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Jason Licht Reveals a Certain Position of Need Ahead of NFL Draft
Based on Jason Licht's comments on Thursday, the Buccaneers wouldn't hesitate to use an early round draft pick on a position that is already considered a strength.
Like all teams in the league, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a number of positional needs they'd like to address at some point during the upcoming NFL draft. Based on speculation from fans, analysts and draft experts alike, guard, center, cornerback, and edge rusher are some of the team's most obvious positions of need. But the reality is, those people don't have any input when it comes to the team's own opinion of what their greatest needs are.
On Thursday, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht held a press conference for the media in Tampa. He fielded questions for almost 25 minutes, and in doing so, provided some interesting insight regarding his perspective on the upcoming NFL draft. His comments gave us a little bit of a glimpse into his thinking, specifically as it relates to some of the positions he believes are a priority.
At one point, when speaking specifically about the wide receiver position, Jason Licht offered up a pretty strong opinion.
"It's another position that you know you can't have too many of those. And I think Liam [Coen] can find a way to use a lot of very good receivers and playmakers. We really like Trey [Palmer] and we like what Rak [Jarrett] was showing before he got injured last year. Like I said, it's another position I would consider a need. And you can't fill them all right now in the draft, but I'd love to get one."
Despite having one of the most potent receiving tandems in the league in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, it's obvious from this comment that Jason Licht greatly values the flexibility that comes with having multiple talented pass catchers on the team.
It isn't just talk though. Looking back, Jason Licht's actions support this philosophy as well. Prior to the Bucs' Super Bowl-winning season in 2020, Jason Licht went out and signed Antonio Brown to add another dynamic pass catcher to what was already considered one of the better receiver rooms in the league. Fast forward a couple years, and just a few months after Antonio Brown's dramatic exit from the team (and the league), Licht went out and signed Russell Gage to a 3-year, $30 million contract to become the team's third receiver.
Jason Licht places great value on the wide receiver position, based not only on what he said during his press conference on Thursday but the moves he's made over the course of his tenure as the Buccaneers GM. Throw in the fact that wide receiver is considered to be one of the strengths of this year's draft class and it becomes that much more likely that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will use an early-round draft pick to add another talented receiver to the team.
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