Jason Licht No. 3
April 16th, 2021
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
See what a ring can do for your street cred?
Like for most elements of football, someone here or there will cobble together rankings and lists. These get really popular in June and July when NFL team headquarters across the country lock their doors, shut off the lights and go into hibernation prior to training camp.
Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com decided to get a head start. He threw together a ranking of NFL general managers who work the draft the best. In recent years, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has not faired well in these types of rankings.
But Licht never had won a Super Bowl running a team before. He has now.
As a result, Licht’s street cred has shot through the ceiling. In Rosenthal’s draft rankings, he has Licht as the No. 3 NFL general manager.
3) Jason Licht, Buccaneers
Best pick: Tristan Wirfs | Round 1 (No. 13), 2020
Worst pick: Vernon Hargreaves III | Round 1 (No. 11), 2016Licht’s tenure in Tampa makes the case for being patient. He survived Lovie Smith, Dirk Koetter, Jameis Winston and three double-digit-loss seasons to come out the other side a champion with the help of Tom Brady and Bruce Arians. Despite the flashy free-agent signings in recent years, Licht built the Bucs’ foundation through the draft, with Ali Marpet, Vita Vea, Chris Godwin, Devin White, Carlton Davis, Donovan Smith and Sean Murphy-Bunting all playing massive roles in the team’s title. These were good players before Brady arrived, and the stellar 2020 draft class (headlined by Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr.) helped put the team over the top.
And here is where Joe comes to Licht’s defense in a not-so-pleasant draft memory.
Some people bark angrily at their bartenders claiming Licht’s worst draft pick was kicking Roberto Aguayo. C’mon, it’s not even close. Joe was talking about this just yesterday morning with his good friend Bill Currie Ford general manager Sean Sullivan.
If you think Aguayo was Licht’s worst moment, consider two things:
Vernon Hargreaves nearly single-handedly dragged down the Bucs defense. There is no question (for reasons unknown) the secondary began to ball out the day Hargreaves was tossed to the curb in 2019. That same secondary (mostly) is also now waiting for their rings in the mail.
Also, if you want a bad draft pick, Joe presents to you the bad Dexter Jackson. Dude was a second-round pick. A wide receiver in name only, he will be remembered as a cowering return man. Why is that? Because you can’t remember him catching a pass. Why? Because he wasn’t targeted once in his seven-game NFL career!
At least Aguayo played a full season and won a game for the Bucs (probably with divine help resulting from the prayer circle that gathered in front of the Bucs’ bench before Aquayo booted a game-winner on Monday Night Football in Carolina.)
DRAFT PARTY!
Your video invitation to Big Storm Clearwater, Thursday night, April 29! Giveaways, special guests, and more. Ira Kaufman and Joe will be in the house starting at 7 p.m.
April 16th, 2021 at 7:13 am
That Hargreaves pick took 3yrs off of my life
April 16th, 2021 at 7:13 am
Gruden sucks at drafting… he is too smart w his picks ie.. D Jax from App State w one good game against Michigan
Bye bye and good ridens to him and bruce allen. What a joke those two are
April 16th, 2021 at 7:18 am
It’s good to see our guys get the credit that they deserve. If the list went back to 2014, I think that Evans would have been the best pick. Hopefully Lichts number one next year.
April 16th, 2021 at 7:21 am
Jameis Winston nearly single-handedly dragged down the Bucs offense. There is no question (30INTs in his 5th year as a former#1 pick) the offense began to ball out the day Winston was tossed to the curb in 2019. That same offense (mostly) is also now waiting for their rings in the mail.
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 16th, 2021 at 7:25 am
I happen to beloeve that MJ Stewart is Lichts worst pick.
Yeah the Aguayo pick was horrible, but he was at least a stud in college. If he hadnt tried to monkey with his kicking form like he was Tiger Woods changing his golf swing maybe he never would have struggled so badly might not have been such a mental case. Yeah trading up in the 2nd round for him was positively ridiculous. But that thought process behind it was semi justifiable.
MJ Stewart on the other hand was basically a slow undersized linebacker/special teams guy who Licht picked in the 2nd round to play outisde corner and that pick just flat out made no sense. Not on tape, not when considering his athletic ability or lack there of. Vernon Hargreaves and Aguayo, for all there faults were at least talented prospects. Where MJ Stewart had no business whatsoever being picked that high and was closer to being a UDFA prospect than a 2nd rounder.
