Jason Licht and the Buccaneers had a chance to pick up extra draft capital on draft night, but they never blinked. Tampa Bay passed on a trade offer from the Detroit Lions and stayed put at No. 15 because Rueben Bain Jr. was still there, and that was enough to shut the door.
The offer from Detroit would have sent the Bucs the 17th pick, plus the Lions’ fourth-round selections at Nos. 118 and 128, in exchange for Tampa Bay’s first-rounder at No. 15 and sixth-round pick No. 195. Josh Queipo of PewterReport noted that the deal was close under the Jimmy Johnson chart, while the Spielberger-Fitzgerald chart showed Tampa Bay would have come out well ahead, with value equivalent to the 89th overall pick.
None of that mattered to Licht once Bain remained on the board.
Video footage released by the club shows the Lions reaching out before Tampa Bay was on the clock, hoping to move up. Licht, though, wasn’t willing to gamble on losing the pass rusher he wanted most. The Bucs had reason to be aggressive, and the decision fits the kind of rookie class they’ve assembled: a group expected to contribute right away, not just down the road.
Keionte Scott, the fourth-round pick, is expected to step in as the new slot corner, with Jacob Parrish moving outside to make room for him despite Parrish’s own success inside as a rookie last year. Josiah Trotter, Tampa Bay’s second-round pick, has already been getting work with the starters in training camp. Third-round receiver Ted Hurst has also impressed early and looks like another potential weapon for the offense.
The bigger story, though, is that Tampa Bay was locked in on Bain.
The Lions were tied to edge rushers in the first round, but they ended up taking Clemson OT Blake Miller at No. 17.
It was reported that Detroit had tried to trade up for Miller and couldn’t find a partner, which suggests the Lions likely would have taken him at No. 15 if Tampa Bay had moved back. After that, the New York Jets were on the clock and chose TE Kenyon Sadiq.
The Jets had already taken edge rusher David Bailey with the second overall pick, so it’s possible Bain would have still been there, but the temptation to leave the first round with the draft’s two best pass rushers would have been hard to ignore.
And even if New York had passed, another team could have worked a deal to jump ahead of Tampa Bay and grab Bain.
That’s the risk Licht wasn’t taking. The Bucs wanted Bain, and they weren’t interested in finding out what might have happened if they slid back two spots.
So far, the bet has paid off. The former Miami Hurricane has looked like a star since arriving in Tampa, drawing plenty of praise throughout the offseason. Tampa Bay got the player it targeted, and Bain already looks like the kind of talent that can make the teams who passed on him think about it for a long time.
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