Over Jason Licht’s decade-plus run as Bucs general manager, he has accomplished many things that he will look back on someday as some of the best memories and moments of his tenure. While fans and the team hope this is still not for a long time, he did mention during the NFL Scouting Combine this week that when he is enjoying the retired life, there is one part of last season that he will look back on and happily remember.
Jason Licht And Bucs Front Office Hit The 2024 NFL Draft “Out Of The Park”
Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Jason Licht passes all of the Bucs’ recent success in the NFL Draft down to his assistant general managers, personnel executives and scouts. There was a reason the Raiders hired John Spytek to be their general manager, and it was a long time coming after the resume he built in Tampa Bay. The team has had a run of successful drafts, but none hit quite like the 2024 NFL Draft.
Licht, Spytek, and the rest of the front office truly hit on the selections from top to bottom, extracting surplus value in the process. When he is sitting on a Florida beach someday enjoying a nice drink on the rocks, he’ll think about the players they brought in this past year.
“It was outstanding,” Licht said about the impact of last year’s rookie class. “My staff and the coaches, they hit it out of the park. We’re looking forward to riding the coattails and doing it again this year, hopefully. It’s not every year you do that. You strive for it, but it’s going to go down, when it’s all said and done, when I’m sitting on a beach somewhere retired, I’ll think about this class and how excited I was about it.”
While this last draft class might not have the best player Licht has ever selected in it (that would be wide receiver Mike Evans), the coming years could further prove that it is the best all-around.
A lot goes into that process and one reason why the man in charge of making moves is cautious of expediting something that takes time to build the right way.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and GM Jason Licht – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers
“It’s the scouting staff that has done such a great job,” Licht added. “They know what I’m looking for, they know what Todd [Bowles] is looking for and we know the kind of person that we’re looking for and we see what a great locker room can accomplish and so we want to continue to keep those types of players coming in.”
Center Graham Barton had a promising rookie year and has the tools and character to be a plus, Pro Bowl-caliber starter for the next decade. Defensive back Tykee Smith and wide receiver Jalen McMillan were steals in the third round. Each had productive campaigns with plenty to build on going into 2025.
Outside linebacker Chris Braswell had a quiet rookie year, but the team is still excited about the second-round pick. Sixth-rounder Elijah Klein is a versatile offensive lineman who could work his way into the starting lineup, and tight end Devin Culp was not a bad investment in the seventh round and flashed at the end of the regular season.
Am I missing anyone?
Oh, running back Bucky Irving.
Licht particularly gushed about the rookie who made this group special.
In Bucky Irving, Jason Licht Found The Bucs A “Great Player”
Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today
Graham Barton might have been the team’s top pick, but Bucky Irving quickly emerged as a fan favorite after the productive first NFL season he had. Irving took the starting reins and brought life to a dormant Tampa Bay rushing attack. The numbers speak for themselves, as he played in every game and had 207 carries for 1,122 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
As much as the numbers do enough of the talking, Jason Licht added that it goes back to what the organization saw when watching his film.
“You rely on the tape,” Licht said about his college evaluation of Irving. “The tape doesn’t lie if you see consistencies in a player. If you go back and watch Oregon, Bucky was the same player as he is now. If anything, we’re getting a lot of compliments for finding him in the fourth round. Really it should be, ‘Why didn’t you take him in the fricking second round?’ We’re happy we got him.”
A ripple effect of drafting him on Day 3 was the rest of the league seeing how you can add such a valuable long-term piece in the middle rounds. After running backs having been tossed to the curb in recent years, the tide is shifting with talented running backs like Irving leading to the position likely being selected higher in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“I’m sure it has [been] part of that, and justly deserved,” Licht added. “He’s been a fantastic player for us in a short amount of time so it has a lot to do with it. He accelerated our offense a little bit – added a new dimension along with Rachaad [White] and we have an awesome running backs room right now. But yeah, he probably had a lot to do with it.”
Overall, the general manager seemed ecstatic to have struck gold. While drafting plenty of high-end contributors on Day 2, Irving is already his best Day 3 selection.
“Oh yeah, [I’m] very happy,” Licht said about having Irving. “This is a good running backs draft [in 2025] so it kind of goes to show you, last year we didn’t think it was as deep but we hit a home run. It doesn’t matter in a draft if the experts or the pundits are saying it’s very strong or weak at a certain position. You can still find a great player.”
