Small-School Pick Coming Friday Night?
April 21st, 2025
“Hey Mike Biehl, what’s that linebacker’s name again from Montana State?”
Joe isn’t sure if there is a wagering outfit that allows bets on this four days prior to Night 2 of the draft. If so, it’s worth putting a few shekels down.
(Four days for Round 2! That means the draft begins Thursday night! We are almost there folks. T-minus 88 hours and counting. Once Thursday at 8 p.m. hits, that means for the next nine months, we won’t be assaulted by mock/schlock drafts! Roger Goodell will rise again at a podium Green Bay to spare mankind!)
So the pocket protector crowd at NFL.com that has access to NextGen Stats have hatched something called “Draft IQ.”
Joe doesn’t find it all that interesting. It’s one page dedicated to each team that includes draft knowledge that basically anyone reading this here corner of the interwebs likely knows or has a good hunch about.
However, there is this quality tidbit under the tab “FRONT OFFICE TENDENCIES” that has an interesting detail about Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
Across his 11-year tenure, Licht has used a second-round pick on five different prospects from non-Power 5 schools.
So, that’s nearly half of the drafts by the Bucs’ shot-caller.
What is “Power 5,” you ask? The Power-5 conferences are SEC, Big Ten, Big XII, ACC and the since-deceased PAC-12.
Now most of Licht’s drafts have taken place before play-for-pay and unlimited transfers in college took hold.
Currently, many decent to good players take the money and run to bigger schools and conferences. So Joe isn’t sure how much, if at all, this will play with Licht’s fetish for non-Power 5 players in the second round come Friday night.
Given Licht’s picks in the second round this decade (Antoine Winfield, Minnesota; Kyle Trask, Florida; Logan Hall, then-AAC member Houston; Luke Goedeke, Central Michigan; Cody Mauch, North Dakota State and Chris Braswell, Alabama), Licht may want to stick with the non-Power 5 players.
Licht hasn’t picked a small-school player in the second round since 2023. So he’s due.
April 21st, 2025 at 5:32 am
I will be in the UK so will not be able to follow live due to the time difference, but I will anxiously check first thing in the morning to see what the Bucs did on draft night.
April 21st, 2025 at 5:48 am
The most important player for the Bucs is Baker Mayfield. The one player who’s whole team success depends on. My thinking is the best way to make Baker bake is by giving HIM the best ingredients. What better player to help Baker succeed than Matthew Golden? There use to be a saying around here, weapons for Winston. Baker needs weapons too. Our third receiver should be Golden, our fourth J Mac. Now J Mac is the third, god awful Sheppard is the fourth. Not good enough. Get a stud receiver, help Baker bake.
April 21st, 2025 at 6:10 am
Winfield wasn’t drafted this decade.
April 21st, 2025 at 6:25 am
So the left guard from Division III North Central has a chance yet. He’s a beast.
April 21st, 2025 at 6:26 am
If like to see someone go back and revisit these mocks and find ANYone who was remotely accurate
April 21st, 2025 at 6:29 am
Ezeirakua at 19
April 21st, 2025 at 6:35 am
Winfield drafted 2020!
April 21st, 2025 at 6:57 am
Hodad, lots of ways to win in the NFL so improving WR is one of them.
Personally, I would choose to upgrade some defensive slots first.
April 21st, 2025 at 7:08 am
Protect the Quarterback
April 21st, 2025 at 7:46 am
Trask fan here admitting that pick continues to age like fine milk
April 21st, 2025 at 7:56 am
How many of those non-power 5 pics were O linemen? Probably most. Offensiive line is hard to judge but Licht knows how to do this. Marpet was a true find… ability, character, potentia, solid teammate… eventual probowler. Too bad about the concussions. His retirement coupled with Jensen’s knee sunk our online for a few years.
April 21st, 2025 at 8:21 am
Thanks for confirming my point, Allbuccedup!
April 21st, 2025 at 8:56 am
Winfield was drafted in 2020, sir.
If you’re going to try to be technical and claim 2020 was not this decade, the folks who hatched that rule never dealt with odometers.
Civilization has evolved.
April 21st, 2025 at 8:59 am
Here you go.
April 21st, 2025 at 9:26 am
Stick with SEC schools for the most part. Maybe some Big 10.
April 21st, 2025 at 9:39 am
Out of the list above rank 0 to 100 pure football passion . The two that rank the highest on my list are the small schoolers . Especially on the field effort !!
Hence , draft success/ investment must put this in play . So many especially now with the college money, special treatment and annual recruitment, can’t handle the work / adulthood in the NFL .
April 21st, 2025 at 9:57 am
Trust Licht. Hopefully someone’s in his ear about Thor Griffith — absolute steal of the draft. Steal… Like iron…. Like Thor’s hammer… Yeah, this dude was forged to play football, not born.
April 21st, 2025 at 11:07 am
Keep an eye on Jackson Slater as a day 2 or day 3 lineman. He’s out of Sacramento state and had a good week at the senior bowl. He can play guard and Center. Seems like a Jason Licht guy to me.
April 21st, 2025 at 11:16 am
I agree with drafting SEC players.
Why?
Because they are southerners.
Because they hate losing.
Because they played against NFL talent their entire life.
SEC players are competitive and fast!
Tykes Smith is the perfect example.
He would make huge plays. Put his head down. And keep playing.
I love Tykes Smith’s body language.
He puts his head down and works!
April 21st, 2025 at 11:33 am
“Mike Alstott Jr. Says:
April 21st, 2025 at 7:46 am
Trask fan here admitting that pick continues to age like fine milk”
That, sir, is post of the month!
LOL.
April 21st, 2025 at 1:45 pm
I can’t wait to find out who the Titans will select with pick zero in round zero on day zero of the draft.
April 21st, 2025 at 3:50 pm
“Tykes Smith is the perfect example.”
Well not exactly a “perfect” example. He’s no Southerner, he’s from Philly and that’s where he grew up.
But I confess to a serious bit of nitpicking there. I agree with your overall thesis about SEC quality. I also agree that football is king in the South. It’s just that SEC teams will now do ANYTHING to win and that includes playing guys from the North and West.
April 21st, 2025 at 9:18 pm
If that’s the case it’ll probably be Revel. Wouldn’t be a bad move because even if Dean does stay next year will probably be his last year & Revel can still recover as much as possible & he won’t have to get thrown in there right away unless he has to go in there & play if he needed to.