When it comes to this year’s NFL Draft, Bucs general manager Jason Licht has an advantage on several accounts. Licht has thrived in the last three drafts, finding starters and impact players over all three days.

In 2022, he drafted key contributor Logan Hall in the second round, followed by starting right tackle Luke Goedeke. There was also the ever-important running back Rachaad White, starting tight end Cade Otton and starting corner Zyon McCollum. The latter two of these players were Day 3 selections.

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels and Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: USA Today

The 2023 draft saw Licht hit a parlay of draft picks out of the gate with defensive tackle Calijah Kancey in the first round, starting left guard Cody Mauch in the second and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby in the third. That may turn into a four-player parlay if fifth-round pick SirVocea Dennis works out as the starting inside linebacker this season, plus fellow fifth-rounder Payne Durham gave some good contributions as a reserve tight end last at the end of last season.

This most recent 2024 draft class might go down as the best one Licht has had. There have been top level hits all over starting with Graham Barton in the first round at center. It appears that Tampa Bay has two cornerstone pieces with third-round picks Tykee Smith, who will likely move to strong safety this year, and No. 3 wide receiver Jalen McMillan. And yet the player that had the biggest impact already was fourth-round pick, running back Bucky Irving.

Bucs Know How To Find Best Talent In Middle Rounds

We can’t forget about the important free agent signings Jason Licht has made, including quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has proved to be an outstanding successor to Tom Brady since arriving in 2023. Nobody is going to get every free agent signing and every draft pick right 100 percent of the time, but Licht has mostly made all of the right calls. It’s how all of these players have been brought along, though, that gives him some flexibility in this year’s draft.

Bucs GM Jason Licht and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The other advantage that Licht has, which is best exemplified by the likes of Cade Otton, Zyon McCollum, Yaya Diaby, Tykee Smith, Jalen McMillan and Bucky Irving, is that he knows best on how to find value in the middle of the draft between rounds three and five. There will be good football players in the draft, but overall this year’s class is not expected to be as talented as year’s prior in the first round.

Teams are going to have to do their best work in the middle rounds, specifically on Day 2 and early on Day 3. Licht’s track record speaks for itself.

Bucs Can Afford To Take A Risk Thanks To Player Unity

But the biggest advantage that Tampa Bay has is because of the players that have arrived either by draft or free agency. The Bucs have one of the closes locker rooms across the league. Many players are legitimate friends at One Buccaneer Place and away from the team facility. This builds great chemistry but also allows for the locker room to hold everybody accountable.

This creates a situation where Jason Licht can potentially take a risk on a player that may have a great deal of talent but some other questions whether it’s from a personality standpoint or an immaturity issue. Not all issues will be tolerated and some players will be taken completely off their draft board, but there are a couple of players that the Bucs might be able to handle based on the leaders in the locker room and the coaching staff.

“We’ve done such a great job of bringing in the right kind of guys for that reason – because they police themselves,” Licht said. “Todd [Bowles] has a great culture and great relationship with everybody. Our coaches do a great job. Not all things that you may read about a player having maybe issues with his attitude or whatever it is…You can’t believe everything you read, but also, it’s a case-by-case basis with those. [If] these guys are immature, I’ll take immature. They can mature pretty quickly in a locker room like ours and fall in line. There’s certain things that we won’t tolerate but a little immaturity is one that we can live with, especially with the culture that we built.”

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: USA Today

Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby talked about how important the culture is off the field just as it is on the field. When push comes to shove, though, if something isn’t right the team’s leaders are going to tell you about it.

“Just being around each other, not thinking about football but just laughing with each other,” Diaby said on a recent Pewter Report Podcast. “Knowing that you can be comfortable with each other and that’s all it is. At the end of the day, everybody’s trying to feed their family, so you have to come and do your job the best way.

“If somebody is coming to you about it, you shouldn’t get pissy about it. You should be like, ‘If anybody comes up to me and says you’re not doing this, you’re not doing this, I’m going to be like okay, I got you. I’m going to go and I’m going to fix it.’ Just little stuff like that. As long as you got guys that believe in you.”