From “C+” To “A-“
May 20th, 2023
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was skewered at NFL.com four years ago.
The league’s online mouthpiece gave Licht’s Bucs a grade of C+ for their 2019 draft haul.
Four years later, former Bucs GM Mark Dominik and his SiriusXM NFL Radio co-host Bruce Murray set out to grade each team’s 2019 draft. Dominik was gushing over the productivity of the Bucs’ haul.
If there was more certainty surrounding Devin White’s status or multiyear new deals for defensive backs Sean Murphy Bunting and Mike Edwards, Dominik would have dropped an “A” grade for 2019 on the man who succeeded him. Instead, Dominik gave Licht a high “A-,” same for Murray.
Joe is so impressed by the collective contributions the Bucs got from that draft, and seven players have moved on to second contracts, some of them bank-breakers.
Devin White
Sean Murphy-Bunting (Titans)
Mike Edwards (Chiefs)
Jamel Dean
Anthony Nelson
Matt Gay (Colts)
Scotty Miller (Falcons)
Licht accomplished “a lot of things that are hard to do,” Dominik said of the 2019 draft class.
A great debate is whether the 2018 draft class was better than 2019’s.
Vita Vea (Round 1)
Ronald Jones II (Round 2)
M.J. Stewart (Round 2)
Carlton Davis (Round 2)
Alex Cappa (Round 3)
Jordan Whitehead (Round 4)
Justin Watson (Round 4)
Jack Cichy (Round 6)
Tough call, but Joe’s giving a slight edge to 2019.
Licht went on to hit two home runs in the 2020 draft, and those three drafts — 2018, 2019, 2020 — are a massive reason the Bucs won the Super Bowl.
May 20th, 2023 at 4:41 pm
Licht has done an amazing job for this team. My ONLY exception is last year – WHY didn’t the Bucs bring in some O-line help before the first game? His lack of action set the tone for the season, in what we all realize now was a lost season.
I think Licht is a very good/above average GM, last year being the exception.
May 20th, 2023 at 4:47 pm
Jason Licht is great at spotting “value added” players……BUT..BUT…..he is 100% HORRIFIC at drafting Defensive Lineman……MAINLY >>>>>>>Defensive Ends…..
May 20th, 2023 at 4:59 pm
^ A bit premature to be down on his D line selections. Hall was a rookie and certainly has a chance to step up this year. Also, JTS isn’t dead yet. There’s no reason to be so certain the light won’t come on for him. YaYa is promising. And when you talk about including DT, you have Vita, plus Kancey should be a force.
People seem to be so intolerant of drafted players who take more than a year to develop. It’s a process with some of these guys. Some are raw and/or came from smaller schools or weaker competition. It can take a year or two. You like it when it doesn’t, of course.
May 20th, 2023 at 5:10 pm
Overall I give GM Jason Licht a “B” – he has done a good job.
He had some horrendous drafts and some very solid drafts. He has made some bad free agent moves and some very good ones.
But he made enough smart moves to build the roster that attracted both BA and Tom Brady and we wouldn’t have won a Super Bowl without Jason Licht.
May 20th, 2023 at 5:26 pm
Just think if the Bucs had the cap to keep SMB, Edwards, Cappa and most importantly Whitehead.
With Whitehead AND Winfield you have the best duo of safeties in football. I said it at the time, but would have kept Whitehead – which in turn would have allowed you to keep Cappa as well – over Davis. Nothing at all against Davis, he’s a top corner, but I thought a lot of Whitehead, and he was still improving when he left.
BTW, Whitehead will be a FA after this season, so maybe the Bucs bring him back as they still need another safety, and he’ll still be just 27.
May 20th, 2023 at 5:34 pm
In that 2018 draft: MJ Stewart stunk, but the rest of that draft was good to excellent. Cichy was pretty darn good, but he was a sixth round pick only because he had glass knees. I don’t understand why we cut Justin Watkins. He was better than Scooter and he plays very well for the Chiefs. Cappa and Whitehead we just couldn’t afford and that’s also why we couldn’t sign a good OL replacement last season. Rojo was pretty good too. I’ll always remember that 98 yard run where he used the big screen to avoid people trying to catch him from behind. And Vita Via, the 350 lb cherry on top.
May 20th, 2023 at 5:34 pm
Getting rid of Matt Gay was the one that sort of bugged me at the time. I HATED Gay for losing those two games in 2019 – all the stupid BS garbage about Winston never having a winning season here are out the door if Gay does his job and doesn’t personally tank those two games.
I said at the time Gay clearly showed plenty, and a ton of kickers are bad their rookie years, play well their second year, and are pro-bowlers by year 3. Which is exactly what happened. And Gay didn’t have a bad rookie year, he just had one awful miss vs the Giants, then had a terrible game vs the Falcons to close out the year.
However, I did understand why Licht did it, which I also said at the time – you’re building a veteran team and you have a chance to get a consistent proven kicker who never flaked out, but lost his job from an injury.
Also, there’s the FACT that Matt Gay won the Bucs the Super Bowl, because if he doesn’t lose those two games in 2019, the Bucs finish 9-7 like they should have, there’s no way the team is bailing on Winston coming off a winning record. The only reason they did that is because of going 7-9, even though, again, those two loses that film from winning to losing were 100% on Gay. So if the Bucs never get rid of Winston, they don’t sign Brady, and they don’t win the SB (although I still had them going 11-5, getting eliminated @NO in the playoffs in 2020).