Luckily Licht learned his lesson and realized just how important it is that a DB have speed, size and agility.
April 16th, 2021 at 7:31 am
I will add sabby piscetelli aka sabby the goat
I just saw he is like a wwe wrestler now 😂
April 16th, 2021 at 7:57 am
Ya, Hargreaves was a wasted 1st round pick. That WR that could only catch the ball when the pads were off, can’t remember his name, saw him playing for the last failed league. Still couldn’t catch a cold. The one thing he cannot seem to find the though is a kick returner. It’s like looking for Bigfoot around here!
April 16th, 2021 at 8:06 am
It would be interesting to look back and see what some of those same draft “experts” were saying about Hargreaves during that 2016 draft. I remember quite a few of them being pretty high on him.
April 16th, 2021 at 8:12 am
As a Gator homer, I was so stoked when we drafted Hargreaves. What a colossal disappointment he was. I can’t blame Licht too much for that pick. He fooled a lot of people. We’re just the ones that drafted him. Lord only knows who would’ve if we didn’t.
April 16th, 2021 at 8:23 am
I remember us taking dexter Jackson and was like y’all I’ve never heard of this guy. Lol I don’t watch a whole lot of college ball but pretty much know who’s ballin I’m college and still was like who that ? Lol wasn’t stoked about Hargreaves but I think if we had the same staff when he was drafted I’d bet and I’m no betting man but I bet he prob would of bin developed into a good corner.
April 16th, 2021 at 8:24 am
Also joe Hargreaves won us one game I believe when we got a fourth down stop wasn’t it him that made the tackle to close out a game maybe against Carolina ?
April 16th, 2021 at 8:40 am
Caesar sport book cAme out on wins for year
Chiefs -12 wins
Bucs – 11.5 wins
Injuries always happen. An injury to brady would put an end to that
But if anyone going to vegas / in vegas …let me know
I will take the over all day on that
April 16th, 2021 at 8:41 am
Hargreaves and MJ weren’t good picks but they are both in the league and they both started games last season. Every team misses. About 50% of 2nd round picks never make it. Licht hits at a significantly higher rate than most GMs.
BTW MJ didn’t fail because he was too slow. He has similar speed to Davis and Richard Sherman. MJ just isn’t good enough.
April 16th, 2021 at 8:49 am
Vernon’s problem was that he cared more about smoking marijuana than doing his job. He was completely toxic to the younger guys on the roster. Definitely the worst pick.
April 16th, 2021 at 8:57 am
It’s not just because he drafted him, he traded up for Rubbertoe AgyNoooo that was definitely his worst move ever. Hargreaves was a terrible pick only interested in chasing tail I agree, drafting not one but two Kickers neither of whom are with the team and one out of the NFL is pretty hard to beat. That being said, Joe you are 100% correct the Gruden/Allen drafts were straight trash and IMO the single biggest factor that led to the lost decade.
April 16th, 2021 at 8:57 am
Idc what his 40 time says WTB
That dude is slowwwwww and its blatantly obvious on tape. But you’re certainly right about him not being good enough.
April 16th, 2021 at 9:09 am
Btw WhatTheBuc I have a theory for why corners like Sherman And CD24 are still able to thrive despite not having top level speed.
It has everything to do with them being tall, long-armed, strong, physical corners who are incredibly intelligent and competitive with good to great feel/instincts for playing the position and just enough speed and agility to not get burned unless they are an island with Tyreek Hill lol.
MJ however was equal parts slow in addition to being short and stubby and you just can’t get by with that combination in the NFL. You have to been a ridiculously good athlete ala Denzel Ward to make up for poor size in todays league.
April 16th, 2021 at 9:22 am
#1bucsfan:
LOL on the bad Dexter Jackson.
As for Hargreaves, remember it was Arians/Bowles who dumped him. It was like flipping on a light switch for the secondary.
Now Hargreaves is Lovie’s problem.
Dingle:
Yeah, that was just bad.
You poor, poor people of Houston.
April 16th, 2021 at 9:23 am
While Brady got us over the top, we definitely had a strong nucleus in place, which was a big reason that Brady chose to play here.
April 16th, 2021 at 9:24 am
Dingle:
When corners get old and slow down, the reason they keep working is their smarts. They can compensate (somewhat) on their slower speed with using their head.
