Aguayo Pick “Genius”
May 23rd, 2016
Lauds Bucs GM for picking a kicker.
Many Bucs fans to this moment, nearly a month after the draft, slam their beer mugs on the bar in anger and grit their teeth because Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht traded back into the second round to draft a kicker.
Well, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher strongly disagrees with those bitter fans.
Fisher, in town this weekend during his annual booster club tour/rubber chicken circuit, was told the selection of his former kicker, Roberto Aguayo, was rather unpopular. Fisher scoffed at the critics claiming, per Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times, those opposed to selecting Aguayo clearly never coached a football game.
“Tell me what a guard or a tackle’s going to do more than a kicker does in critical situations,” Fisher said. “They’re all just as critical… When a puzzle’s put together, if one piece is missing, it’s still empty. When you can get the best kicker you’ve seen and one of the best in the history of the NCAA, why would you not?”
Fisher (anyone noticed how he has grown hair since his divorce?) also stated Licht’s selection of Aguayo was “genius.”
As Joe has stated, Joe sees both sides to this argument. If the Bucs were a decent team and didn’t have so many holes on defense, drafting a kicker in the second round would be so much easier to swallow.
Instead of Aguayo, Joe would have picked another defensive end. A wide receiver who can stretch the field would have also been a nice addition for America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.
But the flip side is Aguayo, if he turns out to be anything like he was in college, he would be a true weapon scoring points. Last year, the Bucs lost four games by a touchdown or less, five games by 10 points or less. Don’t think a strong kicker could have turned around two of those games?
We all know a decent kicker meant the difference between a loss and a win at Houston.
Of course, all of this talk hinges on if Aguayo sticks around, say, for a decade or so. Folks understandably freaked out when the Raiders used a first-round pick on Sebastian Janikowski. Some 16 years later, he’s still kicking for the Raiders. In retrospect, that wasn’t such a dumb pick, was it?
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:07 am
Agreed.
The pick was genius.
And the execution method was totally understandable for any logical thinker.
Licht is a wizard!!! No sarcasm at all.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:09 am
I love the pick. How Many second round picks have come and gone In Tampa? Benn, Bowers, Brian Price??? Is Austin Seferian- Jenkins the next second round bust?? You get best kicker in college history and a chance he’s here for 15 years, it’s a no brainer.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:17 am
It was a position of need, and in my opinion we got the best player at that position. And it should have us set for the next 10-15 years.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:23 am
The saints got WR Michael Thomas with their 2nd and very good kicker Conner Barth for free. I hope we made the right choice.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:29 am
He will just get better as he concentrates on just kicking, no brainer picking a starter with your third pick….
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:30 am
Erik I use to call Pete Gandolf the Grey. I might have to give that designation to Jason Licht.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:39 am
Do you think it was a better pick than Bowers……How ’bout Brian Price……or, since he was essentially a 3rd round pick….how about Roy Miller or Myron Lewis?
As with most any draft pick…..only time will tell…..and it’s too early to be calling it genius or moronic.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:40 am
I admit to being a bit shocked with the choice at first, but in fairness of it were Belichick making the pick I would have assumed it was going to work out as genius. Licht had the foresight to see the emphasis new rules will have on the kicking game and had the stones to pull the trigger on a pick he must have known would get a lot of scutiny from fans and “experts” alike. I’m still not 100% sold that he wouldn’t have been there in the 3rd round, but Licht was playing with the found money he got from the trade with Chicago. Can’t argue the logic of drafting a guy for that will most likely single handedly win the field position battle as well as hopefully win a few games for the Bucs.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:45 am
“Instead of Aguayo, Joe would have picked another defensive end. A wide receiver who can stretch the field would have also been a nice addition for America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.” – Joe
I don’t doubt that. Do you really believe that a rotational DE or developmental receiver will have a bigger impact than a future HOF kicker? Would a 3 sack a year, rookie DE have won us the Texans game last year? Nope.
Both Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick would be nowhere near the legends they are today without great kickers. Bellichick is a master of winning close games because he has enough faith in his kicker to run out the clock and boot a 50+ game winner. He cares about his kicker infinitely more than he cares about finding a decent wide receiver or having a 1 down DE. Heck, he hasn’t had a real running back in years, but he always has a top 5 kicker. Kickers win football games. They impact the game so much more than rookie backups
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:47 am
LOL You won’t ever see Joe rag on Price. That guy was an animal until he got hurt. Will never forget how he was all over the field in training camp when he was a rookie. Was never the same after that freak injury.
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:48 am
Speaking for Pablo
“What do you expect Himbo to say about Hason’s pick of El Asesino? Pablo thinks Haboo wanted Aguayo too”
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:52 am
Exactly, Toes.
NOSBOS, I would totally be on board with that designation for sure.
