The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded out of the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft Thursday. That made for a very busy Friday night for Jason Licht and company.
The Buccaneers added three quality pieces during day two of the draft. Starting with defensive tackle Logan Hall at 33rd overall, then offensive lineman Luke Goedeke at 57th overall and finally Rachaad White at 91st overall. Licht was working his magic again and spoke with the media about each of these picks.
Licht on Logan Hall
“Well first of all, his size. He’s a big guy and has a great frame when he walks in the door. He doesn’t look like he’s 282 pounds, he looks like he could easily be a lot bigger. I’m not saying we’re trying to make him bigger. But, he’s a very athletic guy with a big upside. He’s got great feet, he worked out very well, he’s got some natural pass-rush ability – which we really like – he’s young, he’s going to get better and better. We just see that he’s got a really, really high ceiling.”
“Well with Logan, we think he can play the five, the four and the three technique. We think that he rushes very well inside and that’s what probably piqued our interest the most – his value in the passing game as a three technique. He’s got a lot of natural ability. He’s got a lot of room for improvement just like all of these guys, but I would say his rushing skills from the inside is what we like the most.”
Licht on Luke Goedeke
“Well, he’s a character now. He’s all football. I think his hobbies are weightlifting, and it stops there. Maybe driving tractors. All players are different, but he’s got a lot of similarities to when we took Alex Cappa. Alex Cappa came from a small school – I wouldn’t call Central Michigan a very small school. But, just very tough. He’s a very good athlete, he’s all business, [and] a very smart player. [He’s] got a big upside. We’re going to put him in there at guard and let him compete there. But, he can also play right tackle. He’s all about football, and when you have smart guys that are just as passionate as he is – all of our picks that we had today are like that – you’ve got a really good chance to hit on a good player.”
Licht on Rachaad White
“Yeah, 100 percent. A lot of these backs – I would say most of them in college – you can pick them apart for their pass-protection skills. It’s kind of a lost art. As long as they’re willing, as long as they’re smart, as long as they want to do it you’ve got a chance to make them better and work on their weaknesses in that regard in this level. We saw that with him. We saw the passion. This guy is a really driven guy with a chip on his shoulder. When you have guys like that, you’ve got a chance.”
“Well he hasn’t put on a uniform yet, or even practiced in the NFL yet, so I don’t want to compare him to Le’Veon (Bell), but I see what you are saying there just in the style. He is very smooth, he is more of a slasher and more of an outside runner. He can still run between the tackles, but he’s got great vision and great patience. He really sets up his blocks well and, once again, he’s very good in the passing game.”
“We do (see White has a special teams contributor). We talked about that a lot when we talked with him at the Combine and here. He is willing to roll up his sleeves and do whatever he can. He walked around our building here – when we had him on a [draft prospect] visit – holding a football. I said, ‘Why do you hold that football?’ He said, ‘It’s just my comfort level. I just like to have a football with me.’ It’s like the movie, ‘The Program.’ He wants to do anything he can to help the team. That’s one of the things we loved about him.”
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