Jason Pierre-Paul May Be Buccaneers' Jason Licht Greatest NFL Draft Success

The Bucs general manager has had some hits and some misses, but he nailed his draft trade with the New York Giants back in 2018.

Author:
David Harrison
Publish date:
Jul 28, 2022 11:51 AM EDT

In 2018, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landscape was like all of the ones surrounding teams struggling to find postseason success. Or postseason play, altogether, for that matter.

When general manager Jason Licht traded for New York Giants pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul that offseason, many wondered if the Bucs were reaching on a player past his prime.

Four seasons later, it's clear that JPP was not only a great player to add to the roster, but he may have been Licht's greatest draft move to date.

By itself, landing Pierre-Paul by himself in exchange for third and fourth-round picks in the 2018 NFL Draft is a win.

After all, JPP is 14th in the NFL since then in sacks (33) and second on the team to only fellow outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett who has 40.5 in the same time span stretching back to his days with the Denver Broncos.

But it's not just Pierre-Paul that makes this deal such a good one.

If you remember, or I'll remind you if you don't, Licht also got the Giants' 2018 fourth-round pick in the deal.

Later, he packaged that pick in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings to move up and add guard Alex Cappa to Tampa Bay's roster.

Cappa would go on to start every regular season game in 2020 and 21 after becoming a starter in 2019.

Unfortunately, Cappa missed the Super Bowl win due to an injury, and this offseason left to sign with the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.

A signing which, if compensatory calculations allow it, could result in an extra draft pick for the Buccaneers in 2023.

So, for his 2018 third and fourth-round picks, Licht got the franchise's ninth-ranked sack leader, acquired a starting guard on a Super Bowl roster, and may have even gotten his team some extra capital in 2023.

The Giants?

They got defensive lineman B.J. Hill who they traded last year to the Bengals, and quarterback Kyle Lauletta who last played for the USFL's New Jersey Generals.

Yeah.

Jason Licht won that trade. And so did all of Bucs Nation.

So, while JPP gives thanks for his time in Tampa, I hope all those who call the Buccaneers their team are giving thanks for Jason Pierre-Paul.

For more on this and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!