From “C+” To “A-“
May 20th, 2023
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht was skewered at NFL.com four years ago.
The league’s online mouthpiece gave Licht’s Bucs a grade of C+ for their 2019 draft haul.
Four years later, former Bucs GM Mark Dominik and his SiriusXM NFL Radio co-host Bruce Murray set out to grade each team’s 2019 draft. Dominik was gushing over the productivity of the Bucs’ haul.
If there was more certainty surrounding Devin White’s status or multiyear new deals for defensive backs Sean Murphy Bunting and Mike Edwards, Dominik would have dropped an “A” grade for 2019 on the man who succeeded him. Instead, Dominik gave Licht a high “A-,” same for Murray.
Joe is so impressed by the collective contributions the Bucs got from that draft, and seven players have moved on to second contracts, some of them bank-breakers.
Devin White
Sean Murphy-Bunting (Titans)
Mike Edwards (Chiefs)
Jamel Dean
Anthony Nelson
Matt Gay (Colts)
Scotty Miller (Falcons)
Licht accomplished “a lot of things that are hard to do,” Dominik said of the 2019 draft class.
A great debate is whether the 2018 draft class was better than 2019’s.
Vita Vea (Round 1)
Ronald Jones II (Round 2)
M.J. Stewart (Round 2)
Carlton Davis (Round 2)
Alex Cappa (Round 3)
Jordan Whitehead (Round 4)
Justin Watson (Round 4)
Jack Cichy (Round 6)
Tough call, but Joe’s giving a slight edge to 2019.
Licht went on to hit two home runs in the 2020 draft, and those three drafts — 2018, 2019, 2020 — are a massive reason the Bucs won the Super Bowl.