National outlet hits nail on head when comparing Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Jason Licht to one of his peers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rode two strong lines of scrimmage to a Super Bowl championship in 2020.  Yeah, that Tom Brady fellow had something to do with it, too, so you can stop pounding away on your keyboards.  

All kidding aside, the Bucs have developed over the last five years into a perennial playoff team, and a lot of it has to do with what Jason Licht has done at building both sides of the line of scrimmage.  He took the best offensive tackle out of a huge lot of candidates in 2020 by selecting Tristan Wirfs with the 13th overall pick.  He used his first overall pick in 

As such, it's no surprise that ESPN's Bill Barnwell tabbed the Bucs as the team "most likely to use its top pick to beef up the line of scrimmage" in his article of league superlatives.  He also likened Licht to Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. 

Bucs GM Jason Licht might be the new Howie Roseman. While the Eagles GM has understandably been recognized as a man singularly focused on improving his team's offensive and defensive lines, Licht might be even more consistent when it comes to using key draft capital to shore up his team's big bodies. 

Over his past six drafts, Licht's emphasis on linemen has been notable. In 2018, he used his first-round pick on defensive tackle Vita Vea, who grew into a building block for the Tampa Bay defense that led the franchise to a Super Bowl LV win. In 2020, his first-round pick was Tristan Wirfs, who shored up left tackle for Tom Brady during that title run. In 2021, Licht chose defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, then followed that in 2023 with another defensive lineman in Calijah Kancey.

In 2022, the Bucs didn't have a first-round pick, but they used their two second-round selections on defensive lineman Logan Hall and offensive lineman Luke Goedeke. The only exception was 2019, when their first-round pick was linebacker Devin White. That's a lot of premium draft capital being used on the big men in the trenches.

Licht went back to the well this April in using his first-round pick on offensive lineman Graham Barton.  A college left tackle, he's expected to move inside to center, where he'll fill in for retired standout Ryan Jensen. There's always risk in moving a player to a new position at the pro level, but Barton was regarded by some as the best interior offensive line prospect in this class. It's often easier for college tackles to kick inside as opposed to players traveling in the opposite direction.

Roseman, who's spent five total first or second round picks on offensive linemen or defensive linemen/edge rushers going back to the 2021 NFL Draft, is a fair comparison for Licht.  Both men put premiums on addressing their lines of scrimmage with premium picks in the draft.  Both have built tough, physical teams that have trotted out onto the field on Super Bowl Sunday in the last four years. 

Like any general manager, not all of Licht's picks on the lines have worked out - at least, not yet.  Tryon-Shoyinka is entering the final year of his rookie deal after his fifth-year option was declined by the team.  He's yet to live up to his first-round status through three seasons.  Logan Hall has also been underwhelming through two seasons.  

However, Wirfs was a steal and should end up getting paid very soon like the top lineman he's ben.  Vita has been a vital key to the defense's success stopping the run the past several years.  Kancey had a very promising rookie season last year.  And last year Goedeke was likely the most improved player on the Bucs roster from 2022 after switching from guard to right tackle. 

Not every pick is going to be a hit, to speak the obvious.  However, Licht has done a great job over the last several years in identifying talent in the trenches.  As such, the Buccaneers are set up to contend again for the NFC crown again in 2024.