2016: Drafting a KICKER in the second round
The Raiders famously (or infamously depending on who you ask) drafted kicker Sebastian Janikowski with the 17th overall pick in the 2000 Draft and punter Ray Guy with the 23rd overall pick in the 1973 Draft, turning the heads of many. In fairness, Guy won three Super Bowls whilst donning the silver and black, and is the only punter enshrined in Canton. Janikowski, while solid, became a cautionary tale on why kickers shouldn’t be drafted too high.
The Buccaneers didn’t fully grasp this memo during the 2016 NFL Draft when they selected kicker Roberto Aguayo out of Florida State in the second round (59th overall). He was the first kicker taken in the second round since the Jets took Mike Nugent in 2005.
Jason Licht may be king of the GMs now, but this was a real shank. Simply put, Aguayo was horrible. After a hot start, he wasn’t just bad, he was statistically the worst in the league.
The Bucs brought in Nick Folk to compete with Aguayo that offseason and beat him out after the first preseason game. Aguayo lasted one season and a preseason game. This pick was a disaster on all fronts, including this writer’s fantasy team that year, if anyone even cares about that.