Licht: Vea Fourth On Bucs’ Board
May 4th, 2018
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
NFL front office types like to say it is best to stay “true to your board” when navigating the NFL draft.
And Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht sure was last week. That’s what he stated yesterday on “Good Morning, Football.”
Licht was asked who he coveted more and why between Derwin James, Micah Fitzpatrick and Vea, who Licht selected at No. 12 after trading down with Buffalo from No. 7.
Licht confessed Vea was his guy all along after the Bucs were on the clock — and traded the pick to the Bills.
“If Vita was sitting there — and he was fourth on our board — if he was sitting there, do we move back and pick up extra picks, run the risk of losing him but potentially still get him?” Licht explained. “That was the risk that we ran. We still had another player or two we would have been happy taking at [No.] 12 if Vita was gone.”
Licht was then pressed by co-host Peter Schrager (who Joe thinks is a closet Bucs fan) for what he saw in Vea that was desirable than James.
“We liked Derwin a lot,” Licht said. “Derwin would have been a really good fit for us here too.”
What may have worked against James was what Licht said was his goal all offseason.
“The theme the whole offseason is to build up the trenches,” Licht said. “I think I mentioned to you guys before the last time I talked to you, we wanted to kick @ss up there.”
Licht added that a key attribute of Vea was that on the field, he is “mean.”
It was cool to listen to Licht break down the draft. So if Vea was the fourth player on the board for the Bucs, is it safe to assume the top three were, not in order, Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb and Quenton Nelson?
May 4th, 2018 at 5:35 am
Thank god they didn’t draft Derwin James.
May 4th, 2018 at 6:01 am
VV and Stevie T will dominate for the next decade.
May 4th, 2018 at 6:10 am
Easy 💯💯💯 DL are always at a premium over a DB period end of story. James is great I understand that but the DL must get pressure. The more great DL we have the better. It can’t stop with JPP and McCoy.
May 4th, 2018 at 6:11 am
@1sparkybuc. Stevie T is like 26 yrs old and probably won’t make the team….I like him and hope he can be a practice squad guy but there are 4 DT’s ahead of him (McCoy, Vea, Allen, Unrein). He is who was impacted the most by the Vea sgning, not Beau Allen, as was highlighted before.
May 4th, 2018 at 6:49 am
Chubb
Barkley
Nelson
Vea
We had no shot at the.big 3 but you have to figure they were on the board. If this was Licht’s board then he is one lucky SOB.
He is saying if he picked at 7 Vea would still have been the pick.
So he got two 2nd rounders to pick who he would have anyway.
The last two years the draft in the first round has fallen right in his lap. This is no knock on him what so ever. Many GMs get cute and pick a flashy player or a need pick. Licht has stayed true to his board and has had some brushes with lady luck.
I am very excited about this season once again.
Thank you Licht!
GO BUCS!
May 4th, 2018 at 6:55 am
^^^^
Agree on those pick rankings.
And yes Peter schrager and Kay Adams are huge closet buc fans. For some reason? After day 3 of draft , they will went around the experts and of course schrager said his team that had best weekend was Da Bucs. No to be confused with Da Bears
May 4th, 2018 at 7:07 am
Would love to know who was 5th
May 4th, 2018 at 7:10 am
If 2 players are close in the evaluation ratings you always go d-line over safety. You can never have enough D-linemen to rotate in and out and keep pressure on opposing QB’s. Safeties are the least important position on defense.
May 4th, 2018 at 7:14 am
@Tampabaybucfan
I read somewhere that he said James was 5 on his board.
May 4th, 2018 at 7:19 am
Light said Vea is “mean”. That’s what we need, someone who will bring a identity to our defensive line. Hopefully it will rub off on the rest of the d-line.
May 4th, 2018 at 7:20 am
Chubb
Nelson
Barkley
Vea
Building up the trenches – FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!
May 4th, 2018 at 7:22 am
Thank God the lines were our priority. I couldnt be happier w Licht right now
May 4th, 2018 at 7:37 am
Stevie T will never dominate but he could maybe rotate.
I hope he makes the roster but Siliga looks much better than Stevie T.
Like, no comparison.
But I love and respect Stevie T and his journey.
Go Bucs!
May 4th, 2018 at 7:44 am
“A football team thrives off of the offensive line,” Smith said. “Without the offensive line, defensive line, there’s really no football, it’s 7-on-7. You have to have those guys up front, big, mean, tenacious guys who are going to push each other and take lead and charge of the team … It’s almost a must to have a great defensive line, offensive line: accountability, mental toughness, discipline, all of those good things, to tie them together. So, that’s what we have from top to bottom on both sides.”
TampaTimes
May 4th, 2018 at 7:47 am
No offense to Derwin, but top safety over the top DT is exactly the type of pick the Bucs always regret
May 4th, 2018 at 7:49 am
Vita was absolutely the right pick at the right time
…….I don’t want another Mark Barron…..that’s not was this defense or team needs at this time
May 4th, 2018 at 7:56 am
What an absolute pile of melted butter… if James comes to Tampa to meet, licht picks him. This picks was more about the ego of Jason “There is no light at the end of the tunnel” Licht… this is football, get the best players… not buying tickets this year in protest until he is fired
May 4th, 2018 at 8:03 am
Siliga is no longer on the team so Stevie T. has that going for him.
May 4th, 2018 at 8:05 am
TheBucsAnthem
Actually Barron is turning his career around but I get your point. We haven’t had much success taking secondary players at the top of our draft, so drafting a beast at DT was a safer bet and solidifies the position for years to come. Just more value for us.
