gotchanewsdaily.com 
“Look Kaufman, I don’t want to read your smack. Yeah, I’ve got receipts from when you wanted me fired. Kiss my Super Bowl ring! Now let’s go get a beer.”
Well, color Joe surprised. When have you read/heard someone from the four-letter hype a Bucs type as the NFL’s best?
That’s what happened when Joe read the latest from Ben Solak of BSPN. Posed with a question about Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht being a sneaky good general manager, Solak responded, good luck finding a general manager with so many base hits (home runs?) the past five years.
That’s right. Solak typed no NFL suit has been on a roll like Licht since he lured Tom Brady out of chilly, freezing New England to the warm shores of Tampa Bay.
From Steve: “One aspect of the Bucs that I rarely see talked about is the job that Jason Licht has done in a decade or so running the team. I think he’s sneakily been one of the best GMs in football over that time, am I way off base here?”
Absolutely not. There isn’t a general manager who has been on a better draft-and-develop run than Licht over the past five years. Here’s an absolute bananas stat for you: Twenty-one different Buccaneers took a snap on defense against the Saints on Sunday. Seventeen of them were drafted by Licht at some point in the past decade, and two of the other four were drafted before Licht’s time in Tampa Bay. Only Greg Gaines’ 21 snaps and C.J. Brewer’s nine snaps were brought from outside the Buccaneers family.
And remember, they’re not doing this with elite picks. Key contributions have come this season from Tykee Smith, Jalen McMillan, Bucky Irving, Yaya Diaby, SirVocea Dennis, Rachaad White, Cade Otton and Zyon McCollum. Every player I just named was drafted in Rounds 3-5 of the past three drafts.
It’s always important to remember that general managers get hot, which means they can also get cold. But the Buccaneers were supposed to suffer a long recovery from the all-in Tom Brady era, and they’ve largely sidestepped it as a product of excellent drafting from Licht. Hats off to him.
Yeah, the past five years (2020-2024) have been fantastic for Licht. But Joe would suggest Licht’s run began in 2018.
Back in the spring of 2018 Licht must have inhaled one too many drinks at the combine in Indianapolis (famous for NFL suits gathering late-night for drinks). Because Licht loosened up and began talking turkey with then-Giants shotcaller Dave Gettleman to acquire veteran edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul. Licht got him for a measly third-round pick.
Way too often, general managers treat second- and third-day draft picks like buried treasure. Sometimes obsessively so.
When Licht back in 2018 decided to trade an otherwise forgettable draft pick (some previous notable third-round picks this century include Nate Webster, Myron Lewis and Maurice Stovall) for a proven veteran at a critical position, it set off a domino reaction of success the Bucs are still enjoying.
Look at every Bucs third-round pick this century and you could argue only four or five had any sort of lasting impact in the NFL.
So Licht traded away a pick that maybe 20 percent of the time turns into a stud for a proven edge rusher at a defense’s most important position. Do the Bucs win a Super Bowl without JPP? Joe is inclined to say, no.
A year after stealing JPP, Licht talks Bucco Bruce Arians out of retirement. The next year, here comes Brady and, as the old saying goes, now you know the rest of the story.
Licht’s run the past five years has been incredible. But Joe would argue his hitting streak began when he robbed the Giants of JPP.
All for a friggin’ third-round pick.
