what we want to do this year. We should be able to get (Dunn) outside more often, and it definitely should help our screen-pass game."

Which should hopefully improve a Bucs offense that statistically ranked No. 21 in the league last season.

Entering his fifth season, the mighty-mite Dunn seems to have finally convinced the Tampa Bay coaches that he is not the fragile China doll they have made him out to be in the past. In fact, while much of the buzz here revolved around quarterback Brad Johnson and wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, it is Dunn who appears to have evolved into the offensive centerpiece.

His 248 rushing attempts and 1,133 yards were both career bests in 2000, the lead role thrust upon Dunn when Mike Alstott was injured. Alstott is currently sidelined by a sore hamstring, but he had abdicated his lead-back role anyway in part because of his propensity for fumbling.

Even in some one-back formations now, Dunn is the top man, and his quickness during the two days of workouts here was a problem for the Miami Dolphins defense. Moreover, he is a much tougher inside runner than defenders expect him to be.

"He's got a knack for not getting hit head-on," said Dolphins middle linebacker Zach Thomas. "You can't get a good shot at him, plus it's hard to find him because of his size. He kind of hides back there behind all the big trees and then, voom, there he goes before you even realize he has the ball."

Dunn, 26, doesn't like to discuss the little man's syndrome that at times has relegated him to being a situational player. In fact, he bristles at any suggestion his size limits his ability to be an every-down back. But he runs with deceptive toughness inside and the additions of Walker and Coleman to the starting lineup should permit the Bucs to run more plays where they get the elusive Dunn out in space.

	“	We don't want our (legacy) to be the team that had all this talent and couldn't win a Super Bowl. The expectations should be high. Rightly so. ”
		— Warrick Dunn, Bucs tailback

While most teams would prefer not to have to entrust their quarterback's blind side to a rookie left tackle, Walker, despite the kind of inconsistencies expected even of a top pick, will eventually be an upgrade. He is a player who, mentally and physically, will need a lot of repetitions in camp, but whose physical superiority will come to the forefront.

A second-round pick in 2000 who played sparingly as a rookie, Coleman isn't as physical an in-line blocker as Frank Middleton, who exited to Oakland as a free agent. But what he lacks in strength, Coleman compensates for with movement skills.

"We should be a quicker team now, make more big plays," Coleman said.

One of the most impressive moments of a Saturday morning practice here was a play in which Dunn circled out of the backfield to the left, cleanly beat Miami linebacker Derrick Rodgers, then gathered in a Ryan Leaf pass at the front corner of the end zone before cornerback Deshone Mallard could close on the ball.

Dungy acknowledged that was the kind of play at which Dunn should excel, the sort of quick strikes the once-methodical Bucs need to make with some regularity. Dunn agreed and allowed that the Bucs' offense must do its part this season if the team is to live up to its lofty expectations.

"We don't want our (legacy) to be the team that had all this talent and couldn't win a Super Bowl," Dunn said. "The expectations should be high. Rightly so."

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.