Playing Jason Licht.

If Conor Orr was Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht, Orr already knows which two NFL veterans would become new Bucs in the coming hours.

While maybe all of Bucs fandom is locked in to what Mike Evans may or may not do today as the starting gun sounds for free agency at noon, the major holes for the Bucs remain on the defensive side of the ball.

And Orr believes if Licht is serious about repairing the defense for another playoff run, it will be the linebackers that ought to be addressed right away.

LB Kaden Elliss and DE Trey Hendrickson to the Buccaneers

Watching Kaden Elliss blitz in the Falcons’ Jeff Ulbrich system last year was a joy. It reminded me, incidentally, of how creative Todd Bowles has been in pressuring interior gaps with his linebackers over the years. This two-pronged plan brings some heft to the edge for the Buccaneers and another player who can generate rush looks. Tampa Bay’s defense was one of the best in the NFL last year in generating quarterback pressure, but yielded a positive EPA per pass play (13th in the NFL). The Buccaneers are looking to maintain relevance in a division that has two players we might consider second-year starters in Michael Penix Jr. and Tyler Shough, and Bryce Young, who was pressured at roughly the same rate as J.J. McCarthy last year (meaning, even though Young has developed, he still puts himself in position to succumb to a rush or be impacted by a pass rush). Loading up on the pass rush may be the great equalizer for Tampa.

An edge rush is always the great equalizer.

Joe will once again point out that the Bucs enjoyed tremedous success the only three times this franchise ever had an edge rush that frightened quarterbacks.

* In 1979 with Lee Roy Selmon, the Bucs advanced to the NFC title game.

* In 2002 with Simeon Rice, the Bucs won the Super Bowl.

* In 2020 with the combo of Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett, the Bucs won the Super Bowl.

That’s not a coincidence, boys and girls.

(This is what frustrates Joe about Bucs coach Todd Bowles. He generally dismisses the importance of an edge rush yet his greatest success as a coach was a direct result of an edge rush.)

If the Bucs land a guy who wants to be here, Trey Hendrickson, and if he piles up the sacks he normally does, this Bucs team is back in the playoffs.