Mark Dominik Grades Bucs’ 2018 Draft Class
May 28th, 2022
”I gave you a nice grade, Jason. Please don’t mention Da’Quan Bowers, OK?”
Folks are catching on and it is enjoyable to listen to.
A recent thing for NFL analysts is to go back three or four years and grade draft classes. That’s good because NFL folks get very bothered when drafts are judged before — or soon after — Mr. Irrelevant closes each spring’s draft.
These same NFL folks believe it is unfair to score a draft class for at least three years. So a three-year look-back is starting to catch on with publications and radio shows.
Yesterday, former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik went one step further. Dominik and co-host Bruce Murray decided to grade drafts from 2018, four years ago.
In this exercise, Dominik gave his successor, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht, an “A-.”
“I think it is really good,” Dominik said on “The Blitz,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Jason Licht did a very good job. Look, when you had eight players [drafted] and your top six are still in the National Football League, that’s saying something. You got guarantees [totaling] over $50 million dollars and the totals [of the contracts] over $170 million of contract value, that’s really good. And you kept your two best players, Vita Vea and Carlton Davis.
“I know that M.J. Stewart had not been what they expected, and Ronald Jones, those two second-rounders hurt it a little bit. You’ve got three starters. And Jordan Whitehead has been good. And he’s had his moments. I gave [the Bucs’] draft an A-. Maybe I was a little nice, but this is a good draft class.
“You get three starters out of a draft class, that’s a good draft class. You keep the two best players out of a draft class, that’s a good draft class. Jason Licht did a very good job here.”
This is close to what Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian would say about a good draft class: you want no less than three picks to be starters and two preferably would be Pro Bowl players. Vita Vea is. Carlton Davis could/should be. And Alex Cappa was a starter. Jordan Whitehead was a starter as well (Joe’s not sure why Dominik didn’t count Whitehead as a starter). That would make four. And Ronald Jones was the No. 1 running back (192 carries for 978 yards) on a Super Bowl team.
That’s cooking with gas.
Licht’s draft classes have been dynamite in recent years. Technically, Licht found four starters in the 2019 draft class if you include Matt Gay, who now kicks for Los Angeles. Of the eight draft picks in 2019, six are still with the team.
Then there is the 2020 draft class. The last time the Bucs hit home runs with the first two picks of the draft like Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield, is when Rich McKay drafted Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks back in 1995.
May 28th, 2022 at 5:50 am
If only we could have kept Cappa and Whitehead …
May 28th, 2022 at 6:48 am
I think we might miss Whitehead more then Cappa.
May 28th, 2022 at 7:58 am
This was a great draft class…even MJ Stewart is playing elsewhere as is Justin Watson for the Chiefs.
So:
Vea
Rojo
MJ Stewart
Davis
Cappa
Whitehead
Watson
That, my friends is an A+
Amd. tjat os a draft Marl Dominick could only dream of having.
May 28th, 2022 at 8:01 am
Agree Chris. I think the O-line will be fine with the acquisition of Mason, the rookie Goedecke and the backups already on board, particularly Stinnie. Whitehead was a thumper and you can’t have to many thumpers. He was really coming into his own when we lost him to FA.
May 28th, 2022 at 8:23 am
Letting Mark Dominik give a draft grade is the equivalent of all these former crappy QB’s sitting behind desks on different media outlets critiquing today’s star NFL ballers.
How would you guys grade his drafts?
I could only think of 3 solid picks his entire time in Tampa. McCoy, David, and Gholston we’re his best draft picks for us imho. Did I miss anyone?
May 28th, 2022 at 9:22 am
Licht’s first few classes were not good. I’m wondering if he revamped the scouting department at some point. Maybe he simply hired better scouts.
May 28th, 2022 at 9:28 am
Joe, why are we chasing Dominik’s opinion, or are you just pimping Sirius? At this point, a talking parrot can host a podcast. It doesn’t mean we have to then repeat what the bird said to the rest of the world. In fact, your more in depth post points out the short comings of his analysis (overlooks Cappa, Whitehead, and Jones). Dominik always seemed to have missed the details as a GM, so as a podcast host, I expect no more. If you find MD entertaining, enjoy, but his name does not deserve any proximity or analysis comparisons to Polian’s
May 28th, 2022 at 9:58 am
AnonymousBuc76
Agreed. I think Dominik can be good at talking football as an analyst but i laughed pretty hard when I saw the article title.
May 28th, 2022 at 10:27 am
That was a fantastic draft class, about as well as you can do in the draft. If you count Jones, they walked away with 5 starters. Jones is a real good runner he could just never block or catch. That is the rub on most college running backs… The NFL tries to teach them how to block and sometimes catch.
May 28th, 2022 at 10:30 am
As much as we disliked the MJ Stewart pick, MJ was a starter at the end of the year for Cleveland. If that’s your worst pick then Licht should get an A+. Oh and he drafted the best NT in the league.
May 28th, 2022 at 11:03 am
Joe respects the opinions of former GMs because they know a whole lot more about the inner workings of how decisions are made in a football organization than Joe ever will.
As always, Joe is not forcing anyone to read any story. There are literally thousands of stories on this site you may read at your leisure.
May 28th, 2022 at 1:31 pm
The one problem I had with that draft was RoJo. Taking a running back that high is always questionable. That being said, everything else was basically a home run. People forget, Davis was taken ten picks after MJ Stewart. Whitehead was a third day pick. The depth is the most impressive thing about that draft.
May 28th, 2022 at 1:56 pm
So as time has gone on, Jason Licht has gotten better at his job. Well done sir. Well done.
May 28th, 2022 at 4:06 pm
Dumbernik is such a corporate stooge. The idiot ruined the Bucs.
Michael Bennett? Let him go.
Michael Clayhands? Pay him $25 large to block so his check is in the bank.
Darrelle Revis ? Trade a first and third for him when the Jets were going to cut him. Then pay him $16 large to rehab his knee.
Freeman. DuhQuan the Gun. Oh man it nauseates me I could go on for pages. There’s a reason why he’s gabbing like a magpie on the radio. He sucks to record vacuum levels as a real football executive. Loathe Merk Dumbernik. Stooge.
May 28th, 2022 at 4:28 pm
I find it hard to believe that some of you guys have been watching football all these years and you still say dumb comments like “I don’t like the draft because they drafted rojo.” Are you under the impression that teams draft starters with every pick? Is this your 1st year watching football? That’s like saying Steff Curry sucks at shoot the basketball because he missed.
May 29th, 2022 at 7:04 am
WhatTheBuc – nice Stef analogy.
Meanwhile just about everyone Dumbernik drafted sucked the hose pipe hard.