Five best Jason Licht draft picks

[Defense5599]

1. Mike Evans- Eight time Pro Bowler, eight years with over 1000 yards receiving. Nuff said

2. Vita Vea- A one man wrecking crew on the Bucs defensive line.

3. Tristan Wirfs- All Pro tackle anchoring the right side of the line for years to come

4. Chris Godwin- Shifty receiver who will do damage catching the ball in space

5. Ali Marpet- Multi Pro Bowl guard who created a lot of holes for the running game.

[Defense5599]

Aguayo

ASJ

VHIII

Matt Gay

The Human Turnover Machine

I was planning on doing a separate thread for his five worst. Why don't you start it up?

[Doctor]

Pete only has one mode

[Doctor]

1. Mike Evans- Eight time Pro Bowler, eight years with over 1000 yards receiving. Nuff said

2. Vita Vea- A one man wrecking crew on the Bucs defensive line.

3. Tristan Wirfs- All Pro tackle anchoring the right side of the line for years to come

4. Chris Godwin- Shifty receiver who will do damage catching the ball in space

5. Ali Marpet- Multi Pro Bowl guard who created a lot of holes for the running game.

You can mess with the order some but I think these dudes are the clear top 5. I do love me some AW Jr tho... Can you imagine if JL went with his gut and took Cook over OJ? Oh boy.

[Dread]

Aguayo

ASJ

VHIII

Matt Gay

The Human Turnover Machine

Matt Gay was a good draft pick I'd argue, or atleast a solid one.

The Bucs just couldn't afford to be patient going into 2nd season with Brady onboard and opted for the more conservative (and limited option).

Matt Gay is 46/50 on FGs and only missed 1 PAT the past 2 seasons since we released him after his rookie season.

[Snake]

I am big on Marpet and Godwin based on where they were drafted.

[uscbucsfan]

I am big on Marpet and Godwin based on where they were drafted.

Probably the two best overall picks considering the value and their talent level, I agree.

[mdb1958]

Starting his ninth year, what made you go with top five.

[Doctor]

Indeed, the bottom half of a top 10 would be far more interesting

[IchabodCrane84]

Aguayo

ASJ

VHIII

Matt Gay

The Human Turnover Machine

Don't forget about free agent George Johnson we drafted after he left the Lions.

[kaimaru]

Indeed, the bottom half of a top 10 would be far more interesting

5-10 seems pretty solid. Unless someone wants to swap someone for Scooter. I mean it's a dearth of mediocre players after them.

Jordan Whitehead
Donovan Smith
Antoine Winfield Jr
Mike Edwards
Alex Cappa

[BJJ34]

Indeed, the bottom half of a top 10 would be far more interesting

5-10 seems pretty solid. Unless someone wants to swap someone for Scooter. I mean it's a dearth of mediocre players after them.

Jordan Whitehead
Donovan Smith
Antoine Winfield Jr
Mike Edwards
Alex Cappa

How good is the average GM at smashing EVERY pick?

I can’t think of a franchise other than New England that hits home runs every year. Would love to see BB’s saturday schedule for college football.

[MJW]

- Chris Godwin, 3rd Round
- Mike Evans, 1st Round
- Vita Vea, 1st Round
- Antoine Winfield, 2nd Round
- Tristan Wirfs, 1st Round

I don't even see a ton of debate on these, except their order.

[Defense5599]

5-10 seems pretty solid. Unless someone wants to swap someone for Scooter. I mean it's a dearth of mediocre players after them.

Jordan Whitehead
Donovan Smith
Antoine Winfield Jr
Mike Edwards
Alex Cappa

How good is the average GM at smashing EVERY pick?

I can’t think of a franchise other than New England that hits home runs every year. Would love to see BB’s saturday schedule for college football.

The funny thing is, Licht worked under Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli in New England for a while.

[Snake]

5-10 seems pretty solid. Unless someone wants to swap someone for Scooter. I mean it's a dearth of mediocre players after them.

Jordan Whitehead
Donovan Smith
Antoine Winfield Jr
Mike Edwards
Alex Cappa

How good is the average GM at smashing EVERY pick?

I can’t think of a franchise other than New England that hits home runs every year. Would love to see BB’s saturday schedule for college football.

