It’s no secret that Bucs general manager Jason Licht and the rest of the front office made the most of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Possessing seven picks, the team drafted four plus long-term starters (Graham Barton, Tykee Smith, Jalen McMillan, and Bucky Irving) while adding three players who served as depth and have the potential to becoming bigger pieces (Chris Braswell, Elijah Klein and Devin Culp). It’s rare to have a rookie class come in and provide that much immediate value, but it’s a credit to the organization’s thought process and detail when scouting players across the country. That was something former assistant general manager and now Raiders general manager John Spytek gave a lot of credit to during last year’s draft.
Recently on “The Drive With TKras” On 95.3 WDAE, Licht shared more about how the team’s draft success is not just about identifying who has the most talent, but who are the right people to bring in the building to be molded by a coaching staff that does not shy away from playing young players right away.
Jason Licht Believes In Bucs’ Scouts And Coaching Staff
Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The 2025 NFL Draft is one month away, which is always hard to believe after months of buildup. What is even harder to believe is that the Bucs will be able to outdo themselves after knocking it out of the park in last year’s draft.
Jason Licht admitted to Tom Krasniqi that the level of success they had does not always happen, but the key is trusting the evaluations of the players they scout. The easy part is looking at the talent, but the hard part is properly vetting what kind of person is wearing the helmet and shoulder pads.
“Yeah, that doesn’t happen every year,” Licht said about following up last year’s draft class. “I just have such a great staff and then our coaches are unbelievable about playing young guys. Not being afraid to play young guys… [head coach] Todd [Bowles] certainly isn’t. Baptism by fire, getting them out there. We have a great process throughout the fall; my scouting staff is great identifying the right kind of guy.
Bucs GM Jason Licht and LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“Not just the athlete and what they are in terms of their traits as a football player but their traits as a person and as a teammate. I think that’s been the big key for us. I rely on my staff for that. It’s rare that you miss on the actual player, it’s easy to see a guy that’s incredibly talented. It’s really tough to gauge the person, and that’s where you usually miss. We’ve done a great job of identifying the right people.”
What drives Licht’s point home even further is what the Bucs are able to accomplish every offseason. By finding players who exemplify what it means to represent the Buccaneers on and the off the field is a loyalty both sides have with one another when it comes time to negotiate new contracts.
Want some examples? Just look at some of Licht’s picks over his tenure.
Whether it’s wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin or younger players like left tackle Tristan Wirfs and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. re-signing before hitting the market, time and time again it pays to find the right people because those people end up sticking around.
There Is “A Fine Line” Between Drafting For Value Versus Need
What has aided Jason Licht and the Bucs even more in recent drafts is not just finding talented players but doing so largely at positions of need. It does not always go in the order of needs, though.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles, DT Calijah Kancey and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Take Tampa Bay’s first two picks in the 2023 NFL Draft as a prime example. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and right guard Cody Mauch have proven to be plus starters, but no one expected the team to draft them when they did. Outside linebacker was largely considered a bigger need at the time, but they also addressed that position with their third pick by taking Yaya Diaby.
After seeing Mauch elevate his game last season, both Kancey and Diaby could do the same next season. Selecting them and other players when the team does might not make sense to the general public at the time, but that’s fine with Licht.
He has learned after over a decade of leading war rooms that formulating a draft board and selecting players boils down to one factor.
Making sure they’re good.
“You set your board at the end of just good football player,” Licht said. “Rank them as a football player. Because we do have, I would say, some needs across the board, both offense and defense. You’re never going to be upset if you take a great player at a position that the public may not have thought was an extreme need. At some point, you’re going to be happy you took that player if that’s the best player on the board.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles and GM Jason Licht – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers
“If you try to stack your board by the needs of your team, what you end up doing, and speaking from experience, you end up pushing players that don’t belong in the higher rounds up and you end up taking them because you have that need. You’re kicking yourself later when you’ve cut after a year or two that you wish you would’ve taken the other player. It’s a tough position, it’s a fine line, but we’ve done a pretty good job of that lately and we always try to get better at that.”
Right now, it’s easy to say that all of the Bucs’ biggest defensive needs lie on defense and that there is only a handful of players in each round that fit the bill. It’s not as simple as that when bullets are flying, and picks are being made.
There is a wider net, with Jason Licht alluding to needs on both sides of the ball. With that comes the understanding of expecting the unexpected but trusting that the Bucs process of adding talent has a track record of working out in the long run.
