Buccaneers: Ranking first-round draft picks under Jason Licht
By Rob Leeds
Jason Licht has killed it in the NFL Draft with the Buccaneers, mostly.
It may be too soon to consider Jason Licht infallible as a GM, but during the past few years with the Buccaneers, everything he touches turns to gold. Licht has helped transform the roster from one that couldn’t make the playoffs to one that won the Super Bowl in a short period, and a large part of that stems from excellent draft selections.
Licht didn’t jump out to a hot start with a few horrible selections (like Roberto Aguayo), but his first-round picks have generally been excellent, especially during the past few seasons.
Almost all of these first-round picks are still on the roster and helped with the Super Bowl win, and here are their rankings from worst to best.
7. Vernon Hargreaves, Corner, 2016
As every Bucs fan can tell you, Licht’s rare miss in the first round is unquestionably Vernon Hargreaves. Hargreaves failed to pop from the start of his career in Tampa, and the 2019 season was the nail in the coffin for his time with the Bucs.
The growing stereotype is corners from Florida rarely turn out as expected, and in the case of the Buccaneers, this proved true for Hargreaves.