Are Mina Kimes And Jason Licht On The Same Page?
May 1st, 2025
Gets Bucs’ predicament.
Mina Kimes sort of sympathizes with Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.
In a recent podcast, Kimes and Ben Solak tried to make sense of the Bucs drafting receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 19. Egbuka will be a really good player, they believe, but the Bucs were one defensive stud in the middle of the field away from being a legit Super Bowl contender.
Rotten play up the middle on the second and third levels has still not been addressed, they say, but could (should?) have been addressed at No. 19 last week.
However, the more Kimes thought about it, she came around to siding with Licht. Given who was on the board at No. 19, the Bucs may have reached a little for an inside linebacker or a safety there.
“I think it reflected something that I kind of ran into when I was doing my mock drafts,” Kimes said. “After the top [players were selected] it was hard to justify a lot of defensive players going in the middle of the first round.
“Like, a lot of them made sense at the end [of the first round], but [at No. 19], like wasn’t an obvious second tier of pass rushers, especially with when Mike Green fell out of the first round.”
(Remember: Kimes and Solak were specifically speaking of inside linebackers and safeties. Cornerback Jahdae Barron went to Denver at No. 20.)
Kimes might be onto something here since safety Malaki Starks (Crows) and inside linebacker Jihaad Campbell (Eagles) went several picks after the Bucs selected Egbuka at No. 19.
To Joe, it was clear that Campbell’s medicals spooked the Bucs.
May 1st, 2025 at 4:13 am
Starting to whistle Dixie with these types of posts on this subject Joe. Just saying.
May 1st, 2025 at 5:09 am
Tykes Smith is our new SS.
Any pundit who called for a safety is an idiot.
We have Dennis, Walker and Deion Jones at ILB.
Any pundit who called for an ILB, hasn’t looked at our roster.
I am going to make a bold prediction.
Deion Jones is going to surprise people.
He is going to make an epic comeback this year.
You’ll see.
May 1st, 2025 at 5:12 am
“…one defensive stud in the middle of the field away from being a legit Super Bowl contender.” That statement is kind of a stretch. But thank you for my morning Mina fix.
May 1st, 2025 at 6:06 am
It was ONE pick the next FOUR addressed the defense!
Why do they all forget Winfield? He’s one of the very best safeties in the league and he was the Bucs “eraser” and free to roam leader. He will help patrol the middle of the field!
May 1st, 2025 at 6:08 am
“To Joe, it was clear that Campbell’s medicals spooked the Bucs.”
Word has come out it wasn’t only medicals. They also thought his tape didn’t justify a first round selection, especially his instincts.
May 1st, 2025 at 6:11 am
ILB and Safety positions both represent bad positional value for the 1st round.
Same with RB, TE and OG on the offensive side of the ball.
1st round picks should generally best be used for QB, OT, WR / DE, CB, DT
The only thing that changes that is a strong need combined with a fantastic prospect….
Campbell and Starks were not “fantastic” prospects… simply good ones.
May 1st, 2025 at 7:02 am
diff. views regarding the draft. it’s over now. but looking back with only 6 picks here’s my final draft. #1 donovan EZ – edge. #2 amos – cb. #3 stutsman – lb – #4 walker – edge/lb. – #5 pegues – dt/te/rb – 7th round – c. bryant. -db. have a nice day
May 1st, 2025 at 7:12 am
[Whoa, let’s ease up on that claim. Joe hasn’t heard that from anyone reliable. Don’t want this to start a fake news storm, sorry. — Joe-], this was the only pick that made sense. Bucs have a chance to finish 9-8 now. Panthers win the division. Their QB is special now that he’s getting great coaching.
May 1st, 2025 at 7:22 am
That’s generally true.
May 1st, 2025 at 7:31 am
Don’t forget to mow the grass today lazy imbecile
May 1st, 2025 at 7:38 am
Pickgrin … ‘1st round picks should generally best be used for QB, OT, WR / DE, CB, DT’.
Agree wholeheartedly with that, unless one of the otheer positions has a truly generational talent. Such was not the case this year.
Like one of the Joes, I wanted us to grab a giant DT/NT to beef up the center of the DLine & rotate in with Vea. But the only true 1st Round talent IMO who met the ‘beast’ criteria AND who went BEFORE our #19 pick was Kenneth Grant (6’4″ & 331 lbs) by the Dolphins at #13. The other DTs who went before we picked were Mason Graham (6’3″ & 296 lbs) by the Browns at #5, and Walter Nolen (6’4″ & 296 lbs) by the Cardinals at #16. Both will be very good I’m sure; neither falls in my ‘beast’ category.