Not to be a contrarian, but Belichick‘s drafting has left a lot to be desired in some areas. Even he struggles. It’s tough.

[acmillis]

Vea # 1, especially when you think about the fact that we got him and 2 2's to swap firsts with BUF.

[Dread]

Matt Gay was a good draft pick I'd argue, or atleast a solid one.

The Bucs just couldn't afford to be patient going into 2nd season with Brady onboard and opted for the more conservative (and limited option).

Matt Gay is 46/50 on FGs and only missed 1 PAT the past 2 seasons since we released him after his rookie season.

Rattling off stats what Ghey has done in another uniform. Not sure how that made him a good pick for the Yucks.

I just don't agree he should be in the group you put him in is all.

Matt Gay is a pro bowl kicker in his 3rd NFL season.

I get the argument he was a bad pick from the perspective he was cut after just one season. But it was still a good pick at that time when you consider he was a 5th rounder. I mean how many 5th rounders never even make an NFL team, yet Matt Gay is a bad pick when he's a pro bowl kicker in year 3. Kadeem Edwards and Kenny Bell are 5th rounders we drafted who never made the team, those are bad picks.

The Bucs FO was scared to keep Matt Gay once Brady signed b/c of how inconsistent the FG kicking had been since Licht arrived in 2014, so I understand the conservative decision to pay Ryan Succup.

[Dread]

1. Mike Evans- Eight time Pro Bowler, eight years with over 1000 yards receiving. Nuff said

2. Vita Vea- A one man wrecking crew on the Bucs defensive line.

3. Tristan Wirfs- All Pro tackle anchoring the right side of the line for years to come

4. Chris Godwin- Shifty receiver who will do damage catching the ball in space

5. Ali Marpet- Multi Pro Bowl guard who created a lot of holes for the running game.

Tough to argue there.

Picks like Whitehead (4th rounder) may deserve to be in there considering where he was drafted, Godwin may need to be ranked higher also by that same logic.

Evans is obviously a great player and future HoF most likely, but he was also the 7th overall pick in arguably the most talented 1st round draft class of this generation, also (arguably) the best WR draft class ever. So I would argue Evans is moreso a great player than he was a great pick by Licht.

[King Bootz]

1. Mike Evans
2. Tristan Wirfs
3. Vita Vea
4. Chris Godwin
5. Ali Marpet

[Nobody]

1. Marpet
2. Godwin
3. Vea (this positioning includes the trade even though we squandered 2 of the 2nd rd picks)
4. Evans
5. Wirfs


Honorable Mentions:

Winfield
CD3
Cappa
Whitehead

[real bucs fan]

Godwin, Evans, and Wirfs are the top 3 for sure. Whitehead? Could be the only good Day 3 pick of his tenure. And I know it’s been a bumpy road to get there, but tempted to say Donovan Smith. He was great during these last two years, kept Brady healthy, and to get that at a premium position like LT on Day 2 of the draft is definitely quality. White and Vea get honorable mentions but they were very high picks for their position so they better be excellent. Marpet obviously too, but I’m giving that spot to Smith due to positional value.

[acmillis]

Hate to be “that guy” but Wirfs should not be on that list based on sheer principle at this point just two years in.

[accidentw8ing2happen]

1. Marpet
2. Godwin
3. Vea (this positioning includes the trade even though we squandered 2 of the 2nd rd picks)
4. Evans
5. Wirfs


Honorable Mentions:

Winfield
CD3
Cappa
Whitehead

They traded one of those 2nd round picks for a 2nd and a 4th. They ended up getting Carlton Davis and Whitehead with those picks and MJ Stewart with the other. I wouldn't say that they squandered 2 of the 2nd round picks that they got from that trade. Only 1.

[Nobody]

1. Marpet
2. Godwin
3. Vea (this positioning includes the trade even though we squandered 2 of the 2nd rd picks)
4. Evans
5. Wirfs


Honorable Mentions:

Winfield
CD3
Cappa
Whitehead

They traded one of those 2nd round picks for a 2nd and a 4th. They ended up getting Carlton Davis and Whitehead with those picks and MJ Stewart with the other. I wouldn't say that they squandered 2 of the 2nd round picks that they got from that trade. Only 1.

