Defending Roberto Aguayo
July 27th, 2016
Jason Licht explains choice.
In case you haven’t heard Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht’s live-in-studio sitdown with Joe’s good friend, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620 yesterday, Licht was painfully guarded in his remarks with the exception of chicken wing talk (and hostesses!).
But there was one question from Duemig that did get a rise out of Licht. Duemig asked Licht, on behalf of many fans, to explain again his controversial choice of selecting kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round.
Licht didn’t hold back.
“Because I think he is a great player,” Licht said. “There is a bust rate anywhere in the draft. [It is] 50/50 that those second round picks are going to make it in the long haul. It’s not a for-sure thing.
“[Aguayo] was a player that we thought was the best at his position, someone that I had seen in recent memory or long-term memory. I have been on record as saying he’s the best college kicker I have ever evaluated.
“I’m not ready to make his bust [for] the Hall of Fame. I’m not ready to say he will be an All-Pro player right now. I have a lot of confidence in him and it is a position that when it comes to crunch time, he’s played in some big games and played at a big time school. You see the body of work on the field in his college career which was super impressive. Not just his field goals or extra points but his kickoff ability, too.
“If you went back and charted all of his field goals, he made every one of them inside where the NFL hashes would be. It is tougher to kick in college than it is in the NFL.”
(Duemig, for the record, liked the pick.)
Also, as Joe has stated, Joe wouldn’t have picked Aguayo and instead would have drafted a defensive end or a wide receiver. But Joe understands Licht’s logic and gets his explanation.
What Joe firmly believes is overlooked in the selection of Aguayo is his ability to pin teams back on kickoffs with mortar kicks. Given the new NFL kickoff rules, this could be a critical weapon.
To hear Licht’s full interview, click below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s friends at WDAE-AM 620.
July 27th, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Aguayo is the guyo.
July 27th, 2016 at 2:10 pm
Gonna be a weapon. Barmaid! Give a Guinness to the GM and crank up some AC DC!!!
July 27th, 2016 at 2:20 pm
Speaking for Pablo
“Pablo must now admit something to his fellow Buc amigos…..Pablo bribed Hason during the draft…..Pablo offered Hason a free roof job (very big house) and free jard work…(very big jard)…..that didn’t do the trick….but when Pablo offered free table dances after Buc victories…..Hason took the deal…..Hason would move up to get El Asesino. Now when Hason jumps in the pool after a Buc win, fans won’t know if it is because the Bucs won or because Hason is cooling off from Pablo’s free hot table dances.”
July 27th, 2016 at 2:31 pm
ok ..where were the top 3 kickers in the the nfl drafted for say the last 5 years.??? were any of the top kickers ever drafted????
July 27th, 2016 at 2:53 pm
Joe – you didn’t include an important part of Licht’s answer – which was that Aguayo displayed great leadership qualities (from a position that rarely if ever includes that attribute).
Aguayo is mentally tough and has “swagger” that will be contagious in the same vein as his former teammate and friend – America’s Quarterback.
July 27th, 2016 at 3:23 pm
Didn’t lie the pick then, don’t like the pick now. I believe strongly that he would have been there when we picked in the 4th round, Licth screwed that one up! Simple as that!
July 27th, 2016 at 3:26 pm
Pickgrin:
Didn’t think that was important at all. A rookie kicker as a leader? C’mon.
July 27th, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Every kicker that was drafted higher than Aguayo in NFL history has had a long career. If memory serves, there were four or five.
July 27th, 2016 at 3:35 pm
Looking at WR/DT, had Licht stood pat, he would have had the ability to draft WR Braxton Miller in Rd 3 and taken either DT Hassan Ridgeway or DT Andrew Billings with the 4th round pick he gave up.
Who would you rather have? A kicker who’s FG rate regressed each year in college or Miller and Ridgeway/Billings to field depth and possible starters in two positions of need. Personally I’d take the latter.
July 27th, 2016 at 3:36 pm
Yes, kickers drafted highly, like mike nuggent in the 3rd round have had long careers, but not with the same team and have not been any better.
@pickgrin…. if we are getting leadership from our kicker, then we are in serious trouble.
July 27th, 2016 at 4:08 pm
Licht says the bust rate for a second round pick is 50-50, but he thinks Aguayo is a great player. It’s not like the Bucs have never come out on the losing half of that percentage for a pick that high before. A ballsy pick for sure. I hope it pays off.
July 27th, 2016 at 4:14 pm
I keep actually considering this essentially a 3rd round pick because of the extra pick Licht masterfully took……but, even a 3rd round is high for a kicker…..
What’s done is done….
July 27th, 2016 at 4:31 pm
Drafting a kicker with a premium pick at a time when the NFL is killing off the kicking game is not a wise move.
Kickoffs are already practically automatic touchbacks, ostensibly to reduce high-speed player collisions, so any ham-and-egg kicker should be able to handle that job.
WIth the PAT now permanently moved back to the 15 yard line, more and more teams will see the value in the Two Point Conversion, so PAT kicks will be diminished.
The only think left for the kickers is the Field Goal, which hasn’t changed a bit yet, and should be pretty automatic for most kickers on 40 yards and shorter attempts.
