Licht Says He will Lean Heavily On Arians’ Player Evaluation

Despite what many fans believe, Licht is pretty good when it comes to evaluating talent. However, Arians might just be considered a guru. Now I throw that term around loosely, although, with Arian’s experience and tenure in the NFL, it would be wise for Light to listen.

Jason Licht was the Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel in 2013, and that means he was a player evaluator among other duties. That year, his only year in Arizona, was the season in which Arians drafted some real serious talent and some very familiar faces. In that year’s draft, the Cardinals took, now Tampa Bay Buccaneers, LB Kevin Minter in the 2nd-round, G Earl Watford in the 4th-round, and RB Andre Ellington in the 6th-round. Additionally, that was the same year that the Cardinals took Tyrann Mathieu in the 3rd-round.

Arians has gone on to draft more talent during his tenure at Arizona, players such as now Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety, Deone Bucannon in the first round of the 2014 draft.

In 2015, Arians selected DE Markus Golden in the second-round and RB David Johnson in the 3rd-round.

There were other moves that were made that did not consist of big-name players, but they fit the scheme and made the team successful. Between Licht and Arians, I believe that they will get the Job done and make Tampa contenders once again.

“I will lean heavily on Bruce,” Licht tells @ProFootballTalk when asked about Arians’ input and involvement in Bucs’ draft strategy …

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 25, 2019