Buccaneers: Ranking first-round draft picks under Jason Licht

The second-best first-round draft pick for the Buccaneers by Jason Licht

Tristan Wirfs, OT, 2020

Wirfs should probably be a bit lower on this list due to a much smaller sample size than everyone else, but his presence at a keystone position mixed with an Offensive Rookie of the Year-caliber performance is enough to catapult to the near-top of this list.

There hasn’t been a better pick for need for the Buccaneers in decades. The Bucs had a glaring hole at tackle, and Wirfs filled that role as well as anyone could’ve expected. Bruce Arians may say that he is against drafting based on need, but Wirfs proves that this is sometimes not true.

After trading up to make Wirfs the final tackle selected of the four best prospects in the last class, the Buccaneers soon discovered that Wirfs was the best of the bunch by a mile. In fact, Wirfs is one of the best rookie tackles in several years as well.

Based on the pivotal role that Wirfs will play during his career mixed with a stellar performance keeping Tom Brady’s jersey clear against a rogues gallery of pass-rushers that would even make a veteran shudder, Wirfs makes a compelling case as the best player on the roster.

Wirfs will definitely need to maintain this pace over the next few years to keep this distinction, but as we’ve already seen, this is certainly not out of the question.