Over the past six NFL Drafts, Bucs general manager Jason Licht and the rest of the team’s front office have put together a team with a promising young core. A team still intact enough to remain competitive in 2023 even with veteran departures.

The Bucs have had plenty of success during Licht’s tenure. This includes being fresh off their third straight playoff appearance and winning the Super Bowl (in Tampa) in 2020.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and GM Jason Licht – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers

But in every draft, there are swings and misses. To take the baseball analogy a step further as the MLB season begins to get underway; for every home run and extra-base hit, there’s an infield single, ground out, or failed bunt attempt.

So what does this all mean? Pewter Report’s cap analyst and film expert Josh Queipo and Pewter Reporter Adam Slivon have gone through the drafts alternating each year to get down to the bottom of it.

This includes breaking down the context of each pick, who was selected in the first 15 picks after the Bucs’ choice, and who the next two players selected at the same position were. It has made for an interesting evaluation of each class, with the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft now under a month away.

In the second part of our six-part mini-series, we break down the Bucs’ 2018 NFL Draft class choices.

Bucs 2018 Draft Class

The 2018 NFL Draft brought down to Tampa Bay two key defenders in Vita Vea and Carlton Davis III that have since signed contract extensions, as well as other key contributors to the team’s 2020 Super Bowl-winning season in Ronald Jones II, Alex Cappa, and Jordan Whitehead. Although the team hit on most of their selections, there were some questionable decisions throughout the draft.

No. 12 DT Vita Vea

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

DT Daron Payne

DE Marcus Davenport

ILB Tremaine Edmunds

S Derwin James

CB Jaire Alexander

C Frank Ragnow

WR D.J. Moore

WR Calvin Ridley

Next two players at position:

DT Daron Payne

DT Taven Bryan

Selecting Vea at No.12 has proven to be well worth it for the Bucs, as he has become their main identity upfront as one of the “gravediggers.” Taken just after Vea, the team’s sack leader in 2022, was another defensive tackle in Daron Payne.

Bucs DT Vita Vea and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Payne has emerged as a key pass rusher and presence himself, outpacing Vea 26 to 18 in career sacks after being drafted by Washington. Like Vea, Payne also received a contract extension with the team that picked him, inking a four-year, $90 million agreement last month. This is significantly more than what Vea received from the Bucs in January 2022 when he signed a four-year, $73 million deal.

Although the Bucs needed (and still need) more defensive line help, other players taken after Vea include star defensive backs Derwin James and Jaire Alexander. The team would go on to address their defensive backfield plenty later in this draft while also picking Evans just a year prior. Still, in an alternate world where James and Antoine Winfield Jr. would have been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. The same with Alexander, who has blossomed into one of the top shutdown cornerbacks in the league.

With Mike Evans (2014) and Chris Godwin (2017) being taken in classes within the past five seasons and Adam Humphries and DeSean Jackson still on the roster at the time, it did not make sense to pick another receiver, even though D.J. Moore and Calvin Ridley have emerged as solid wideouts in their own right. For the value Vea has brought at a difficult position to draft, this pick was a hit.

No. 38 RB Ronald Jones II

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

WR Courtland Sutton

OLB Harold Landry

TE Mike Gesicki

WR Christian Kirk

TE Dallas Goedert

Next two players at position:

RB Kerryon Johnson

RB Derrius Guice

After Ronald Jones’ first season, it sure looked like this was another misfire from Jason Licht in selecting a running back. Jones would not start a game for the Bucs in his rookie season while only amassing 44 yards on 23 carries.

But thankfully, he was able to emerge as a solid option for the following three seasons while nearly approaching 1,000 rushing yards in 2020. He would finish that year with 61 yards in the team’s Super Bowl win, but in 2021 he would cede his starting role to Leonard Fournette, and it would be his last year with the team.

What about the other possible players the Bucs could have taken? Again, the wide receiver position was not a pressing need, so both Sutton and Kirk could be eliminated as realistic targets. With the team taking a chance on O.J. Howard and having Cameron Brate as a two-tight-end duo, picking Gesicki or Goedert was not on the table either.

That leaves Harold Landry, the former Boston College rusher and current Tennessee Titan, as the remaining option. Landry was taken just a few spots later than Jones at 41 and had a breakout season in 2021 with 12 sacks and his first Pro Bowl appearance. He parlayed this into a five-year, $87.5 million extension but would suffer a torn ACL just before the season started.