Maybe Aguayo will be able to make 3 to 5 field goals that a street free agent would miss over the course of a season. If the season comes down to those 9 to 15 points, then the offense and defense aren’t doing their jobs well enough.
That premium draft pick would have been much better spent on a bona fide pass rusher or wide receiver than on a kicker. Just like the $16M would have been better spent on Darrelle Revis than Anthony Collins and Ghost Johnson.
July 27th, 2016 at 4:34 pm
Being able to make points is important.
July 27th, 2016 at 5:05 pm
I’ll defend him only when I see how he delivers under pressure. Right now he’s just a rookie with a lot to prove. Hope he does so.
July 27th, 2016 at 5:30 pm
Considering all the failed second round picks of the last ten years maybe taking a kicker will break the curse.
July 27th, 2016 at 5:42 pm
Questionable move for a GM with a very questionable and suspect track record at best. That said, I hope Aguayo’s play answers all the questions and kills the debate.
July 27th, 2016 at 5:49 pm
This was a great pick. He wouldn’t have been there later for us. How do I know? I don’t. No one does. He’ll be kicking for us just as long as Jameis is our QB. Maybe longer.
July 27th, 2016 at 6:36 pm
Wow a gm defending his draft pick. Like what else is he gonna say lmao. I don’t care whether he would have been there or no. I didn’t want his goofy ass anyway. I agree with you Tom S. Licht fails to state this was the deepest draft in recent memory. Oh yeah this guys shaky on kicks +50. What do you Aguayo lovers say about that. I guess he’ll get better right. We’ll see but I’d have gone d-line and wr. A kicker can’t win a game for you that’s done in the trenches.
July 27th, 2016 at 6:51 pm
Brent bull/buc
A kicker can’t win a game for you. Really!!!! Do you even watch or understand football…. whether its a good pick or not that statement you made might be the most short sighted in jbf history
July 27th, 2016 at 7:41 pm
This pick was terrible. I don’t care how good he is, we paid too much. Only losers pick kickers this high, see Raiders
July 27th, 2016 at 7:51 pm
Well let’s see, you need an offense to move the ball to get in position for a kicker to attempt a fg. If you live off fg your a bad football team. That means you need touchdowns. Further, if your defense can’t stop your opponents offense kicking fg is pointless. You need touchdowns and defense to be a good playoff team. I’ve never seen a kicker carry a team to the playoffs. I’ve never seen a kicker get any mvp votes. The only time I notice a kicker is if he’s screwing up. Most nfl kickers are money on fg < 40 and extra points. So for this guy to be worth a 2nd Ed pick he better be top notch over 50 and pinning the other team on kick offs. I doubt it.
July 27th, 2016 at 8:55 pm
To anyone who remembers that Houston debacle can understand how important a quality kicker can be.
July 27th, 2016 at 9:11 pm
Bucnut2, the Raiders got to the Super Bowl with that kicker. Do you think if they took any of the other players available in that draft , they would have beaten us? The reason that haven’t been good since Gannon is the lack of a quality QB, not the fact they drafted a kicker high. Oh, and Al Davis.
July 27th, 2016 at 10:08 pm
Brent bull/buc
My bad i forgot the ball goes thru the uprights all by itself….
July 28th, 2016 at 12:07 am
@AmericasCommenter
I have been getting into some political debates lately and I have never been shy of calling people out on this site or others. My point is that I hear a lot of very poor arguments from people simply trying to plead their case. What you said, all of it, is the dumbest thing I have ever heard anyone say. I pity you
July 28th, 2016 at 12:50 am
If you look at the teams between our 59th 2nd round pick and our 74th third round pick there are some teams that are desperate for a kicker. The Saints, the Chargers, or the Dolphins were in position to get him and one of them most certainly would have. TB’s Connor Barth was ranked 25th with 82%.
61. Saints – 35th 69%
62. Carolina Panthers 22nd ranked 83%
Round 3
66. Chargers – 28th 81%
70. Ravens – 23rd 82%
72. Bears – 20th 85%
73. Dolphins – 28th 81%
July 28th, 2016 at 2:52 am
Conner Barth is ranked 12th among all active kickers in the NFL with 85.3 FGP. The best is JTucker with 89%.
If we are only using last season FGP, Aguayo’s was 80%.
The Bucs paid a lot for Aguayo and the Saints now have a good kicker in Barth for free just like we gave ATL Bryant.
I’m ready to move on and root for our new kicker to be the best.
July 28th, 2016 at 9:17 am
Now explain the Panthers, Chargers, Ravens, Bears, and Dolphins. My gut is telling me if Licht had not made a move Aguayo would be a Dolphin.
July 28th, 2016 at 10:50 am
Who cares, you got the 12th ranked kicker in the NFL on your roster in Conner Barth. Use our 3rd and 4th round pick on best WR DL or S available. Bring in Ross Martin the best kicker in college football in 2015 for competition as a UFA.
July 29th, 2016 at 10:38 am
The selling point is that he can kick deep kickoffs?! 99% of kickers in the NFL can keep it through the endzone. Yikes.
July 29th, 2016 at 11:38 am
With the touchback now at the 25, don’t think the Bucs are that interested in “deep kickoffs.”