April 16th, 2021 at 9:53 am
dex jackson out of app state was a joke of a bloke…
oh boy, that was beyond bad…
wonder what ever happened to him after that…
he legit seemed scared to ball
April 16th, 2021 at 9:58 am
any correlation between har-grievances arriving in houston and the texans starting to really suck…???
think back carefully…
they were a pretty good type team up until about that point…
then sorta just went down hill…
before har-grievances arrived they were usually like a 9-7 or 10-6 ball club fighting for a playoff spot…
he arrives and the team straight tailspinned into oblivion
April 16th, 2021 at 10:03 am
Here’s the NFL summary on Stewart,
Positives
—One of the best press cornerbacks in the class and bangs with his punch at the line.
—Short but stocky and thick with the strength to redirect receivers.
—Physical at the line of scrimmage and also excels as a tackler in the open field.
—Plays with the awareness and instincts to be assignment versatile; can handle both zone and man duties.
—Some scouts have suggested he’ll move to safety in the NFL. Teams love his versatility.
NEGATIVES
—Lacks ideal height (5’10â…ž”) to play outside cornerback and doesn’t have the speed to run well in the slot (4.54-second 40-yard dash).
If you read this summary, where and how should you use this player?
Can anyone make an argument that MJ was a good pick up for a team that primarily ran zone?
If he’s not big enough to play outside, especially if in soft zone, and not quick enough at slot what was the reason for picking him in the first place.
April 16th, 2021 at 10:43 am
I’d argue MJ and Noah were equally bad picks, but it’s got to go to Vernon as high as he was drafted and as awful as he was. Still blows my mind Houston made that clown a starter.
April 16th, 2021 at 10:57 am
The guy spent someone else’s money. While we’re at it, why not nominate him for the nobel prize. He’s a decent drafter. It’s also easier when you pick in the upper half of the first round and so on. Wake up and stop glorifying him. The credit should go to ownership for opening up the check book
April 16th, 2021 at 11:10 am
Still remember when people wanted the Bucs to sign Gruden again. Ugg…I’m glad we dodged that bullet. Have you guys seen the cluster f@ck he got going on with the Riders?…🤣🤣
April 16th, 2021 at 11:58 am
Picks I Liked: Noah Spence, OJ Howard, Aguayo, ASJ
(On Aguayo: The year before the Bucs lost 3-4 games because of missed FGs. RA set the record for made FGs in college. The pick made sense. Just maybe not round 2.)
Picks I Questioned: Ali Marpet (small school), Godwin (injuries), Cappa, Rojo, Vea (wanted James), Winfield (wanted Dobbins)
Goes to show, pre-draft hype doesn’t mean much.
April 16th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
There were quite a few draftnics calling Hargreaves the “best cover corner” in that 2016 draft. Bucs were desperate for help at CB. Licht traded back as far as he could (2 spots for a measly 4th rd pick) – bit the bullet and let need dictate the selection – picking Hargreaves at #11 overall.
The MJ Stewart selection was worse because there were multiple players available at the same position with that mid 2nd rd pick – who were obviously better prospects. Carlton Davis was one of them. Luckily we snagged Davis about 10 picks later after another 3 or 4 CBs had come off the board. But the HUGE and GLARING MISS was LSU stud speedster Donte Jackson just sitting there – in the middle of the 2nd rd when he should have been long gone – a virtual gift of a 1st rd talent falling to the mid 2nd rd – and Licht picks MJ Stewart instead…. SMH
April 16th, 2021 at 12:49 pm
I had no problem with the Aguayo pick. Yeah he was a bust but hindsight is 20/20 and at the time with the information we had, it was worth it.
April 16th, 2021 at 3:15 pm
Bucs traded away a valuable pick to secure your buddy Aguayo. They received a pick to move back and take hargreaves. To me its not close either.
April 16th, 2021 at 6:49 pm
Still laugh my AZZ off thinking about a joebucsfan game after podcast,listening to Lee describe heargraves and the rest of the secondary’s play during the regime.. They were absolutely putrid and Lee said a something like ” a bunch of lawn chairs out on the field could cover better than those guys”. Too funny! Yay end of the lost decade!
April 16th, 2021 at 6:49 pm
* Koetter
April 17th, 2021 at 3:29 pm
Licht did pretty well with UDFAs, too. That’s what got my attention when he became the GM. The coaching merry-go-round sucked tho.