Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jason Licht’s worst draft picks
By Bailey Adams
4. Kenny Bell (2015)
The biggest reason that Kenny Bell isn’t higher on this list is that he was a fifth-round pick. Very rarely do fifth-rounders pan out and become all-pro players. But even with that in mind, Bell was still a bust.
There was some hype around the Nebraska product, but he never quite caught on. He failed to record a catch in two preseason games as a rookie, then went on injured reserve with a hamstring issue. After an unimpressive run in the 2016 preseason, he was cut.
His speed and athleticism made Bell an intriguing prospect. But once the pads came on, he didn’t produce. At all.
Even in practice, he disappeared. Head coach Dirk Koetter even noted to reporters that his production was nowhere to be seen when the team broke out the pads. When your head coach is questioning you like that, your days are probably numbered. That clearly was the case, considering his Buccaneer career ended about a month later.
Picks in the later rounds aren’t easy to hit on, so there’s not a lot of blame to throw on Licht for this one. He gambled on a player that seemed to have high upside, but it didn’t pay off. There wasn’t a lot of risk, which is fine. That doesn’t stop this from being one of his worst selections, though.