Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jason Licht’s worst draft picks
By Bailey Adams
1. Roberto Aguayo (2016)
Well, this was an obvious one. Earlier in this article, I said that Licht’s legacy would likely be defined by Jameis Winston’s Buccaneer career. But another pick, perhaps unfairly, will be what many people remember first when they think about Licht.
That was the selection of Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo. Licht traded up in the second round to select Roberto Aguayo, a move that has been ridiculed and laughed at ever since.
At the time, the pick made some sense. Tampa Bay had kicking issues, so Licht tried to fix that by selecting one of the most accurate kickers in college football history. It was bold, but it didn’t pay off.
As a rookie, Aguayo connected on just 71 percent of his field goal attempts (22-for-31). The pressure of being a second-rounder seemed to get to him. He had a nice run late in the year, making it seemed like he had turned the corner. But two missed kicks in the season finale brought doubts back. The team brought Nick Folk in to compete with him for the 2017 preseason.
After missing a field goal and an extra point in the first preseason game, Aguayo was cut. A second-round pick was wasted on a kicker who lasted one season.
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Since being cut by Tampa Bay, Aguayo has had short stints with three teams. He spent less than a month with the Bears and about two months with the Panthers before signing a futures contract with the Chargers this past January. Licht hasn’t missed on many picks in his time with the Buccaneers, but this was undoubtedly his biggest one.