Selecting Landry would have been a nice pick, but the Bucs added a player of the same ilk a season later in Shaquil Barrett. At the time, they also had Jason Pierre-Paul and Carl Nassib, but a team can never have enough pass-rushing depth.

For all intents and purposes, Jones was a somewhat successful pick. With the options on the table not being needed at the time, Licht took a running back to succeed Doug Martin in the backfield. Jones filled that role for a few seasons and had his best season when it was needed most.

No. 53 CB M.J. Stewart

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

S Jessie Bates III

CB Donte Jackson

WR DJ Chark

T Brian O’Neill

CB Carlton Davis III

S Justin Reid

Next two players at position:

CB Donte Jackson

CB Duke Dawson

This is a pick I am sure Jason Licht would like to have back. M.J. Stewart was underwhelming in his two seasons in Tampa Bay right from the beginning. He began his rookie season playing second fiddle behind the next corner the team took, Carlton Davis III. With Brent Grimes and Ryan Smith ahead of him on the depth chart as well, Stewart failed to impress while also suffering an injury that season, keeping him out of action for over a month.

Bucs CB MJ Stewart – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In his two seasons with the Bucs before getting waived, he had 68 combined tackles while failing to record an interception. He has since bounced around, playing for the Browns and Texans. Last season in Houston, he did not start a game but had 41 combined tackles.

What hurts more is knowing the next selection, Jessie Bates III, hit the ground running immediately. He gained All-Pro status with the Cincinnati Bengals and will now be a division rival for the Bucs, having signed a four-year, $64 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons during this free agency cycle.

If the team wanted to continue their double dip at cornerback, Donte Jackson would have been the best alternative. Since being selected by the Carolina Panthers, Jackson has amassed 14 interceptions while also being a speedy option, having run a 4.31 40-second yard dash at his pro day.

While would not fit the mold of a typical Todd Bowles cornerback now, as he stands only 5-10, the relative talent outweighed that. Plus, the Bucs could have let him walk in free agency, although the Panthers opted to keep him on another three seasons at around $12 million a year.

O’Neill would have been a solid option at right tackle and transition from Demar Dotson, although the Bucs took a guy that filled that role pretty well in an upcoming draft class (Tristan Wirfs).

Overall, this pick was a whiff, as there were two talented defensive backs that were taken by other teams in this range. But the Bucs redeemed themselves by selecting another one just ten picks later.

No. 63 CB Carlton Davis III

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

S Justin Reid

ILB Fred Warner

Next two players at position:

CB Rashaan Gaulden

CB Isaac Yiadom

Jason Licht and the rest of the “war room” hit on picking Carlton Davis III. The Auburn product has solidified one outside corner spot, with Auburn teammate Jamel Dean manning the other a year later and choosing to reunite with him for the seasons to come.

For Davis, he has been a consistent producer, although he has failed to put a full 16-game season together in his career so far. According to Pro Football Focus, his overall defensive grades have fallen in the range of  61.2 (2018) and 70.4 (2019). His best year on the stat sheet was in 2020, as he tallied a career-high four interceptions to go with 68 combined tackles.

Davis has also been tasked with mostly lining up against No. 1 receivers and has held his own. Back in December, he gave Ja’Marr Chase fits, holding him to just three catches for 32 yards on eight targets. He has the ability to shut down top receivers and still has room to improve.

One can dream of the scenario where the Bucs chose Davis over Stewart and took Fred Warner at No. 63. A tandem of Lavonte David and Warner would have been historic, as Warner has gone on to be an All-Pro inside linebacker. His “lowest” tackle total in a season is 118. He is stout as a tackler, great in run defense, and has also gained the status of an elite coverage linebacker.

The Bucs hit on this pick, especially when looking at the next cornerbacks taken after Davis. But the Bucs missed the opportunity to pair him with another key defender in this range.

No. 94 OL Alex Cappa

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

TE Jordan Akins

RB Nyheim Hines

Next two players at position:

OL Rick Leonard

OL Will Richardson

Talk about hitting on a small school player. Only nine players from Humboldt State have seen action in NFL games. The only one with a higher career approximate value is the late fullback Wendell Hayes, who played 11 seasons from 1963-1974. That puts into context just how rare of a find Alex Cappa was for Jason Licht.

