Through Jason Licht’s tenure as the Bucs general manager, he’s traditionally been a very active trader the draft. In fact, Licht has made at least one trade in each of his drafts. With 13 total trades, he’s shown a propensity to move around the board. Trading up a total of nine times, while moving back four times. He’s also traded future selections twice, but nothing higher than a fifth-round pick.

In what’s considered a top-heavy draft, there has been a lot of speculation on what he Bucs could do with the 27th overall selection. Will Licht trade back and acquire more picks? Or will he surprise again and trade up for a player, as he did for right tackle Tristan Wirfs in 2020?

Let’s examine the Bucs’ draft trade history during Licht’s tenure.

2014

In Licht’s first draft he made one trade. Sending a seventh-round pick and a 2015 fifth-rounder in exchange for a fourth-round choice. After the trade he selected offensive lineman Kevin Pamphile. The move didn’t work out the way he had hoped with Pamphile, who started 33 games for the Bucs. Pamphile never developed into a solid player, grading poorly in both run and pass blocking and has been out of the league since 2018.

2015

Bucs LG Ali Marpet – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

His next draft yielded much better results landing two Pro Bowl players via trade-ups. Licht’s first move was to send third- and fourth-round selections to move up four spots to select athletic guard Ali Marpet out of tiny Hobart College. Marpet retired this offseason but is one of the best offensive linemen in Bucs history.

He followed that up by trading fourth- and seventh-round picks, moving up another four spots to take linebacker Kwon Alexander in the fourth round. While Alexander started his career off strong with a Pro Bowl berth in 2017, his final season ended with an ACL injury and wasn’t re-signed. After initially signing a huge deal with San Francisco in 2018 he was never the same. He spent the last two seasons in New Orleans as a part-time starter.

2016

Licht made his first move down the boards in the 2016 NFL Draft, sliding down three spots in the first round from No. 9 to No. 11. Picking up a fourth-rounder in the deal, he went on to select cornerback Vernon Hargraves with the 11th overall pick. In one of his worst draft moves he used the extra fourth-rounder he acquired to move up into the second round from the third round to pick kicker Roberto Aguayo. Hargraves is Licht’s worst first-round selection as Tampa Bay’s G.M. He never made an impact and was released midseason in 2019. Aguayo was easily Licht’s biggest draft miss and was released after just one season with the team.

2017

Licht’s fourth draft saw him continue to be aggressive moving up the board, including utilizing a future draft choice. His first move was to move up 18 spots in the fourth round, sending a sixth-rounder in the trade up. With the pick he selected linebacker Kendell Beckwith. Later in the draft he sent a 2018 seventh-rounder to move up 14 spots in the seventh to take nose tackle Stevie Tu’ikolovatu. Beckwith showed promise his rookie season, but an offseason car accident ended his football career. While Tu’ikolovatu never played a snap for the Bucs or any other team.

2018

Bucs CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In one of Licht’s most successful drafts of his tenure, he made three trades. The first deal was a trade down from No. 7 to No. 12 acquiring two second-round picks in the move. At No. 12 he selected defensive tackle Vita Vea. With the first of his two extra seconds the Bucs picked cornerback M.J. Stewart followed by cornerback Carlton Davis III.

This was easily one of Licht’s best hauls as G.M. Vea made his first Pro Bowl and was signed to massive contract extension in 2021. He’s now making an average of $17.75 million per year.

Stewart didn’t work out as hoped, and was released before the 2020 season. But Davis has been one of the top shutdown corners in the league. He signed a three-year extension this offseason worth an average of $14.833 million per year.

2019

In 2019, Licht made just one trade, but he landed two impact players with the selections. Trading back from the early third round, he picked up two late third-round picks in the process. With those he selected cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Mike Edwards. Dean has been up and down and battled injuries. But he has been a quality starter when healthy the past two seasons. Edwards has thrived as a playmaker as a third safety and nickel role. Both players are in the final year of their contracts.

2020

Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Licht moved up one spot in the first round in 2020, receiving a seventh-rounder while sending a fourth-round pick in the process. However, the result was the selection of All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs. As a rookie, Wirfs was one of the best right tackles in the league and followed that up with his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods in 2021. 

2021

The jury is still out on Licht’s move up in last year’s draft. Parting ways with a sixth-round pick, he moved up eight spots in the fourth round to select undersized receiver Jaelon Darden out of North Texas. Darden struggled as a receiver and a return man during his rookie season. While the team may not be ready to give up on him, he’ll need a strong camp to remain on the roster.