Two other DTs were picked in Rnd 1 after we picked: Derrick Harmon (6’4″ & 313 lbs) by the Steelers at #21 and Tyleik Williams (6’3″ & 334 lbs) by the Lions at #28. Those 2 were there for the taking at #19, but neither was BPA when we chose. Can’t help but think though that if Grant was there at #19, there’s a very good chance the Bucs would’ve drafted him.
May 1st, 2025 at 7:49 am
You have to think about the Bucs big board in the draft room.
They had that Ohio State WR ranked #1 at that position.
Meanwhile, many of the other defense positions were flying off the board.
So do you reach or do you pick the top WR?
Especially when the Bucs thought he was a surefire NFL WR, assuming he stays healthy.
May 1st, 2025 at 7:53 am
Mina is another testimonial to the prodigious amount of women who now report on sports.
Other than my sports junkie mother-in-law (of all people), I do not know a single woman who I could consider a sports fan.
Not a single wife or girlfriend of my numerous friends could be considered a fan of the Bucs.
They’ll say they like the Bucs, but most couldn’t name a single player on the team.
Question is, where do you find these women?
I want one! Haha
May 1st, 2025 at 8:24 am
I don’t care what position is played if he’s the best player he’s the best player, period, in round 1 or 7. I heard those rumblings about Campbell here and in other places before the draft. It’s never just about 1 guy, Wirfs is great on his own but needs the other 4 to make a great line. And with all those defensive picks that fell to the bottom of the 1st and into the 2nd, well we can see how “smart” everyone outside of those NFL buildings were.
May 1st, 2025 at 8:34 am
Thanks DR. Finally getting to the crux of your disappointment.
It was Kenneth Grant that you wanted.
The rest of the 1 technique possible Defensive Tackles were not worth our #19 pick.
It was a weak draft for 1st round talent in any case. Even Grant was not at Vita Vea level but was essentially taken at Vita Vea level where he was drafted.
Its clear to me if we had taken Morrison in the 1st round fans might have been complaining about his injury risk but not of his potential to be a number 1 corner and potentially worth it for that. Then if we had taken EE in the 2nd round, fans would have been even more happy about that choice.
To me in hindsight, it appears that the there were 6 receivers of high value in this draft. They went from pick 2 to pick 39 and then there was a drop off.
The Bucs got one of those 6.
There was one 2 DT of 1st round talent possibly in Bucs mind and both of those guys were taken
If we suggest that Travis Hunter was taken as a WR first and a corner 2nd, then it appears that Bucs had no DBs with a clear 1st round grade. They probably in their minds got two DBs with 2nd round grades.
May 1st, 2025 at 8:51 am
Just how long are we going to second guess this pick?
May 1st, 2025 at 9:15 am
Other than the Denver (outlier) and Baltimore (better team + injuries), the bucs scored 20+ points in every loss AS WELL AS only losing by 1 score (the maximum margin of victory outside of those 2 games was 6 points).
So while I was extremely disappointed in taking Egbuka in the first when there are seemingly bigger holes to fill, why not improve an already stellar offense.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if we let opponents score 30 as long as we can score 31. If there wasn’t the right guy/value at 19, why not improve on one of the league’s best offenses (with 2 MAJOR contributors out for multiple games) and address the defensive holes in the later rounds.
I may be going full cope with this take but I do trust the front office. The playoff loss was, in my opinion, lost by the defense, however, we only scored 20 points, and at the end of the day the team with the most points wins the game.
May 1st, 2025 at 9:16 am
The Bucs used a first round pick on a WR who will probably be the Bucs #3 WR and may not have a ceiling higher than #2 WR.
Whether of not Campbell is a generational talent depends upon the other talent in the generation. Next year’s LB class does not look stronger than this years, and is probably weaker.
The there many more college programs than NFL teams. And, those college programs are taking top the players with ILB height, weight, strength and speed to force into Edge molds to fill their needs at Edge.
These players come into the NFL Edge experience and ILB bodies. The players coming into the NFL with ILB experience are mostly undersized and/or too slow.
Someone like Jalon Walker or Jihaad Campbell who broke out of the Edge mold at major programs with an adequate supply of Edge players seem to be the future of generational ILB players in the NFL and worth a first round pick by a team serious about winning a Super Bowl unless you believe that it was a coincidence that Tampa had Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks when they won their first Super Bowl and future Hall of Fame candidate Lavonte David when they won their second.
