Did Jason Licht Tip His Draft Hand?
March 4th, 2025
Stopping NFC South QBs.
Yeah, Joe gets it. No need to consult with a NASA rocket scientist or a Ouija board to figure out the Bucs will draft for defense because there is really no hole on offense.
There are holes on defense at each level.
Maybe because even dudes walking around with white canes can see the Bucs have to address defense is why Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht seemed to show his hand to the assembled NFL media when Licht was at the podium in the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis last week at the combine. He said it appears the NFC South is on the cusp of being a quarterback division again.
Licht was asked if the NFC South is starting to creep back to the days when it had Tom Brady, Matty Ice and Drew Brees because of the way Baker Mayfield, Bryce Young and Michael Penix showed out last season.
“We’ve been talking about this a lot,” Licht said. “In Carolina, Bryce Young really came on [in 2024] and showed why he was such a coveted pick.
“We think [Michael] Penix is a really good quarterback, a dynamic quarterback. He’s got a really good arm and is a smart guy.
“It’s keeping everybody on their edge. We have to continue to not just remain competitive but try to stay ahead.”
So how do you stay ahead? Well, the Bucs have their quarterback, Mayfield. So that is solved. But the Bucs are going to have to stay ahead by having a defense that can neutralize Penix and Young.
To Joe, that was Licht all but promising the team needs to load up on defense this offseason. Not that Joe didn’t already know this.
March 4th, 2025 at 4:06 am
I agree. I think Carolina makes a jump to a 7-8 win team if they do free agency and the draft well.
March 4th, 2025 at 4:58 am
ANOTHER YEAR OF JASON LICHT NOT TRADING OUR FIRST ROUNDER FOR A PROVEN PASS RUSHER.
DONE WITH THIS SQUAD UNTIL WEEK ONE.
ITS MARCH 2025 AND I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE BAKER FUMBLED THAT REVERSE
ITS A BUCS LIFE
March 4th, 2025 at 5:08 am
Issue, or non-issue?
I think it depends on how you look at it.
Obviously no team wants to completely tip its hand.
But, there’s some things you can’t hide.
W-L record, offensive and defensive stats, all 22 tape, pending free agents, last season’s injuries, depth charts, etc.
Any team that’s willing to put in the time on those things can make some educated guesses about an opponent.
I’d agree that right now it looks like the NFCS is moving back toward the direction of a QB division.
But, at what point do you stop drafting, trading, and signing for your own team, and start doing those things as a pre-emptive strike against your opponents?
And, is that worth it?
We need defense. Everyone knows it. But we can still play our cards close to the chest.
March 4th, 2025 at 5:15 am
‘To Joe, that was Licht all but promising the team needs to load up on defense this offseason. Not that we didn’t already know this.’
BINGO! Bucs had the #4 offense last season, even without Chris Godwin for the last half of 2024. Even if all we do on offense is keep exactly the same roster, there’s no reason our offense couldn’t end up in the Top-10 this season.
Defense is a whole nuther story; we need major improvements. Bucs fell a long way last season to #16 in Points Allowed (385) from #7 (325 Points Allowed) in 2023. That’s a significant degradation, somewhat because of injuries but even more-so because of starter & depth quality. We put our eggs in the offense basket, and it showed.
We’ve got a decent core of defensive players, but we also have holes. Without upgrades, we’ll almost surely end up in the middle-of-the-pack once again, and that’s unacceptable if we want to make a run at the Super Bowl. Bucs NEED an offense AND a defense that both rank in the Top-10 to compete with the likes of Philly (#7 offense, #2 defense), Detroit (#1 offense, #7 defense), Minnesota (#9 offense, #5 defense), Washington (#5 offense, #18 defense but coming on), etc.
Would love to see us quickly re-sign a number of our own FAs in the next week: Godwin, LVD, Nelson, Gaines, Bredeson, Skule, Opeta, Bryce Hall, plus probably Shepard, Shaq, Edwards, Britt, Russell, Merriweather, Brewer.
Would also love to see us trade for Harold Landry, the Titans’ veteran Edge. Not even sure if the Titans are willing to give him up, but it’s sure worth exploring the possibility. If he’s not available, there are several other starter-capable Edge guys in FA who’d make fine Bucs.
JL will surely be checking out veteran ILBs who might be available for trade or as UFAs. We don’t need any old-timers in the middle of our defense, but a quality starter with 4-5 years of experience under their belt could sure be a nice pickup.
Drafting is kind of a crapshoot, but Bucs need ILB, CB, DT/NT in Rnds 1-3, then WR, OL, S, Punter after that. With some quality pickups in FA & the draft, this defense can make it back into the Top-10 and help us compete for another SB title.
