Licht has been know to make a “stealth” pick now and then, taking guys he didn’t invite in for visits or aren’t necessarily featured targets of the Bucs in the media. These are guys I haven’t seen mentioned much in connection with the Bucs prior to the PR draft preview.
TRADE: Bucs trade pick 26 to Arizona for Pick 35 in Round 2 and Pick 90 in Round 3.
Pick #35 (from Arizona) Ladd McConkey WR GA.
McConkey is an excellent route runner and will be an immediate contributor as well as eventual replacement for Godwin. The Bucs will want to capitalize on this deep WR draft and are moving on from Godwin after this year. Don’t be surprised if they use their best pick on a WR.
Pick #57 Kiran Amegadjie OL Yale.
Amegadjie is my stealth pick because he wasn’t mentioned in the Combine interviews, but seems to be the type of player Licht might be hoping drops down to him in Round 2. PFN: “At 6'5″, 323 pounds, with arms over 36″, Amegadjie has an uncommon power profile. And on top of his size and length, he's a high-level athlete with searing explosiveness, impressive short-area energy, flexibility, and range as a pulling and moving blocker. As a hand-fighter, Amegadjie is still growing.”
TRADE: Bucs trade picks 89 and 92 to las Vegas for picks 77 and 112.
Pick #77 Max Melton CB Rutgers.
Bucs consider CB a serious need, more than people might want to think, and when Melton starts to drift down the 3the Bucs work the phones to move up to meet him. Draft Buzz: “Physical and aggressive in the run game, not shying away from contact and demonstrating the ability to disrupt plays in the backfield. Exhibits a high motor and competitive spirit, consistently giving full effort and displaying tenacity on every play.” I don’t know where Melton will get drafted, but I suspect the Bucs have him in their sights. But if I have a "wishful thinking" pick this is it.
Pick #90 (from AZ) Junior Colson, LB Mich.
DN: Junior Colson is a smooth-moving linebacker who operates with intelligent violence. NFL-ready frame and athletic profile to make an impact on all three downs. Trotter may be the more well-known name available in this range, but I’ll take the guy from Michigan if you don’t mind.
Pick #112 Pick #90 Jalen Sundell IOL ND St.
Van Pran or Bortolini may be the "plug and play" type centers, but if you just want mediocrity, you already have it in Hainsey. The Bucs will want to find a center with more upside such as Sundell. DN: "Jalen Sundell's exceptional athleticism, high football IQ, and relentless drive make him the perfect fit for the modern NFL center position.
Pick #125 Jalyx Hunt OLB Houston Baptist.
I’ll be in the minority and say that rather than using a high draft pick on an edge rusher, Licht may try to go back to the well and use a midround pick like they did to get YaYa Diaby with pick 82. This time they wait even longer to pick deep sleeper Hunt who according to Draft Buzz “With a powerful lower body and the ability to hold up at the point of attack as a run defender, Hunt is remarkably instinctive.” He had an opposing QB rating of 42.
Pick #220 Jaden Shirden RB Monmouth.
The new kickoffs will have GMs emphasizing the returners who can make people miss in the open field but maybe a little more running back type ability since it’s a shorter distance to the defenders. Shirden can add to the running back depth and be a nice returner.
Pick #246 Devin Culp, TE Washington
Culp is rated the #1 run blocking TE by Yard Barker. “Devin Culp makes up for his smaller stature (6-foot-3, 231 pounds) with “strong hands to sustain blocks long enough to let the play develop," per the SIS scouting staff. Our scouts graded him as a 6 (Good) in run blocking but a 7 (Very Good) in toughness, which he’ll need to compete with the big boys at the NFL level. He caught 12 passes, which isn’t a lot unless you compare him to Ko Kieft who can’t catch a cold bless his heart. It’s great to have a blocking TE but there has to be at least a teeny tiny bit of threat to catch a pass and Ko Kieft just doesn’t have it.
So basically trade down and hit all areas of the team to shore up and fortify trenches and skill positions. This may happen because we assume with that extra third that Licht will trade up or stay pat. But it is possible that Licht might want to load up on day 2 and early day 3 picks due to that being the strength and value of the 2024 draft.
The only point of contention I would argue is CB being a serious need. McCollum and Dean are by default the starters with Hall as the reserve it seems and Hayes as the #4. Meanwhile Isaac is a sleeper that the Bucs want to see develop.
I do like the late round picks of Hunt, Shirden and Culp because that is in line with what the Bucs look for. But I think with Coen and new ST coach McGauhey we might see som wrinkles here. But with McGauhey I think that a RB that can be a return specialist will be a must because I don't see the team sticking with Tucker or Laird very long if they don't show anything on offense and/or special teams.
I think one if the joes at JBF may have hit upon an idea. Bucs apparently wanted to draft a Center (Joe Tippman out of Wisconsin) in 2023, but the Jets snagged him and we selected Cody Mauch, instead.
Center is still an obvious need & may be at the top of Licht’s noggin…
Cornerbacks peak at 26/27 and drop off at 30. Dean will be 28 at the start of this season and of course 29 at the start of 2025. McCollum is promising but not proven. They need to continue to plan for the future at that premium position.So basically trade down and hit all areas of the team to shore up and fortify trenches and skill positions. This may happen because we assume with that extra third that Licht will trade up or stay pat. But it is possible that Licht might want to load up on day 2 and early day 3 picks due to that being the strength and value of the 2024 draft.