May 20th, 2023 at 6:55 pm
Licht is a more than fine GM.
May 20th, 2023 at 7:09 pm
Dude is a marginal at best drafter
Brady saved his ass
May 20th, 2023 at 7:31 pm
Giving the thumbs up to Licht. Brady would not have come if the cupboards were bare.
May 20th, 2023 at 8:15 pm
Agree with Rod Munch on Matt Gay. His missed kicks ensured that Winston would get launched though Winston’s last nail in his coffin was the pick 6 in OT vs the ATL after Gay choked on his kicks. Bucs go 9-7 and Brady may have went to Vegas or elsewhere.
Licht: B overall though like an A – in the later years but only a C- at best earlier because of busts like VH3, Noah Spence and Aguayo in 2016 and OJ Howard and Justin Evans in 2017, major whiffs in the top 2 rounds with good talent still on the board at needed positions. Even if Koetter wanted these dudes despite other needs it falls on the GM for ultimately picking them.
May 20th, 2023 at 8:42 pm
30 and 30 club is why JW got the boot, and cause he is Gay
May 20th, 2023 at 9:11 pm
He has learned from mistakes and improved
May 20th, 2023 at 9:20 pm
Living in the past .
May 20th, 2023 at 9:38 pm
If you call Jason a bad GM you have no clue. Like any of you could have done better haha bye haters
May 20th, 2023 at 10:03 pm
Destinjohnny,
Brady doesn’t even CONSIDER the Bucs if Licht hadn’t built an absolutely loaded team. Brady had no interest in playing for an average or less team.
May 20th, 2023 at 11:53 pm
Its similar to gruden taking the team where dungy couldnt. Brady brought in his toys that never wouldve joined the bucs . Gronk, AB, fournette all had super bowl tds.
May 21st, 2023 at 3:32 am
Google his drafts boys and girls
May 21st, 2023 at 5:08 am
He gets one player every 3rd draft
In 10 drafts who and where are his pass rushers ?
May 21st, 2023 at 6:47 am
I BELIEVE WE HAD AN OUTSTANDING DRAFT THIS SEASON !..IN SPITE OF ALL THE NAYSAYERS OUT THERE..WE HIT ON SOME REAL GEMS IN THIS DRAFT & THROUGH FREE AGENCY..I SEE THE BUC’S WINNING THEIR 3RD DIVISION TITLE A ROW & HOSTINS A 1ST ROUND PLAYOFF GAME ! ( I JUST PRAY THE OUTCOME IS THE OPPOSITE OF LAST YEAR )..JASON LIGHT WE NEED TO GET “AUSTIN ECKLER” FROM THE CHARGERS BEFORE THE RAMS DO PLEASE ! ! ! WE NEED HIM FOR OUR REVAMPED RUNNING GAME BECAUSE HE’S AN AWESOME PLAYER BOTH RUNNING THE BALL & RECIEVING IT & PROVENLY HAS A NOSE FOR GETTING IN THE ENDZONE ! ! ! PLEASE PURSUE THIS PLAYER & TRADE FOR HIM SOMEHOW..HE FITS RIGHT IN WITH WHAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE RUNNING GAME !DON’T STAND BY & LET THIS PLAYER SLIP AWAY TO THE HATED RAMS OR SOME DIVISION OR CONFERENCE RIVAL..GET HIM & SIGN HIM NOW IF YOU TRULY WANT TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR !..PLEASE !
May 21st, 2023 at 7:45 am
Lolol, DestinJohnny the hatred runs deep. He went 7 for 7 with his 2019 picks. That is other worldly and his drafts built a team ready to win it all with a good QB. We all enjoyed that SB except you because it proved your hatred was misguided. Even that hasn’t stopped your hatred though? Did he sleep with your mom or something?
May 21st, 2023 at 7:51 am
The 2023 draft will make or break Licht the two previous drafts were poor if this years draft is poor we will suffer for years to come.
May 21st, 2023 at 9:41 am
Licht id NOT a good gm.. look at the last head coach he hired!
May 21st, 2023 at 10:16 am
Ben what coach can win with the worst offensive and defensive lines in the league?
If Bowles was coaching the Eagles he would be in the hunt
Crappy lines
Crappy teams
It’s a simple formula
May 21st, 2023 at 3:31 pm
ben Says:
May 21st, 2023 at 9:41 am
Licht id NOT a good gm.. look at the last head coach he hired!
——–
Hey, stupid, I’m not even a Bowles defender, but when your head coach retires on March 30, what exactly are you going to do? Go do a multiple week coaching search, then fire all your assassiants and get new ones? From where?
Try being less of a retard in the future.
God bless.
May 21st, 2023 at 7:17 pm
The Patriots now have zero players left from their ‘19 draft class, so there’s that.
May 22nd, 2023 at 5:20 am
We won a Super Bowl. He gets an A+
I like him as a GM.
But we gotta stop missing on these D-Linemen!,
May 22nd, 2023 at 8:35 am
2019 was a superb draft. especialy by Bucs standards. BTW Dominic finaly said something not stupid. Congrats… But did he admit to being wrong?
May 22nd, 2023 at 2:49 pm
We don’t have players
If we have them tell me who they are ?