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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2020 Draft Was Top of Its Class
Despite missing on a number of picks that year, the performance of Jason Licht's early-round selections in the 2020 Draft warrants consideration for it being his best draft class ever.
Jason Licht is going into his tenth season as the General Manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and being the top dog for an NFL team's player personnel department for a full decade is quite the accomplishment. It doesn't happen without a consistent track record in free agency, the trade market, and most definitely the draft. In Licht's case, winning a Super Bowl along the way has also helped his job security.
That said, with the NFL draft just over a week away, it feels appropriate to focus specifically on Licht's work in the draft. And you don't have to look back too far to find what was arguably Licht's most impressive draft haul.
In 2020, on the opening night of the draft, Licht traded with San Francisco 49ers' GM (and former Buccaneer great) John Lynch to move up one spot in order to select Tristan Wirfs 13th overall. With his first selection in round two, he scooped Antoine Winfield Jr. with the 45th overall pick. Although the five other players he drafted that year are no longer with the team, it really doesn't make a difference. Wirfs and Winfield Jr. have been that good.
Recently, Pro Football Focus put out a graphic summarizing the highest graded players from that 2020 Draft, which definitely supports the claim that, despite whiffing on five out of seven picks, 2020 may still have been Jason Licht's best draft ever.
Both Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield are tied for the third-highest career PFF grades of that entire draft class, with each player maintaining a 91.0 career grade.
Tristan Wirfs has been named an All-Pro two times already in his career, including in 2021 when he was voted First Team All-Pro. He has also been named to the Pro Bowl three times already. Winfield on the other hand secured his first All-Pro selection this past season, where he was named a First Team selection, despite not being selected for the Pro Bowl.
Considering both players also have a Super Bowl ring from their rookie season, it isn't hard to see why Tristan Wirfs and Antoine WInfield Jr. are on the fast track to Canton, Ohio. It's also easy to see why, despite whiffing on five out of seven picks in the 2020 NFL draft, it could still be considered Jason Licht's best draft class ever.
Bucs fans would surely be thrilled if their General Manager could come close to re-creating that magic once again in 2024.
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