May 1st, 2025 at 9:22 am
Shilo Sanders finna be our starting Safety
I realized if anything happens to Dennis or Lavonte David the season is down the drain
May 1st, 2025 at 9:28 am
Those are some pretty big assumptions you are putting on him.
When ME13 retires we will need a #2.
If it’s McMillan we will need a #3.
If Egbuka turns out to be a #1 then we are safe for Godwin not returning either.
I think you guys are under-estimating just how good both are.
It’s rare for a rookie WR to rattle off 5-6 games like McMillan did.
Just think, It’s not even until year 3 when most WRs break out!!!!
May 1st, 2025 at 9:36 am
I agree Jarrett. I love the hurt that Tykee put on dudes from the nickel and I hope he stays there.
I think/hope Shilo is going to surprise some people in camp and make the team, he’s smart, has the fundamentals and is a legacy of one of the best DBs of all time. Whether you think so or not, absorbing the positional knowledge of Deion DOES give him an edge, and going undrafted might just be the chip on his shoulder that gets him to the next level.
Also, I see so many crying out that we didn’t get that DL guy… Are we forgetting about the half-ton behemoth that’s in the building, think/hope he makes the team and makes an impact as well.
While we didn’t get the flashy players in those positions of need, I do think we ppicked up a couple starter/rotational starters in this draft+offseason.
May 1st, 2025 at 9:45 am
I agree, Joe, that Mina eventually came around to understanding the context for the first round pick. No such luck getting the same epiphany from Ben Solak who joined Mina on this podcast – you know, the guy who thought Cancey was going to be a bust and Anthony Richardson was going to be the Second Coming.
May 1st, 2025 at 9:45 am
I think the thing people aren’t talking about enough is where Chris Godwin would be drafted if you redid the 2017 NFL Draft. Yes he originally went 84th overall to the Buccaneers in the third round, but in most redrafts now, he’s going in the top 20—and in some, he goes as high as No. 5 overall. That’s the spot the Titans used on Corey Davis, and honestly, Godwin has had the better career by far.
The Bengals at No. 9 are also a popular redraft destination for him. They took John Ross, who had blazing speed (4.22 40), but never lived up to it. Godwin next to A.J. Green would’ve been elite. The Chargers took Mike Williams at No. 7, another receiver Godwin has outproduced.
By 2020, he had already had a 1,300 yard season, made the Pro Bowl, and helped lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl with Tom Brady. He was a complete steal in the third round. If teams had recognized the talent—his tape, hands, route running—he’s a clear first-rounder, no question.
But Egbuka was a reach?? No Way!! Guess we will see….
May 1st, 2025 at 9:55 am
Will be interested in seeing how Egbuka and Barron fair these next couple seasons. I believed strongly in Barron and wanted him to be the pick, but that obviously didn’t happen.
Somewhat ironically, they’re basically the same player, just on opposite sides of the ball. Egbuka can play multiple offensive roles, same with Barron defensively. Character wise, I think they’re both going to be great team building guys in the locker room.
I can definitely see the logic behind the Egbuka pick given Evans age and Godwins injuries. Ben Morrison’s health and career length is going to be a concern for the team i believe, and I liked Jacob Parrish going into the draft, but I don’t see him as being much more of a prospect than Christian Izien.
It is what it is at this point. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, i suppose.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:04 am
He sort of got it. But yeah, Kimes figured out those defenders were a bit of a reach. Egbuka wasn’t.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:12 am
As Joe pointed out, they were solely looking at ILB and Safety, and therefore ignored CB where it would not have been a stretch to grab Barron.
That also extends to EDGE, and there were indeed some really good options available when pick #19 rolled around that also would not have been a stretch.
But here’s the thing… Jordan Travis’ retirement for being unable to recover from the same injury that just ended Godwin’s year got me thinking that AC/DC-loving future ring of honor general manager Jason Licht made a good pick at #19, even if it wasn’t what I would have done. He didn’t draft a WR4 with the first pick — he drafted a WR1 or 2 this year, understanding that it sometimes takes a year for WRs to develop, so by the time Evans is up for his next contract and if he wants to break the bank, or if Godwin can’t recover and ends up retiring like Travis did, there will be an option available to step in.