March 4th, 2025 at 5:40 am
Reading between the lines JL is going to pick LB3 “
“so how do you stay ahead “
March 4th, 2025 at 6:19 am
You never disappoint DR. Totally agree. I like Dre Greenlaw at ILB om a 1-year proven it deal. If all goes well and LVD retires next year, you could use his salary to pay for a Greenlaw 4-year contract.
March 4th, 2025 at 6:26 am
Ya never really know what surprises the draft might hold, but free agency might hold a clue or two.
March 4th, 2025 at 6:33 am
I swear people think this is Madden. Big time pass rushers require lots of loot and if you trade for one, it will cost multiple 1st round and/or 2nd round picks. We have one of the best GMs in the business, let the man do his job.
March 4th, 2025 at 7:37 am
I can’t see them trading any high picks. The lifeblood of your team is your draft picks, as soon as you start trading them away for established players, your cap jumps up, and it morphs into an “all-in” thing. I can see signing Mack, he’s just a 1 year commitment until they see if Braswell or whomever they draft THIS year works out
March 4th, 2025 at 7:39 am
With guys like Winfield and Vea on deals of 4 @ 7.3 and 4 @ 14.8 Not to mention White still on his rookie deal Tampa could afford a JPP @ 12 million and Suh @ 8 million.
Buccaneers got a great return on those three alone players on Rookie Deals.
With Winfield and Vea taking up 50% of the 98 million of Cap on defense I don’t see where they can draw a marquee player there.
Chiefs won a Super Bowl with a ton of Rookies but then they had Maholmes in the fold and was the best at the time regardless of how many more yards other QB’s put up.
Going to need to hit a couple winners in the draft that can produce immediately and some of the younger guys are really going to need to show improvement,
Opposing Defenses in the NFCW and AFCE on the schedule are going to be tougher to score against and better not count on 29.5 points a game.
Defense needs a big step up from last season and Offense is going to need a Plan B when teams shut down the Red Zone Offense that they play between the 20’s.
March 4th, 2025 at 9:26 am
They. Are. Not. Trading. High. Picks. Period.
You wanna close your SB window fast? Trade away your picks and overpay in free agency. And then you still don’t make it to the SB because your billion dollar free agent busted a knee and you can’t afford to have decent backup because your draft picks were gone and you have no money. That’s the scenario some of the armchair GMs are buying. Have a beer, imagine you know how to build a team better than paid professionals!
March 4th, 2025 at 9:28 am
Bucs are not going to trade high draft picks + pay $25M for a ‘proven’ veteran edge rusher. Its just not going to happen.
Licht was recently talking about being in a ‘sweet spot’ because of all the good young players combined with the diligence of paying off debt and getting right with the cap. That the team is “ascending” because of all the young talent – and will be able to compete for a Super Bowl now and for years to come…. IF he continues to make wise decisions about spending money…. One major bad decision in trade or free agency could blow up the whole tightrope walk they’ve been managing – staying competitive in the post Brady era – while paying off debt and getting out of salary cap hell….
There’s one more year of big dead cap hits in 2025 – then the team is in much better shape financially moving forward – IF they don’t push a bunch more debt down the road this year…..
I’m pretty sure Licht is committed to the path that has led to this ‘sweet spot’ – excellent drafting – rewarding your best draft picks and homegrown talent with nice contracts when they are due – and nurturing the amazing locker room “culture” that has been developed by being very careful about the type of person and personalities you bring into the fold…..
I expect an Edge, an ILB and a CB will all be drafted by Licht within the first 4 rounds – and wouldn’t be surprised to see a Safety and a DT selected at some point either. Add a WR and a Guard prospect to the mix and thats probably a good snapshot of what this year’s draft will look like.
March 4th, 2025 at 9:31 am
If Licht can draft another 3-4 starters that will go a long way for the Bucs, whatever else happens in Free Agency. You have to build through the draft.
March 4th, 2025 at 9:34 am
He’s not tipping his hand…the entire league knows our offense is set & we will focus on LB & CB
March 4th, 2025 at 10:25 am
Pickgrin … Really like your draft priorities in last para. IF (and this is a big IF) JL trades for or signs a UFA veteran Edge, kinda doubt that we’ll use a high draft pick on another Edge. Still wondering if we’ll re-sign Nelson (I would, since he’s durable & ‘consistent’, but not sure that’s what JL & TB value right now (Nelly made $5 mil last year). IF they sign a veteran UFA Edge, they may view that player as replacing Nelly.