May 4th, 2018 at 8:09 am
We got just the guy we wanted.
Says every GM in the league post draft…..
May 4th, 2018 at 8:11 am
If they carry a compliment of 9-10 DL on the 53 man roster then Stevie T has a chance. Otherwise he’ll probably be stashed on the practice squad. But that’s not to say he couldn’t beat out one of the veterans if he balls out. He just needs to show he’s ready for primetime. Hope he has a great TC.
May 4th, 2018 at 8:14 am
James did come to Tampa. James like many players today participate at the combine and have a proday workout but takes his agents advice not to do individual workouts for Any team. This is common and for good reason. K Steet a DE from NC State blew his knee out this year doing a private workout.
May 4th, 2018 at 9:25 am
glad he stuck with the offseason theme….build up the trenches
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
May 4th, 2018 at 10:08 am
@ Trench War
LOL…….Mark Barron isn’t turning his career around
He’s the same OL’ Saftey…….good in the box tackler and piss poor coverage skills
and Derwin James Fits that mold to a tee!!!!
Derwin James is just more physically gifted to fit that mold and has the athleticism to make up for all of his MENTAL short comings
Look, if you have staunch FSU homers that are saying he disappears in games and is not worth a 1st round draft pick….then that’s say a helluva alot
You watching sportscenter highlights is not enough to convince educated fans about a players ability to make it in the NFL.
May 4th, 2018 at 10:32 am
TheBucsAnthem
The Rams use him differently than we did. They keep down around the box in Philips hybrid 3-4 defense. It has helped his game a lot.
May 4th, 2018 at 10:39 am
TheBucsAnthem
“…….I don’t want another Mark Barron…..that’s not was this defense or team needs at this time”
“You watching sportscenter highlights is not enough to convince educated fans about a players ability to make it in the NFL.”
Oh and after actually agreeing with you, you attack my intelligence?
If it’s your motive to shut down any debate by all means just insult the one having a mature conversation with you. …geesh
May 4th, 2018 at 11:22 am
Vita Vea is simply an awesome player. When we pulled the trigger on him, the Stanford Coach remarked on the NFL Network about how Vita Vea was his favorite player, from an opposing team. He told about Vita Vea throwing 300 pound men around.
Rebuilding our trenches was a good idea, and IMHO, Licht has done a great job so far this year.
May 4th, 2018 at 1:01 pm
I’m an FSU homer, but no way would I take James at 7, or even 12. I was one of the first on here to give tradedown options. People ridiculed me for saying James would still be there at 11 (Miami tradedown) or 12 (Buffalo tradedown).
Of course, I also thought 4 QBs would be gone in the first 6. It took Cleveland being Cleveland, taking Mayfield first and then Denzel Ward at 4 with over Chubb, Nelson, Fitzpatrick, Roquan Smith, McGlinchy and James on board and multiple teams wanting to make a trade-up.
May 4th, 2018 at 1:05 pm
@bucsanthem its stupid statements like yours that make us noles fans laugh. James was the number one convert safety in college last year. He’s not even closeto mark barron. How about doing a little research before looking foolish. Im happy with the Vita pick but you anti noles fans are hysterical.
May 4th, 2018 at 1:06 pm
The James smokescreen may not have been one at all. Licht may have threw that name into the conversation to see reaction. He may have been anticipating a trade down scenario where Vea was gone.
Some say Lichts true target was Minkah. It wouldn’t be a ringing endorsement for Vita to say he was plan B to Minkah. Hard to truely say when a GM is being totally honest about their board. I hope Vita was the target. Love the idea of building BIG with nasty players!!!
May 4th, 2018 at 1:14 pm
Good point JimmyJ. Also, once people make a choice, they post hoc rationalize in favor of their choice. There’s a famous Journal of Personality and Social Psychology article by Nesbitt and Wilson, that proved (or at least found strong empirical support for) this concept experimentally.
May 4th, 2018 at 3:08 pm
“The theme the whole offseason is to build up the trenches,”
Believe me now?
FIX THE TRENCHES, FIX THE BUCS!!!
This is how great teams are built. Period. Philly won a Super Bowl last season with their backup QB. Why? Perhaps the best combo of offensive and defensive lines in the league.
Who was their superstar RB?
No one
Who was their All Pro wide receiver?
No one
Great teams are built in the trenches.
Two more times so it really sinks in (probably a lot more than that)…
FIX THE TRENCHES, FIX THE BUCS!!
FIX THE TRENCHES, FIX THE BUCS!!
May 4th, 2018 at 3:08 pm
FIX THE TRENCHES, FIX THE BUCS!!
FIX THE TRENCHES, FIX THE BUCS!!
May 4th, 2018 at 6:47 pm
Sack numbers are not the be all end all either. Philly D-line did not have a 10 sack guy. QB pressures and hits can create alot of turnovers and incompletions. I absolutely love VV and he will be like a 200 year old oak tree , you ain’t moving it. Waterboy , please do not say safety is the least important position on defense , because that would mean we should stand pat with Conte , and if we do that we are asking for trouble. Safeties like Atwater, Harrison, and Lynch could put people to sleep on any hit. The fear that creates is invaluable to a defense. There is no least valuable position. Football is a team game.
May 4th, 2018 at 10:36 pm
Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Aguilar WRs.
Jay Ajayi @ Rb.
Not bad.
May 5th, 2018 at 10:44 am
I hope to see our defensive line get “mean” with Drew Brees, Cam Newton and Matty Ice, thinking of see Cam Newton knocked over by VV is awesome