Jason Licht Feels Good About Bucs’ Edge Rusher Scouting
April 15th, 2026
David Walker (51) and YaYa Diaby.
The Bucs feel great about their scouting of edge rushers. Why? In part because they see successful pass rushers on other clubs that they wanted to draft but weren’t in position to pick.
Joe gets the mindset, but it’s not a very strong argument to counter the Bucs’ struggles finding a high-impact edge rusher.
Hey, if you thought a guy was so great, trade up to get him!
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht addressed scouting and finding edge rushers today at his predraft news conference.
“It is tough. There [are] only so many [edge rushers] that you could call truly impactful players,” Licht said.
“We found going back over the last few years that the players that [edge rushers] we thought were going to be good, most of them ended up being good. We just didn’t have the opportunity to take [them] or we took another position before them that we’re happy with in most cases.
“There’s a lot that goes into it. You’ve got your speed rushers, you’ve got your power rushers. The ones that have a little bit of both are usually the ones that are the most productive in the NFL. A lot of them have certain traits about them – personality traits – that make them tick a little bit more than others. So that’s why we do all the work that we do on them. It’s not for lack of trying. It’s not that we don’t believe in having edge rushers. We’ve had more success trading for or signing them than we have drafting, and I’ll be the first to admit that. But it’s not that we didn’t [like] any of the rushers that are currently making a lot of noise in the NFL…It’s a position that you can’t have too many of, but this year there’s a decent amount and we’ll have to see how it goes. We’ve done a lot of work on them.
Licht makes a fair point noting the Bucs are happy with the guys they drafted versus who was available (pick a year). Still, edge rusher is a critical position and the Bucs are heading into another draft in need of one.
April 15th, 2026 at 4:41 pm
At some point you have to realize it’s not luck. Both drafting and coaching have been severely deficient in this area. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it shouldn’t be this hard either. Is there another team in the league with pass rushers as bad as the Bucs? Is anyone even close?
April 15th, 2026 at 4:48 pm
Half of the top 10 sack leaders from last year were drafted in the first round. It’s not that common to find them in the second and third
April 15th, 2026 at 5:00 pm
15 players had double digit sacks last season
5 of them were gone when we drafted
The other 10, we passed them up
April 15th, 2026 at 5:00 pm
It’s rare to find the good ones outside the top of the first round. It happens but not much. He made that point by talking about the ones they’ve wanted being gone by the time their pick rolls around OR no one would trade with them to move up to get one. I think they have tried more than most think, just didn’t happen.
April 15th, 2026 at 5:03 pm
Beej if half where found in the first and half outside the first that we mean it is definitely as common. Because math
April 15th, 2026 at 5:03 pm
So old Helmet Hair Mel Kiper projects us to draft a TE (Kenyon Sadiq) in Rnd 1, then an ILB (Jacob Rodriquez) in Rnd 2. Meanwhile in his mock draft 5 DTs, 13 OLB/DE & 8 CBs were taken in Rnds 1 & 2.
Despite the Bucs having dire needs in each of those 3 position groups, anyone wanna guess how many we picked? Oh ya … zip, zero. zilch. Nada. All the big dogs are gone, and so Jason will scoop up the scraps that fall from the table IF he wastes our #15 Rnd 1 pick on a Tight End.
Reality is that if the Bucs can’t have a Top-10 offense with what we have right now for offensive talent, there’s something radically wrong. We’ve got the OLine (when healthy), we’ve got the receivers (when healthy), we’ve got the running backs (when healthy) and yes, we’ve got the QB (when he’s healthy). Stop worrying about our very well-paid offense and start being a LOT more concerned about stopping our adversaries offenses.
April 15th, 2026 at 5:12 pm
He feel good. But does he “feel better “ than when he drafted JTS, Logan Hall , etc … ?
April 15th, 2026 at 5:25 pm
Im glad because he needs to nail this draft after losing ME13.
Honestly, I will feel much better when that 3rd round compensatory pick happens next year.
April 15th, 2026 at 5:28 pm
Jason Licht Feels Good About Bucs’ Edge Rusher Scouting
Does Licht feel James Brown ‘Good!’
Or feel good like Rodney Dangerfield after he saw Dr Vinny Boom Botz?
April 15th, 2026 at 5:42 pm
So the edge rushers we didn’t draft but wanted are doing well. The ones we did draft aren’t. Could poor coaching be the problem?
April 15th, 2026 at 5:42 pm
“We’ve had more success trading for or signing them than we have drafting, and I’ll be the first to admit that. But it’s not that we didn’t [like] any of the rushers that are currently making a lot of noise in the NFL…It’s a position that you can’t have too many of, but this year there’s a decent amount and we’ll have to see how it goes. We’ve done a lot of work on them.“
Honest, self reflection, and correction.
Love, hate, or feel indifferent about Licht, he’s not a BS’er.
Just because you haven’t connected yet, doesn’t mean you stop swinging.
April 15th, 2026 at 5:51 pm
He always feels good. Who wouldn’t I guess, when you’re never held accountable. You can just go out there and pump YOUR OWN draft-picks up without a care in the world. Even, when you are barely just average and mediocre at best. And, you can do it all while wearing t-shirts, pullovers, tracksuits, & etc. As a GM. Just soooo unimpressive in EVERY way imaginable.
April 15th, 2026 at 5:52 pm
Think the Bucs draft undersized players that cant rush and can’t cover. They need to draft bigger players that are DE’s that can rush and stop the run on the outside. The OLB’s that the Bucs draft that are supposedly edge rushers in the NFL just doesn’t work against much bigger LT’s. Bucs need the 4-3 base with four big players that can put pressure on the QB. Bowles blitz schemes really don’t get to the better QBs and just leave big openings in the back field. Even Cousins picked the Defense apart.
April 15th, 2026 at 5:53 pm
When Licht drafted Devin White
They passed up 4 Rushers with double digits sacks in RD1
And another 4 with 9-9.5 sacks season in RD1
April 15th, 2026 at 5:56 pm
But Devin White did give 9 sacks in 2020
April 15th, 2026 at 6:03 pm
Devin White is still a free agent!!!
April 15th, 2026 at 6:07 pm
Devin White had 174 tackles in 2025
And he can’t get a vet minimum contract
April 15th, 2026 at 6:07 pm
He shouldn’t,he has yet to prove he’s any good at it
April 15th, 2026 at 6:07 pm
What’s he supposed to say, lol.
April 15th, 2026 at 6:11 pm
Joe Tryon Shoinka- great pick, Ring of Honorable Mention GM
April 15th, 2026 at 6:17 pm
@BucsfaninTX
Yeah Licht gets credit for some of the picks he’s got but many forget how many he’s actually missed on, too!
April 15th, 2026 at 6:19 pm
These clowns either can’t evaluate edge talent, cant coach them up or have a trash defensive scheme. All 3 boil down to firing bowles but yet hes still here. Continue to expect mediocrity at best