It interesting to me that when you look at def snaps, Nelson & JTS together gave us over 1100 def snaps. That’s essentially replacing 1 player (Bucs’ opponents ran 1,065 snaps last year on offense).
o Nelson: 17 games – 573 def snaps – 4 sacks – 20 pressure – 6 TFL – 40 tackles (25 solo) – 3 Missed Tackles (7.0%)
o JTS: 15 games – 539 def snaps – 2 sacks – 11 pressure – 3 TFL – 24 tackles (15 solo) – 3 Missed Tackles (11.0%)
So basically the 2 had the same number of def snaps, but Nelly got twice the production (admittedly he made twice the money too). But … is that enough to keep him on the 2025 roster?
March 4th, 2025 at 10:42 am
Bucs Guy … Why Dre Greenlaw? He seemingly had a decent 2022 & 2023, but only got into 2 games last season (34 def snaps). Spent the last part of the season on IR (Achilles). Decent size (5’11” & 237 lbs), but looks like he’s gotten banged up several times (out most of 2021 also). I really want a Ray Lewis type for MLB who you can’t drag off the field no matter how many broken legs he has. (I know, that’s asking a lot).
March 4th, 2025 at 11:20 am
If we don’t sign Godwin, all of a sudden there’s a huge hole on offense. Even if Godwin comes back, he’s coming off a serious injury. Evans won’t be a year younger this season. J Mac came on, but he’s barely a #2 receiver. After him there isn’t much. I’d say there’s a case to be made for drafting a receiver at #19.
March 4th, 2025 at 12:07 pm
I fully expect Nelson to be re-signed… He’s a solid and dependable back up OLB
March 4th, 2025 at 12:15 pm
Also expect the Bucs to sign an outside free agent at OLB – for less than $10M which eliminates most of the bigger names we’ve heard mentioned.
Maybe Khalil Mack would be willing to bet on himself? How about $10M base salary and $1M per sack for the 34 y.o.? Get 15 sacks – make $25M…..
March 4th, 2025 at 12:19 pm
Lucky for the Bucs this draft is deep along the defensive line.
There should be good choices for the Bucs available at number 19.
I just worry that there will not be that linebacker available. So, if I am the Buc’s and Licht – I do a lot of evaluation on the linebackers that will be free agents and if there is a match, I get one of those guys right away.
March 4th, 2025 at 12:36 pm
You don’t trade high picks unless you are one free agent away from a ring. This team has to plan for post-Evans, and likely post-Baker and look for starters for 2027-2030, not just September 2025.
Keep finding and growing young talent.
March 4th, 2025 at 12:56 pm
Keeping everyone on “edge”. That is the answer to Penix and Young. Get to the QB.
March 4th, 2025 at 12:57 pm
In addition to trading for Landry and nailing the draft for defense, JL needs to sign a few FAs at the LB spot. We need experience there, not just rookies. There are a boatload of dudes coming available in FA, interested to see who JL grabs.
March 4th, 2025 at 1:17 pm
Trade fe Miles Garret if you can get him at a decent price.
March 4th, 2025 at 1:29 pm
jarrett Says:
March 4th, 2025 at 4:58 am
ITS MARCH 2025 AND I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE BAKER FUMBLED THAT REVERSE
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You can’t believe it because Baker didn’t fumble the handoff. The rookie overran and was too deep on that play as most football coaches know. The only person on these pages who says otherwise is marching band boy, RodMunch. Agree, that Baker should have just eaten it but we know that is not his style. He tries to extend plays when sometimes there is nothing there. That is what makes him such an exciting player to watch.
March 4th, 2025 at 1:35 pm
Seems pretty clear he’s looking at taking a QB.
March 4th, 2025 at 4:03 pm
Thats 3D thinking there, we are losing our 2nd Round pick QB in Trask who didnt see the field. We were in win now with Brady and he picked a QB…
We have an established starter, I could see him thinking its time to reload on a QB in 2nd round.
March 4th, 2025 at 5:52 pm
I agree with others here. Based on Lichts past he isn’t trading away our top picks. I can see him bringing back Shaq and adding another veteran. Diaby is coming up and they are hoping Braswell makes a jump in year 2. Bring in Shaq and Mack as situational rushers so they have a full tank in obvious passing situations. They could also bring back Nelson and combine him with one of our other depth OLBs to fill the spot.
I think the Bucs re-sign Godwin and Bredeson to fill out the starters on offense.
This lets them focus on ILB, CB, DT, and S in the draft. I could see Licht then trading back to acquire another mid round pick.