Especially when Hargreaves, Noah Spence, Aguayo, Ryan Smith, & Vitale all become Top Tier NFL Starters (like I know in my heart that they will be).
4 quality starters from the 2015 draft & 5 from the 2016 draft??!?
Long live the Wizard!!!
May 23rd, 2016 at 11:58 am
OK……maybe Price was decent before his injury…..but we traded him for a 7th round pick…..and then he was cut….
So….let’s throw in a couple of WRs…….Arelius Benn & Dexter Jackson both 2nd round picks…
The point is…..where are these players now…..and as far as injury….what’s the likelihood of Auguayo sustaining an injury that would seriously affect his long-term performance?
May 23rd, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Welp, if you have that magic crystal ball about injuries, there are some NFL teams that will pay you lottery money for access.
Remember: Austin Seferian-Jenkins never missed a game in college due to an injury.
Benn was another guy that seemed to have turned the corner until he blew out his knee. The bad Dexter Jackson may be the worst pick in Bucs history.
May 23rd, 2016 at 12:11 pm
Vernon Hargreaves knew before he was drafted that the Bucs were moving back to draft him. Which means Jason Licht knew he had the extra 4th round pick before the draft began and probably had already made up his mind too trade up and draft Robert Aguayo. To get the player you wanted in Hargreaves and pick up an extra 4th round pick, is a bonus pick. I only look at it as a 3rd round pick we gave up for Aguayo. Call it what you want to call it we now have a rare breed of kicker. Aguayo and Jameis Winston will be together and part of this offense for the next decade and beyond. We should draft Christian McCaffrey in the first round next year to add to the group.
May 23rd, 2016 at 12:16 pm
Joe…
The point is that it is a crap shoot with many draft picks……injuries happen (not usually to kickers) and players don’t turn out to be successful. We have a history of that (except recently)……..
The Aguayo pick has to be compared to all other picks 2/3rd round.
May 23rd, 2016 at 12:31 pm
Right from Licht’s mouth as it relates to using the fourth round pick to trade up for agauyo.
“In the 2005-15 drafts in the fourth rounds, there were 390 players drafted in the fourth round,” Licht said. “Twenty percent of those went on to become starters or Darren Sproles-type players. I consider Sproles as a starter even though he doesn’t really start. He’s a key player. Thirty-seven percent are career backups like Louis Murphy.
“Forty-three percent are out of the league, and 27 percent of those never logged a game in the NFL. You have a better chance of getting a guy in the fourth round that is never going to see a game than you do to get a starter.”
May 23rd, 2016 at 12:38 pm
My issue was not the pick, not trading up, but what we have. All trade charts show that we overpaid drastically for the pick itself
May 23rd, 2016 at 1:03 pm
Wile E. Coyote is a “super genius”!! It said so on his business card!!!!!
May 23rd, 2016 at 1:05 pm
Another problem I have with the pick is if he is average or bad then it was dumb. If he is great, the he will be gone in 4 years. You not going to pay top dollar for a kicker when your qb is going to be getting a 100 million plus contract and kwon, ali and donovan were all paid the year before. Not enough cash to go around. Using 2 high pick on a kicker was dumb. Should have gone d line and WR. Also, a great college kicker can make a bad pro the same as a great college postion player can make a bad pro.
May 23rd, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Stan glassman – we also got Spence in the 2nd, so I’d say we did just fine. As for Connor Barth, longer in the tooth and weaker in the leg. If a saints Bucs game comes down to a field goal to win it, I’ll take our guy all day long.
May 23rd, 2016 at 1:10 pm
Love the pick.if I’m at GM I always take the number one player at their position over anything else if possible he was the number one kicker.he will be winning games for us for many many years.Tampaaaaaa
May 23rd, 2016 at 1:26 pm
I loved the pick.
We are set at kicker for years to come!
May 23rd, 2016 at 1:34 pm
In Licht I trust!
$hts about to get real… we’re building so hang in there
May 23rd, 2016 at 1:53 pm
Jolly, I don’t know what charts you saw, but the first one that I saw on draft night had our 3rd and 4th rounders adding up to a late 2nd. I even posted on here that we should expect a trade up, if it was going to happen, right around where NE had their 2 picks. Exactly what happened. .BuccaneEric75 Says:
April 29th, 2016 at 8:03 pm
I was looking at the draft pick trade value chart just now. Our 3rd and 4th round picks combine for 300 points. The 2nd round values don’t get down to around 300 until very late in round 2. I wouldn’t expect a trade up using only our 4th with our 3rd until around when NE has their back to back picks. I know every team has their own chart, but it should be close.
May 23rd, 2016 at 2:19 pm
I am cautiously optimistic about Aguayo. It’s a question that’s asked of every draft pick, “will he work out?” He’s yet to kick in the NFL. It’s too early to say one way or another.