Given his recent comments, Ronde seems to think that one of these scenarios is probably what plays out; in which case, Egbuka isn’t such a bad pick afterall.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:17 am
I read elsewhere that the Bucs actually preferred Schwesinger to Campbell, even without the medical considerations. The Bucs have their own grading scale with a lot of intangibles factored in, so Campbell may not have been very high on their board at all.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:18 am
Also, mmmmm Mina Kimes.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:18 am
Mina Kimes is an absolute idiot and representative of the crumbling failure that is ESPN.
Anyone taking her opinion as factual evidence is going on a fools errand.
The never ending chorus to try and justify the pick of a WR over vastly more needed defensive players is just pure propaganda.
Chomsky had it correct many years ago. The media is only there to manufacture consent of the public so that power can be consolidated in the hands of the few.
When you fight for your limitations, that’s what you will be left with.
28-27
May 1st, 2025 at 10:21 am
Jarrett Says:
May 1st, 2025 at 9:22 am
2 things:
(1) Finna is not a word.
(2) Sanders is an overaged, average college player, who only got a UDFA contract because of his name. He’s not starting shyte. He’ll be lucky to make the practice squad.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:27 am
Asking genuinely as I’ve already agreed that Shilo could start. In your opinion, who starts?
May 1st, 2025 at 10:28 am
FilthyAnima Says:
(1) Finna is not a word.
Thank you for pointing out the glaring idiocy and assault on the English language.
(2) Sanders is an overaged, average college player, who only got a UDFA contract because of his name. He’s not starting shyte. He’ll be lucky to make the practice squad.
He’s just a pampered baby in need of more pampering. Camp meat at best.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:33 am
“Jeff Says:
May 1st, 2025 at 7:12 am
With Godwin on track to miss the 2025 season, this was the only pick that made sense. Bucs have a chance to finish 9-8 now. Panthers win the division. Their QB is special now that he’s getting great coaching.”
LOL. The Carolina midget? Coaching has moved him from horrific to serviceable – at best.
May 1st, 2025 at 10:35 am
It’s very interesting how one’s opinion on a draft changes over time.
Like many of you here I was pounding the table for a defense Laden draft and to go early on positions like defensive line Edge and corner.
So in the first round when they took Egbuka, I was a bit shocked and stunned and disappointed.
However, after giving it more thought and seeing how the rest of the draft played out I realized the brilliance of this pick. Immediately given the way he plays he can come in and perform a role very similar to Chris Godwin which takes pressure off of him coming back too early or if he has any setbacks along the way from his ankle recovery.
Secondly while he is not your classic wide receiver one the way a Mike Evans is or a Julio Jones was, in today’s NFL you look at some of the most productive receivers in the last several years and you realize how he fits that mold. Look at the Rams with Puka Nakua and before that Cooper Kupp. Then look at the Detroit Lions who really have Amon ra St Brown as number one wide receiver…
These guys just know how to always get open always move the chains and create separation and just because they are not six foot five and 230 does not mean they can’t be a number one wide receiver on their team. So we get a guy who can be involved quite heavily right off the bat provide injury insurance against your top to receivers who both got hurt last year leading to offensive deficiencies and four straight losses…. And the ability to progress learn from the best and eventually become a wide receiver one or at worst our wide receiver two depending on who we draft in the coming two years.
What makes me like the pic even more is what the Bucs did the rest of the way in the draft. The address the secondary and a creative way. Well I wanted them to get Watts in the third round the logic of taking Jacob Parrish actually makes more sense. First of all if you watch any of his tape the guy is a dog especially in his last season where he really worked on his tackling. He is fast he changes direction very quickly he seems like he’s glued to the receiver. And he plays with an edge. He would be a perfect nickel corner yet he played most of his snaps on the outside giving us versatility as well as depth on the outside if there were any significant injuries. It also allows us to move Smith to safety where he will be on the field for more snaps than he would if he stayed in the slot.
Love the Morrison pic. Unbelievable character. Great production. Had he not had the hip issue he would have likely been a mid first round pick and possibly the second corner off the board after Hunter. From what I have read it was less of a hip injury and more of a congenital issue that needed repairing that was impacting his ability to play properly. Great Hall of Fame players like Ed Reed and Brett Favre had the same surgery and well look how their careers turned out. If he comes into this season fully healthy without any restrictions then that could be the steal of the draft.
After day two of the draft I felt a little better about things but still expressed some concerns that we had not addressed the defensive line. That all changed on day three where again I think we got two gems. I was clamoring for us to take Walker and when you think about it in this draft there was not a huge difference in talent OR production when you compare all the edge rushers after Abdul Carter. So yes he is an inch or so shorter than Donovan Ezeriauku, but he weighs more was productive consistently throughout his whole college career was picked much later as we would have needed to use our first round pick and even though he went to a small school you could see at the Senior bowl that his skill set translated against higher level of competition as he performed excellently there.