That’s more than fair. Thanks for the correction (I forgot that they turned around that 2nd pick for the picks that turned into CD3 and Whitehead).

I was rolling both the Jones pick (inexplicable to take a passing game liability RB at top of the 2nd) and the Stewart pick (I broke down how bad this pick was I detail back then…everyone understands it) into that. Those two picks were absolutely awful at the time and bore that out. But only one of them is related to Vea + Trade so rolling Jones in is obviously incorrect so thanks for the correction.

In light of that (your correction), I’m going to go ahead and say that move (trading back and netting Vea, CD3, and Whitehead because of it), is the crown jewel of Licht draft moves with Marpet being 2.

So:

1. Vea + trade netting CD3/Whitehead
2. Marpet
3. Godwin
4. Evans
5. Wirfs

Only other thing I’ll say is I seriously disagree with the “it’s too early on Wirfs” take above. He’s effectively put on All Pro resume out there in his first 2 years of play. He was better year 1 than he was year 2 (where he was 1st team All Pro). Even if he regresses to “average football player” the next 3 years (he won’t) and doesn’t see contract 2 here, he would climb up to # 3. The odds are extremely high that he is going to end up tops on this list and these first 2 years have a huge amount to do with it.

I would (however) expect some regression at all OL positions and particularly OT due to the loss of Brady (and Gronk which helped our OTs significantly, particularly year 1). But I wouldn’t expect much from Wirfs as his tape shows the goods play-in and play-out. DSmith on the other hand is losing the impact of Brady and the adjacent play of Marpet. I expect huge regression from him (the kind of bad we saw in his Rams play which was with Brady and Marpet).

Going from the greatest processor of all time at QB to a bad processor and a nearly All Pro LG to somewhere between a JAG to a liability? If DSmith’s play doesn’t regress I will be shocked. Unlike Wirfs, his pre-Brady tape is a volatile mess of bottom 5 NFL LT pass protection, gas-tank rationing in the run game (enormously uneven snaps), and huge 2nd half errors (be it penalties or technical errors or effort) in key moments to end or cripple drives.

I’ve sung his praises these last two years but he was so incredibly bad in the Rams game when they needed him to step up. I knew a lot of his better play was Brady (and Gronk) related, but I’m going to go out on a limb and just say that it pretty much all was. I’m expecting a mess from him next year.

I’d love for him to prove me wrong but I’ve just studied his game way way way too much and too intricately to predict differently. He’s going to (a) see significantly longer pass sets routinely this year, (b) not have his Pressure/Sack numbers protected by quick throw always or intentionally errant incompletions, (c) have to deal with Stunts and Twists + 2nd level blitzes with a significantly lower tier LG and TE adjacent, and (d) he’s going to be doubling in the run game with a significantly lower tier player.

In every way the game could be more difficult for a LT, it will be much more difficult next year for DSmith. The knock-on effect of the Brady/Marpet retirements (and the loss of Gronk) is that we are (likely seriously) downgrading the LT position by proxy.

[Terry Tate]

Vea # 1, especially when you think about the fact that we got him and 2 2's to swap firsts with BUF.

I don't think that holds up. As much as I love Vea, had I to do it over with the benefit of hindsight I'd take Josh Allen in a heartbeat.

As for picks 6 to 10, I agree with Nobody about Smith and I think CD3 and White need to be in there.

It's fairly obvious why CD3 would be there, we got a good #1 corner at the very bottom of the second. That's serious value.

As for White, he has holes in his game to be sure but when he can play to his strengths he's a world ender. White being banged up at the end of the year hurt us more than most realized.

[acmillis]

Vea # 1, especially when you think about the fact that we got him and 2 2's to swap firsts with BUF.

I don't think that holds up. As much as I love Vea, had I to do it over with the benefit of hindsight I'd take Josh Allen in a heartbeat.

As for picks 6 to 10, I agree with Nobody about Smith and I think CD3 and White need to be in there.

It's fairly obvious why CD3 would be there, we got a good #1 corner at the very bottom of the second. That's serious value.

As for White, he has holes in his game to be sure but when he can play to his strengths he's a world ender. White being banged up at the end of the year hurt us more than most realized.

Yeah, but with hindsight, we would have drafted Brady too. It don’t work that way