General Manager Jason Licht Believes Buccaneers Are Already Better Than in 2023

The Bucs have retained their own players, but some new depth additions and an upcoming NFL Draft has Jason Licht confident.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht speaks during / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers were highly doubted heading into the regular season, and despite having numerous up-and-down moments, they ended up shocking many as they won the NFC South and made it to the Divisional round of the playoffs.

Following the season, the Bucs had some important decisions and moves to make and they accomplished a huge portion of what they wanted to do by re-signing key players from the 2023 squad while also signing depth pieces. With the free agency period all but winded down, the Buccaneers' top brass now has their attention set on the upcoming NFL Draft that will take place later this month.

When speaking with WDAE radio in Tampa, one of those top guys in the organization, general manager Jason Licht, spoke on the approach the franchise will have coming into the draft and even went as far as to say that he already believes the 2024 version of the Bucs will be better than the 2023 version before NFL Draft.

“Of course, there are some positions that may be a little bit more higher priority, and I think everybody kind of knows what those are,” Licht told WDAE radio host Tom Krasniqi of the Bucs’ draft approach. “But, like you said, we could line up and play right now. And I think we’d be better than what we were last year already. But you don’t want to handicap yourself knowing that you are going to force yourself to take a certain position, so I don’t think we’re going to do that.”

Licht's statement is certainly a confident one. However, just based on what we have seen the team has accomplished over free agency, there is a solid chance that Licht could be right.

Luckily for the Buccaneers, they still have the NFL Draft coming up and will be able to add players who can come in and provide help immediately in spots where they need it while also continuing to fill out depth at other positions. The 2024 NFL Draft is set to be held on April 25-27 in Detroit. 

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the offseason.

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