This April will mark Jason Licht’s 11th NFL Draft as the Bucs’ general manager. And while there’s still plenty of scouting, testing and interviews to do before the last weekend in April, it’s a safe bet that Licht’s 2024 draft class will feature at least one 2024 Senior Bowl alum.

After all, over 10 Bucs draft classes under Licht, there hasn’t been one without a player who participated in the premier college all-star game held in Mobile, Alabama, at the start of February. In total, Tampa Bay has drafted 27 Senior Bowl players since Jason Licht became its general manager in 2014.

There have been multiple Senior Bowl draft picks in each of the last 10 years except for one — 2020 — and Licht and his staff have really ramped it up over the last couple of years. In both the 2022 and 2023 classes, the Bucs had five Senior Bowl alums.

That makes 10 in the last two years and 13 over the last three.

And that’s just in the draft — undrafted free agent safety Kaevon Merriweather was a Senior Bowl participant last year as well.

Jason Licht’s 27 Senior Bowl Draft Picks Since 2014:

2014

West Virginia RB Charles Sims (Third round)
Wyoming WR Robert Herron (Sixth round)

2015

Penn State OL Donovan Smith (Second round)
Hobart OL Ali Marpet (Second round)

2016

Eastern Kentucky OLB Noah Spence (Second round)
Northwestern FB Dan Vitale (Sixth round)

2017

Alabama TE O.J. Howard (First round)
Texas A&M S Justin Evans (Second round)

2018

North Carolina CB MJ Stewart (Second round)
Humboldt State OL Alex Cappa (Third round)
Penn WR Justin Watson (Fifth round)

2019

Kentucky S Mike Edwards (Third round)
Iowa OLB Anthony Nelson (Fourth round)

2020

Vanderbilt RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn (Third round)

2021

Notre Dame OL Robert Hainsey (Third round)
Auburn ILB K.J. Britt (Fifth round)
Houston ILB Grant Stuard (Seventh round)

2022

Houston DT Logan Hall (Second round)
Central Michigan OL Luke Goedeke (Second round)
Arizona State RB Rachaad White (Third round)
Georgia P Jake Camarda (Fourth round)
Sam Houston CB Zyon McCollum (Fifth round)

2023

North Dakota State OL Cody Mauch (Second round)
Louisville OLB YaYa Diaby (Third round)
Pitt ILB SirVocea Dennis (Fifth round)
Purdue TE Payne Durham (Fifth round)
Nebraska WR Trey Palmer (Sixth round)
*Iowa S Kaevon Merriweather (UDFA)

Jason Licht Has Mined For Offensive Linemen At The Senior Bowl

Out of the 27 Senior Bowl draft picks during Jason Licht’s tenure with the Bucs, there are a few positions that have the highest concentration of draftees.

Most Selected Positions:

Offensive Linemen: 6
Outside Linebackers: 3
Inside Linebackers: 3
Wide Receivers: 3
Running Backs: 3

Licht has been extremely successful in building Tampa Bay’s offensive line over the years, and it’s clear the Senior Bowl has been a huge part of that.

Bucs G Cody Mauch – Photo by: USA Today

It began in 2015 with the selections of Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet. Smith spent nearly a decade as the Bucs’ starting left tackle and was great in the team’s Super Bowl LV run. Marpet retired early but was one of the best offensive linemen in franchise history in addition to being a Super Bowl champion in 2020 and a Pro Bowler in 2021.

Alex Cappa was the next one up, and the 2018 third-round pick was a starter on that Super Bowl team in 2020 until he went down with a season-ending injury in the NFC Wild Card Round and missed the rest of the playoff run.

Smith, Marpet and Cappa are gone, but the other three of Jason Licht’s offensive line picks from the Senior Bowl make up three-fifths of Tampa Bay’s current offensive line. Center Robert Hainsey was a 2021 third-round pick, right tackle Luke Goedeke was a 2022 second-round pick and right guard Cody Mauch was a 2023 second-rounder. All three went through Mobile on their way to the NFL.

Where Will Jason Licht Look For Help At The 2024 Senior Bowl?

Bucs GM Jason Licht and his scouts – Photo by: Scott Reynolds/PR

Jason Licht and Co. have plenty of needs to address in the 2024 offseason, and if history tells us anything, some of those needs will be filled by players participating at the Senior Bowl this week.

Interior offensive line, tight end, wide receiver, running back, outside linebacker, inside linebacker, nickel cornerback and safety are all perceived needs for Tampa Bay. So the eyes of Bucs personnel will be all over the field during practices at Hancock Whitney Stadium this week.

To that end, Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds dropped his Senior Bowl previews over the weekend, highlighting potential players of interest for Tampa Bay on both offense and defense.

Pewter Report’s Senior Bowl Coverage Begins On Monday

The entire Pewter Report staff will travel to Mobile, Ala. on Monday to cover the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl, which is the premier college all-star game. The Bucs have drafted five players from the Senior Bowl in each of the last two seasons.

Additionally, the Senior Bowl is also known as the biggest NFL job fair. With the Bucs needing an offensive coordinator to replace Dave Canales, and possibly wide receivers coach Brad Idzik if he follows Canales to Carolina, general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles will have a dual purpose in Mobile.

Pewter Report will have complete coverage of the Senior Bowl practices and the Bucs’ offensive coordinator search on PewterReport.com, as well as on the Pewter Report Podcasts – energized by CELSIUS, the official energy drink of Pewter Report.

Try the new CELSIUS Essentials, which is engineered for the workout enthusiast in a bigger can with more caffeine to fuel your workout. There are four new delicious CELSIUS Essentials flavors – Orangesicle, Dragonberry, Blue Crush and Cherry Limeade.

For Senior Bowl week the Pewter Report Podcast will be in prime time – Monday through Wednesday – live at 7:00 p.m. ET. Bucs fans can watch the Pewter Report Podcast live on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel.

Pewter Report Podcast Schedule

Monday, January 29 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Tuesday, January 30 – 7:00 p.m. ET
Wednesday, January 31 – 7:00 p.m. ET