It’s draft time & our Tampa Bay Bucs are on the clock. This is such a crucial draft for the Bucs & Jason Licht & here is why.
During the Jason Licht era, we have seen our share of good & bad draft picks, he has had some success in the 1st 3 rounds, but not much after that. As a matter of fact, only Kwon Alexander (4th round) has had success in the NFL, & that was a great pick. In my honest opinion, the drafting of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, & Ali Marpet were all very good picks & even Charles Sims had been a solid contributor. All of these players were drafted in the 1st 3 rounds.
We have also seen our share of questionable moves, like arguably, the worst move in the history of the draft by trading up into the 2nd round to draft kicker Roberto Aguayo & drafting a tight end in the first round, despite having the #1 ranked tight end in the red zone. This was a terrible move in my opinion, because I believe we clearly needed a running back.
We also have some top picks that the book is still out on, like; Vernon Hargreaves (1st round), Noah Spence (2nd round), Justin Evans (2nd round) & Donovan Smith (2nd round).
Now the mystery question is: Will Jason Licht draft what HE WANTS, or what WE NEED?
The free agent acquisitions, he has made this off season have been very good & especially getting J.P.P. for a 3rd round pick & moving up in the 4th round was a fantastic move as it really sews up the holes in our pass rush.
So what are our needs?
Offensive line, Running Back, & depth on defense are our main needs. There are so many intriguing players in the top 3 rounds & different ways to go.
Let’s look at offensive line: The most polished NFL ready player in the draft is Quenton Nelson -Guard from Notre Dame. Then there are players like; Mike McGlinchey, Connor Williams, Kolten Miller, & after the 1st round, I love Brian O’Neill & Isaiah Wynn.
Now running backs: At the running back position, Derrius Guice, Sony Michel, & Nick Chubb are the top 3 running backs after Saquon Barkley, but all of these players can fill our needs within the top 3 rounds.
Late Round Gems: There are a few players that I believe will be available after the 1st 3 rounds, where I mentioned earlier Licht has struggled, and truly believe will be hidden gems. DE Duke Ejiofor, OT Tyrell Crosby, as well as running backs Nyheim Hines & Josh Adams, who also return kicks.
There are players out there but can Licht find them?
Now, like I mentioned earlier, this is the most important draft for Licht, especially with this being a contract year for Jameis Winston!
It wouldn’t surprise me on bit, if the Glazers clean house. Especially, if we have another sub par season. This is why he has to draft impact players, in the 1st 2 rounds & not completely miss out on our later rounds.