The only point of contention I would argue is CB being a serious need. McCollum and Dean are by default the starters with Hall as the reserve it seems and Hayes as the #4. Meanwhile Isaac is a sleeper that the Bucs want to see develop.
I do like the late round picks of Hunt, Shirden and Culp because that is in line with what the Bucs look for. But I think with Coen and new ST coach McGauhey we might see som wrinkles here. But with McGauhey I think that a RB that can be a return specialist will be a must because I don't see the team sticking with Tucker or Laird very long if they don't show anything on offense and/or special teams.
As for running back, Shirden was not on the PR list of RBs. I don't really know anything about late round draft picks other than the quick search I did, but my point in picking him was that with the new kickoff rules it will behoove teams to have returners who can run in the open field, but also can break tackles like a running back. Looking at the 2023 XFL, most returners were WRs with a couple RBs and DBs mixed in. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the new kickoff rules impact the game. I think there will be some teams that address it better than others and it may very well have an impact on who wins some games. I hope the Bucs don't get caught with their pants down on this. When we look back on the next season one of the stories will be how that kickoff rule changed the outcome of some games.
Cornerbacks peak at 26/27 and drop off at 30. Dean will be 28 at the start of this season and of course 29 at the start of 2025. McCollum is promising but not proven. They need to continue to plan for the future at that premium position.So basically trade down and hit all areas of the team to shore up and fortify trenches and skill positions. This may happen because we assume with that extra third that Licht will trade up or stay pat. But it is possible that Licht might want to load up on day 2 and early day 3 picks due to that being the strength and value of the 2024 draft.
The only point of contention I would argue is CB being a serious need. McCollum and Dean are by default the starters with Hall as the reserve it seems and Hayes as the #4. Meanwhile Isaac is a sleeper that the Bucs want to see develop.
I do like the late round picks of Hunt, Shirden and Culp because that is in line with what the Bucs look for. But I think with Coen and new ST coach McGauhey we might see som wrinkles here. But with McGauhey I think that a RB that can be a return specialist will be a must because I don't see the team sticking with Tucker or Laird very long if they don't show anything on offense and/or special teams.
As for running back, Shirden was not on the PR list of RBs. I don't really know anything about late round draft picks other than the quick search I did, but my point in picking him was that with the new kickoff rules it will behoove teams to have returners who can run in the open field, but also can break tackles like a running back. Looking at the 2023 XFL, most returners were WRs with a couple RBs and DBs mixed in. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the new kickoff rules impact the game. I think there will be some teams that address it better than others and it may very well have an impact on who wins some games. I hope the Bucs don't get caught with their pants down on this. When we look back on the next season one of the stories will be how that kickoff rule changed the outcome of some games.
Logically it makes more sense to draft a CB a year early than WR but those arguments can be used on other positions as well. Anytime a team commits a first rounder at a position they try to maximize the first round contract with the fifth year options. Ravens GM DeCosta does this a lot because it saves his team money for highly talented players with that extra year option. But more importantly the first few years of a rookie 1st year contract are important too.
Honestly if the Bucs draft a CB in round 1 and lets say that rookie starts opposite of Dean then that is a good deal. More likely the Bucs draft a CB in round 2 or 3 to train a bit and take over in 2024 with McCollum.
McCollum proved himself last season when he was the most dependable starting CB on the Bucs roster. Carlton Davis was the least dependable in terms of consistency and availability and he was traded. And Dean is not far from that fate either because until the Bucs draft his replacement they will hang onto him.
The bigger reason why CB isn't that big of a need is because the Bucs played a lot of zone last year and will continue to do so. Defenses are playing a lot of exotic zone looks underneath with fire zone blitzes trying to disrupt passing lanes and the McVay and Shanahan style of offense that are being employed.
Corner is pretty deep - and we need have some critical needs. I want to come around to the idea of drafting a WR in round one - but I just can’t get there, because this draft is deep at WR too.
Really seeing the case for trading back from 26 becoming more clear, especially if the targets we have aren’t there when we pick. Beginning to suspect they won’t be.
You can't meet all your needs with the draft by trading back. Licht isn't going to do that. It's going to depend on the players who fall to that spot and whether he really likes one of them, or if he sees a group of them and thinks he can trade back and still get one of those guys he really likes. He's gone both ways before in the first, trading up or trading back out of the round.Corner is pretty deep - and we need have some critical needs. I want to come around to the idea of drafting a WR in round one - but I just can’t get there, because this draft is deep at WR too.
Really seeing the case for trading back from 26 becoming more clear, especially if the targets we have aren’t there when we pick. Beginning to suspect they won’t be.
But in this case I think that Licht has star players. Now he's trying to fill up the team up and down the lineup with draft picks. I think he'd love to have as many Day 2 picks as he can in rounds 2-4 IMO to keep building up the depth of this team with good players who can be molded into the Bucs system. I think it started last year and will continue this year with flooding the team with draft picks and UDFAs and getting them some on the job experience. There's a lot of quality players on Day 2. I wouldn't be surprised if he trades down at least a couple spots to pick up another 4th rounder. If the trade down is into the 2nd round picking up an extra 3rd perhaps then that's six picks in rounds 2-4. I don't think it's just a matter of trying to plug holes, I think it's setting the team up for the future. But we'll see of course I could be totally off base.
No I see that thinking because the value is in the 2nd round through 5th round with this draft which aligns with most of the Bucs needs. CB, interior Ol and WR is a given to be drafted by the Bucs at some point but the wild card is if the Bucs spend a 1st on WR or CB position. Ever since Hargreaves and Evans selections Licht has opted to invest first round picks at other positions.
