NFL Power Rankings: Where Does Jason Licht Rank Among the League's General Managers?
As the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jason Licht has several wins that helped lead the team to a Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs at the end of the 2020 NFL Season.
Wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, offensive lineman Donovan Smith, Ali Marpet, and Alex Cappa, defensive tackle Vita Vea, and the entire secondary are all in Tampa thanks to Licht.
Of course, there was also the disastrous 2016 class that only produced one future Super Bowl winner with the team, special teams standout Ryan Smith.
He's had some ups and downs, but the biggest bright spot of all was helping broker the deal to bring quarterback Tom Brady to town, along with his friends, tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Antonio Brown - who was a bright spot for almost a full year before off-season issues and an on-field exit left him on the outside looking in.
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So where does all this land Licht on NFL.com's power ranking of general managers?
Fifth, according to Around the NFL editor, Gregg Rosenthal.
"Perhaps all former Patriots staffers just need to build a roster perfectly made for Tom Brady, and he will come," Rosenthal wrote. "I was surprised Licht could keep so many young core pieces like Chris Godwin and Carlton Davis this offseason, giving some reason to believe this squad will compete even after he retires for good."
But it's not just the addition of Brady, and the ability to keep a stacked roster together that has Licht ranked in the Top 5.
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"Going back to Licht's first draft pick (Mike Evans)," Rosenthal continued. "The Bucs' ability to acquire blue-chip talent like Godwin, Tirstan Wirfs, Vita Vea, Devin White and Antoine Winfield Jr. is among the league's best. His free-agent moves (Shaq Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Russell Gage) and recent trade for Shaq Mason look pretty sweet, too."
Ranked ahead of Licht are Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills, Les Snead of the Los Angeles Rams, Kevin Colbert of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Brian Gutekunst of the Green Bay Packers.
For more on this and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!
