Step Five: Begin adding cornerstone pieces
The fifth and final step is to begin using those picks accumulated to add cornerstone talent to the roster. By cornerstone pieces, we are talking about the positions of most important to an NFL team.
These positions, in order from most important to least important, are quarterback, pass rusher, cornerback, offensive tackle, and defensive tackle. Luckily for the Buccaneers, they already have a young defensive tackle who could make it through a rebuild, but they do not have a reliable option at any of those other cornerstone positions.
Other than that, Winston, Carlton Davis, and Donovan Smith cannot be called cornerstone pieces for the pewter and red. Shaquil Barrett can be called a cornerstone piece based off of his performance thus far in the season, but is a free agent in 2020; one of the main reasons for the Buccaneers’ continued and long term failure is the lack of cornerstones to build success off of.
Again, step one would prohibit Licht from taking those at bats for the franchise. Wide receivers, running backs, and linebackers are shiny cars to show off, but those cars cannot be driven without the keys. By stockpiling picks, the Bucs would be given more opportunities at the plate to hit home runs on their draft pick.