This Jason Licht Quote Could Give Hint on Buccaneers' Draft Intentions

College football is an entirely different landscape in today's NIL era, and the biggest changes are trickling down to the NFL.

College players can get paid considerable sums of money, and this is resulting in them staying in college for longer and declaring for the NFL Draft when they're older. Older prospects cropping up used to be a rarity when most prospects would play for their mandatory three years, but now, a good deal of players are transferring to multiple schools and can be fourth, fifth or even sixth-year seniors by the time they get to the NFL Draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht is one of 32 teams trying to navigate this new landscape. He was asked about his thoughts on older players as NFL Draft prospects as opposed to younger ones who could be in the league longer, and he gave his answer — one that could be a bit of a hint as to what the Bucs' draft plans are come Thursday night.

Buccaneers don't mind drafting older prospects

Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (3) against the Indiana Hoosiers during the College Football Playoff | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Licht explained that every older player he and his team evaluate is on a "case-by-case" basis, and that a player's skills and maturity can wildly vary across age and experience in college football.

"I think it's a case-by-case basis with those players. Ideally, we'd all like to draft 20-year-olds and 21-year-olds because then you say, 'Well, we'll have this guy for 10-plus years,' and then a lot of times that doesn't work out," Licht said. "I think it just depends. Some 25-year-olds are more immature than some 18-year-olds, so it's a case-by-case basis, but we grade the player for what they do and what they are. We don't have a calculation or something [where] we deduct a certain amount of points because of their age."

This question is easily linked to the player most commonly mocked to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor was one of the better edge rushers in college football last year while playing alongside Miami's Rueben Bain, putting up 12.5 sacks and four forced fumbles during a run to the College Football National Championship. Mesidor is an experienced rusher with a high motor, and he could be exactly what the Bucs are looking for to add a crucial piece to their defense.

He's also 25 years old. Mesidor has accrued six seasons in college football, playing two for West Virginia and four for the Hurricanes. If an NFL team were to draft him and he were to play well enough to earn a fifth-year option, he'd be 30 years old already by the time he's ready to sign his first NFL contract extension. That's an interesting conundrum, and it's one that NFL teams will have to consider before they draft a player like Mesidor.

That being said, it doesn't seem like Licht would be bothered by Mesidor's age — if, that is, he has the production and maturity that Licht is looking for. The Bucs need some immediate help at edge rusher, and a high-floor player like Mesidor could be the direction Tampa Bay goes to fix its middling pass rush as fast as possible.

We're not too far away from finding out exactly what Licht's plan is, as the NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night and the Bucs are set to pick at No. 15.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google