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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 24: General manager Jason Licht of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers speaks to the media during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 24, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some pretty clear needs ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft next week. Despite being heavy favorites in the NFC South division last year, the Bucs came up just short, losing a three-way tiebreaker with the Falcons and Panthers that sent Carolina to the playoffs instead of Tampa Bay.
To get back on track and win their division for the fifth time in the last six years, the Buccaneers need to get better on the defensive side of the ball. Specifically, at linebacker and at edge rusher. Pass rush has been a consistent issue for Tampa Bay in recent years, despite multiple attempts to address the position with premium draft assets. And the Buccaneers’ linebackers got torched in coverage last season.
Still, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht doesn’t see himself as boxed in with his draft options.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Jason Licht on His Team’s Draft Needs
GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 23: Emeka Egbuka #2 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers carries the ball against Darious Williams #31 of the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter in the game at SoFi Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
“We do see that there is a need for help there on the defensive side, for sure,” Licht said. “I’ve had conversations with [Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles] a lot about this over the years, the last couple of years. He hates the word ‘defensive-minded’ head coach. He proved to me last year where he wasn’t upset with taking [WR Emeka Egbuka] where he says you have to take the best player that helps you win games, period. So, I’m very fortunate to have a head coach that feels that way when we work together to make these decisions.”
“I feel like I’ve said this every year, you can never go wrong with taking the best player. You’re going to be happy at some point that you did instead of trying to force a pick.”
“I mean, we can all say and write down and we have numbers that we look for the ideal [edge rusher], but those are also hard to [come by],” Licht said when asked if there was a specific type of edge rusher ideal for Bowles’ system. “The [Jason Pierre-Pauls], God only made a few of them. Yes, you would like to have big, long guys, but sometimes power comes in different packages. A guy can have great quickness and speed, but he’s just going to get washed off of the corner because of his lack of base and lack of strength. At the end of the day, you’re just looking for a very good football player that can do all of those things.”
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht on Evaluating Draft Prospects
“I don’t know if it’s really changed that much in how we evaluate players,” Licht continued. “We know that last year we wish we would have had more production from that aspect, from the edge. I don’t know if it’s changed. You’ve got to be careful not to just feel like it’s a must and force yourself to like more players than you normally would and push players up the board just to take an edge rusher to get that short-term good feeling of we drafted him and later on, you feel like maybe we shouldn’t have drafted him.”
“I don’t know how much has changed. We’ve put a lot of energy into it, though. I feel like we’ve gone back and studied a lot of rushers that didn’t make it or didn’t work out to kind of see what we can do better, where we can focus our attention on a little bit more.”
Ethan Woodie is an accomplished sports writer specializing in the NFL and college football for Heavy.com. He's written for Heavy since 2025 and has years of experience writing for NFL Trade Rumors and Pro Football Focus (PFF). Woodie is an expert in draft scouting and his Big Board was included in Arif Hasan's media consensus board for Wide Left in both 2025 and 2026. More about Ethan Woodie