I’d like to think that we have the next Janikowski. I’ll be rooting for the kid.
May 23rd, 2016 at 2:29 pm
@bucsfanman… you do realize Janikowski has spent most of his career in the bottom half of kickers. Was all pro 1 year. Currently 21st in fg% for active kickers… highly paid too
May 23rd, 2016 at 2:36 pm
Developmental receiver.? We could have had a starter at that spot. Also could have had dt reed a stud to put in that rotation. You can get a good kicker in da or late in draft. Hell I’d be ok with 5 th rd. he’s going to have to be developed to be great. His plus 40 kicks were mediocre..
May 23rd, 2016 at 3:10 pm
“How Many second round picks have come and gone In Tampa? Benn, Bowers, Brian Price???”
Benn, bowers, price….the two we traded to target for private winslow, dexter 2.0, aaron sears, sabby the goat, trueblood, ruud, dewayne white.
We can say we should “pick a DE or a WR to stretch the field”, the hard part is picking the right one. I bet we picked the right kicker. That 2nd round DE or WR has a better than 50% bust rate. This kicker does not. From 2001-2011, the best 2nd round picks were the two we sent to Oakland to secure Gruden.
Oh, and from about 1998 to 2014, the best 3rd round draft pick this franchise made? A Kicker.
May 23rd, 2016 at 3:52 pm
@mike- You’re probably right, I’m too lazy to check, but, the Raiders haven’t had to worry about the position for 16 years. That’s a lot of money and draft picks that could be used for “other DEs and a speedy receiver” each year.
Now, the HOPE is that he’s good AND stays here for a while. We’ll see.
May 23rd, 2016 at 5:24 pm
I was good with the pic until I looked at the stats and realized Barth is I believe the 13th most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL. 13th all-time. Amazing.
With that said Barth doesn’t seem to be the same kicker he was before his injury, but still that number is amazing. If I remember correctly the person right before him on the kicker list at 12th all time… Matt Bryant.
May 23rd, 2016 at 7:44 pm
Yep great defensive play and big time pass rush is overrated.
Who wants to see the opposing qb get pummeled
May 23rd, 2016 at 7:48 pm
Conner’s Fg% has actually gotten better since his injury 33/38 or 86% with 4/6 plus 50 yards. He also improved on his kick offs and touch back %. I’m not sure why the Bucs felt the need for a kicker the mistake they made was cutting Barth to save a few dollars on Murray a couple of years ago.
The Bucs have twice had a chance to have their 10 plus year solid kicker in Bryant and Barth and for one reason or another choose not to do it. I believe Roberto will be another great kicker but it is a risk and did come with a cost in the draft.
I’m behind the pick now but it would have made better since if we had a kicking problem to began with.
May 23rd, 2016 at 8:07 pm
I will support the Bucs and hope RA is the super kicker and savior that seems to be portrayed in most (not all) of the comments here. His numbers are good but if we are inside the 30 I would rather score a TD than have to kick it. Our kicker we dropped had a better overall % than RA so I hope he does well. Very high price for him since we needed help in so many places.
May 23rd, 2016 at 8:28 pm
Joe if he can pin teams inside the 10 yard line on a consistent basis than I’ll take him over more defensive help.
May 23rd, 2016 at 9:16 pm
Stanglassman – Barth’s stats are a bit inflated because of his time in Denver. I’m not anti-Barth, I think he would have been fine this year and been a quality kicker, but he doesn’t seem to have the same strength as he did before the injury. That just comes from watching him not looking at the breakdown in stats, but I was surprised at his career numbers ranking him so highly. I hope Roberto kicks for the next 15 years for the Bucs, but you know the moment he misses something in the preseason everyone is going to be on him saying how he’s a bust.
May 23rd, 2016 at 9:20 pm
Good point ’87. The “mortar” kickoff (high and lands at the 1 yard line) could easily result in opposing returners getting nailed at the 12-15 yard line on a regular basis.
When you have true speed and playmakers at gunners – the mortar kickoff will be a good strategy to utilize often. Kenny Bell, Russell Shepard and Dan Vitale gonna be puttin’ a hurtin’ on some returners this year!
May 23rd, 2016 at 10:47 pm
Kicking off high and short was the reason the Bucs let Barth go in 2014. Now it’s a skill set that makes Roberto better than Barth. Why do people seem to think this is some kind of unique skill? I think this rule change will back fire on the NFL in making kickoffs safer and be short lived.
Kicking a ball in thin air actually creates more drag on the ball than in humidity. Altitude hardly creates accuracy either. Not to mention he only played in Denver a half season.
As a former FSU alum and kicker myself I’m 100% behind Roberto. I was an invite twice to FSU Spring/Summer practices & kicking in a Garnet/Gold game.