Bucs RG Alex Cappa – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Cappa did not start his rookie season but would find a home at right guard for the next three seasons. He filled the role of a solid starter in those campaigns, protecting both Jameis Winston and Tom Brady.

His Pro Football Focus splits suggest that he has been a better pass blocker than a run blocker in his career, but in 2021 he had his highest run block grade relative to other seasons at 71.2. The loss of Cappa before the 2022 season hurt, but the Bucs could not afford to keep him. The team filled his spot with Shaq Mason for a season and will now look at filling that spot either internally or externally.

In the range of picks following Cappa, the Bucs hit on this selection. Jordan Akins is known most notably for catching the Hail Mary and two-point conversion that cost the Texans the number one pick in this year’s draft, while Nyheim Hines has filled the role of a receiving back for the Colts before getting traded last season to the Bills.

Neither player moved the needle as much as Cappa, and the Bucs’ decision to trade up a few spots to grab him was well worth it.

No. 117 S Jordan Whitehead

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

S/ILB Kyzir White

DE Josh Sweat

Next two players at position:

S Kyzir White

S Armani Watts

As alluded to earlier, Jason Licht is known for hitting on his Day 2 picks. Whitehead was another pick that bore fruit. Whitehead played four seasons with the Bucs as a starting safety and was a solid starter for the team in their recent run of success.

While he chose to sign with the New York Jets last season, that does not take away from the impact and production he had, especially relative to his fourth-round selection.

Both Kyzir White and Josh Sweat were key cogs of the Eagles’ defense this past season, a unit that helped propel the team to the Super Bowl. White was drafted as a safety himself before moving to play in the box, while Sweat has blossomed as a pass rusher. He has increased his sack totals every season since being taken, topping out at 11 in 2022.

This was not a home run pick, but it also was not a lazy fly ball. Put this one in the scoresheet as a line-drive base hit up the middle.

No. 144 WR Justin Watson

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

S/CB Tre Flowers

P Michael Dickson

Next two players at position:

WR Daurice Fountain

WR Jordan Lasley

Watson did not produce much in his four seasons appearing in games for the Bucs, hauling in just two touchdowns during that time.

He more than doubled his career receiving yards and doubled his touchdown total with the Chiefs last season, emerging as a deep-ball threat for Patrick Mahomes to target. It did not pan out in Tampa Bay for him, but he still can carve out a role in the league.

The best players following Watson were cornerback Tre Flowers and punter Michael Dickson, both taken by the Seahawks. Flowers started 30 games for the team in his first two seasons, which included three interceptions in 2019. He has since been a depth piece, having 11 starts in the three seasons since. Dickson had the distinction of being an All-Pro punter his rookie season and still booms punts for the team at Lumen Field.

The Bucs did not miss out on much by taking Watson over the remaining options here, so the fault is not on Jason Licht for this one.

No. 202 ILB Jack Cichy

Other players taken within 15 picks of note:

WR Cedrick Wilson

WR Braxton Berrios

C Bradley Bozeman

Next two players at position:

ILB Keishawn Bierria

ILB Andre Smith

Jack Cichy, a former Wisconsin Badger walk-on and current coach for the program, had an impressive three-play sequence in the 2015 Holiday Bowl. He recorded three straight sacks in three plays of USC quarterback Cody Kessler.

Bucs ILB Jack Cichy – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Unfortunately for the Bucs, Cichy never had a sack for them. In fact, in his three seasons, he totaled just seven total tackles. Both his college and professional career were littered with injuries, as he suffered a torn ACL in college and again in his rookie season. In the following seasons, he sustained an elbow injury and a hamstring injury.

He would go on to be claimed by the Patriots before the Bucs signed him off their practice squad in January 2021. Although he did not have much of an impact on the team, he did get a Super Bowl ring before retiring and beginning his coaching career.

The Bucs missed out on two wide receivers in this range, as both Wilson and Berrios have carved out careers in the league. Ditto for Bozeman, who has started most of his team’s games for the past four seasons between the Ravens and Panthers.

By the sixth round, teams often are looking for the best player available. For the Bucs, they took a flier on Cichy when he fell after his ACL injury. Unfortunately, this selection did not work out for Jason Licht.

Up Next

The third part of our six-part mini-series, we break down the Bucs’ 2019 NFL Draft class choices on Wednesday.

You can read the first part on the Bucs’ 2017 NFL Draft class right here.