As for Elijah Roberts, I really did not know anything about him prior to the draft, however when you see how early a lot of defensive tackles went in the draft who were less productive than him it actually looked like a really good pick. Yes currently he is slightly lighter at 292 lb purses closer to 300 lb but given his height I am sure if the organization wanted to he can beef up a little bit. Logan Hall came out of the draft at 270 lb and is now around 300..
This guy can Rush the passer, was very good against the run as well and to me is a more athletic version of Logan Hall or William Gholston. I see him as a rookie fifth rounder playing meaningful snaps online and can even go out and Rush from The Edge if need be.
As for Tez from Oregon, I’m not sure his size that he will survive long in the NFL as he is bound to take some significant hits. But he was an unbelievable separator in college and if he knows how to protect his body by getting out of bounds and sliding rather than taking the big hit I think it was a great flyer to take with our last pic and at the very least should help improve our weakness at punt returner.. could also be used for some specialty plays as this guy knows how to get open.
I also think that our undrafted free agents have some really interesting and potentially good players that should make the practice squad as well as having a chance at one point being elevated to the 53.
Yes everybody talks about Sanders but there was another safety out of Marshall who I think was a very good performer and had a chance to be drafted I hope he makes the practice squad along with Sanders.
We got the biggest guy in college and from all reports he’s already lost 28 lb. If he takes things seriously and works on getting himself into better shape and shedding some weight and can get down another 30 to 40 lb he could actually become a rotational piece at nose tackle to sub in for Vea and or play in short down and distance packages and anti tush push packages…
Lastly since this post is already way too long, I think there were a couple of offensive lineman in that undrafted free agency pool that we picked up that have a chance of making the roster or at least the practice squad. We picked up the center from Texas who was a four-year starter and while his arms are kind of short he was a good performer and looking at our team we don’t really have a backup center since hainsey left. There was also a very raw tackle out of Georgia State who is 6’6 310 lb. When he played against Marshall he was one of only three tackles on the season who were able to hold my green without a sack. The guy is quite raw as he had never even known what American football was prior to 2020 and had to learn the rules of the game. A perfect developmental guy who could be our next Dotson
May 1st, 2025 at 10:48 am
Baker Bowl Says:
May 1st, 2025 at 10:27 am
Antoine Winfield
Tykee Smith
Izien and Merriwether are backups, currently.
2 other practice squad guys from last year, Marcus Banks and Rashad Wisdom, are the guys Sanders is competing with.
May 1st, 2025 at 11:18 am
@filthy
I can see that, obviously everything I say is opinion and speculative so take it with a grain of salt.
I see Shilo competing with Merriweather more so than the practice squad guys, although I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t the case. I think/hope Tykee stays in the slot as a starter and Izien plays both roles (safety + slot), and from what I remember seeing from last season is that Merriweather needs to take a leap forward and I wouldn’t be surprised if Shilo is the one to battle it out with him.
Starter I guess was a little faith over facts, so maybe it’s a more rotational starter/backup spot for Shilo (should he even make the team)
Camp will be interesting and I just hope our group is improved regardless of who’s on the field.
May 1st, 2025 at 11:26 am
Pickgrin
Yes you are correct Campbell & Starks are both good prospects not fantastic.
Starks certainly higher with lots more production & playing time. Campbell was just the best prospect at a position of need for Bucs. With many fans thinking he would be a good pick (certainly understandable/logical) as he was the best off ball LB available in 2025 draft.
Next years draft is projected to have 3 ILBs with 1st round grades. So there will be better options for Bucs in 2026 draft.
Anthony Hill | LB |Texas…top 10 pick (so high chance he is at least 1st round worthy)
Deontae Lawson | LB | Alabama…guy that told Campbell where to line up & what to look for
Sonny Styles | LB | Ohio State…4.3 speed safety that grew into LB body, just like current trends of converting athletic LBs to Edge players, converting big athletic SAF to LB
Thats just 1st round Athlon 2026 mock. Next year is a good year to be selecting LBs as we all think the Bucs will be. There will be a lot more options so we wont have to deal with tunnel vision.
We all want a stud edge rusher of course but for me it’s getting to the point of trusting the process that the Bucs have demonstrated to be the best at in the NFL so far this decade. At least top 3 no matter whose stats you look at.
Go BUCS!