Bucs GM Says Being Loaded At A Position Won’t Affect His Draft
April 21st, 2021By any measurement, our beloved Buccaneers are fully loaded at running back, receiver and at tight end.
What a beautiful thing it is, but that’s no factor to Super Bowl general manager Jason Licht. Joe asked Licht today about whether his recent (and only) big free agent signing of 2021 changed his draft plan.
JoeBucsFan.com: Jason, has the Giovani Bernard signing altered your draft approach in any way at running back?
Jason Licht: You know, we’re going to take the best player. Like I said earlier, it might not be someone that steps in right away or has a huge role his rookie year. You would like that player to play a role; this goes for every position. So I would say every position is on the table right now for what we’re selecting in the first and second round, and the rest of the draft for that matter, too.
No, Joe was not fishing for signs the Bucs might dare to draft Clemson beast running back Travis Etienne, or any other running back at the close of Round 1. Joe really wanted to see if Licht would say having four super-talented running backs on the roster would nearly close the door on the position.
Joe wouldn’t bet on the Bucs drafting a running back in Round 1, but it sure would be fun and likely a smart play given how important production from that position is to Tom Brady.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:35 pm
We may be loaded at TE this year, but OJ is on his last year, Gronk is on a 1 year, and Brate is a bit overpaid with 2 years left. Also, who knows how effective OJ is after an achilles injury. It’s not ludicrous to think we’d draft a TE at some point (even on day 2).
April 21st, 2021 at 1:45 pm
50/50 Licht trades down.
April 21st, 2021 at 1:46 pm
They are loaded on offense
You can debate whether they should draft future qb this year or next
Or could they get veteran qb when they want
Regardless …offense is pretty set
One olineman and go the rest defense
Cant wait
April 21st, 2021 at 2:04 pm
Of course he’s going to say this. He’d be a fool to say “oh there’s no way in hell we’re drafting this one position! So if you’re looking to trade up for that, you know you can rip us off!”
If he did, I’d hope the Glazers would consider firing him, that’d be GM malpractice.
But spoiler: not gonna be a RB.
April 21st, 2021 at 2:42 pm
Liar’s Poker
April 21st, 2021 at 2:51 pm
If i could have anybody in this draft it would be Kyle Pitts. Hands down the best football player on the board.
April 21st, 2021 at 3:45 pm
3 of our 4 RBs are on 1 year situations…..as are 3 of our 4 TEs…..so…..TE is loaded as is RB….but not secure in 22.
We ought not concern ourselves with 22 contracts…and instead draft the best player.
April 21st, 2021 at 4:26 pm
I thought that the answer he gave about asking draft prospects to name players in the team was really interesting. Love that kind of insight. Great job JBF getting that info out.
April 21st, 2021 at 5:06 pm
Good cause there’s a bunch of good football players that can make this team better including those that will benefit from competition 😹
April 21st, 2021 at 5:07 pm
I just don’t see how they don’t take D line, unless they feel they can get awesome value in round two. It’s the one position that’s going to need upgrading real soon because of the age of Gholston, Suh, and even JPP
April 21st, 2021 at 5:26 pm
So many good options, including trading back for more picks. What a difference from the past!
April 21st, 2021 at 6:28 pm
andre cisco best safety in draft if you like stats 13 picks in 24 games i dont care about stats watch tape chris simms says he jamaal adams 4.3 speed best range winfield and edwards great players this guy on differenet level though alot of good ol could fall
April 21st, 2021 at 6:55 pm
For the trade down crowd, how exactly will all these later round picks make the team?? I anticipate a trade up mentality due to this
April 21st, 2021 at 8:02 pm
Licht said absolutely nothing today. Whatever any GM says a week before the draft, don’t believe it.
April 21st, 2021 at 9:12 pm
Check out Re-Drafting the 2020 NFL Draft on Complex.com. It came up on my Google feed. Worth the read. With the home runs on Wirfs and Winfield this may turn out to be the best draft since Sapps & Brooks.