Jason Licht Could Do Something Unprecedented In Bucs’ 2026 Draft

The 2026 NFL Draft will be Jason Licht’s 13th draft as the Bucs’ general manager, and yet this April, he could do something he’s never done before.

Never in Licht’s previous 12 drafts did he double up on the outside linebacker or inside linebacker positions in the first five rounds. Given that the Bucs’ two biggest needs heading into 2026 are at those two positions, there’s a chance that Tampa Bay’s longtime general manager does something unprecedented – at least for him – this time around.

Of course, the free agency period comes about a month and a half before the draft, so there’s a chance that Licht and his staff address one or both of those big needs on defense with a veteran signing or two. But right now, the Bucs’ options at those positions are less than ideal.

Players Under Contract At OLB, ILB For 2026:

OLB – Yaya Diaby, Anthony Nelson, David Walker, Chris Braswell, Mo Kamara, Benton Whitley

ILB – SirVocea Dennis, Nick Jackson

That’s a dire situation for two massively important positions in Todd Bowles’ defense. The Bucs are in desperate need of a true alpha, No. 1 edge rusher to pair with Diaby, who is solid but maybe better suited to be a No. 1B option or a No. 2. They have high hopes for Walker, a fourth-round pick in 2025 who tore his ACL early in camp and missed his rookie season, but he’s still largely an unknown.

Meanwhile, Nelson is best suited as a rotational depth piece and behind him, there’s little reason to expect anything out of Braswell, Kamara and Whitley, who was a practice squad addition late last year before signing a futures contract with the team earlier this year.

It’s even worse at inside linebacker. Dennis is entering a contract year and is far from irreplaceable as a starter, while Jackson was an undrafted free agent in 2025 and would appear to be a practice squad candidate again or, at best, a special teamer and depth option on defense. With Lavonte David very possibly set to retire at age 36, Tampa Bay needs a changing of the guard at the inside linebacker position.

While there’s certainly a case to be made that Tampa Bay should sign a veteran inside ‘backer in free agency, the room as a whole needs an infusion of young talent.

The good news for Jason Licht and the Bucs is that the 2026 Draft is full of intriguing talent at outside and inside linebacker.

The 2026 Draft Is A Good One For Doubling Up At OLB, ILB

If there’s a year for Jason Licht to double up at outside linebacker and/or inside linebacker in the draft, it would appear that 2026 might be the one.

Starting at outside linebacker, there is a pretty deep group of high-level options and then another tier of high-upside players after that. Former scout-turned-draft expert Daniel Jeremiah said as much on Friday, noting he has 10 edge rushers worthy of being in his top 50. That’s good news if you’re Tampa Bay, as it’s likely that you can get a good pass rusher at No. 15 in the first round or potentially at No. 46 in the second round.

Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell has been frequently linked to the Bucs at No. 15 in early mock drafts, including our own here at PewterReport.com. In our Mock Draft 2.0 published this past week, we had Howell as Tampa Bay’s top pick. Other options within the first two rounds for the Bucs, according to NFL Mock Draft Database’s Consensus Big Board, could be Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, Clemson’s T.J. Parker, Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, Missouri’s Zion Young and Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas.

Just after that group comes Alabama’s L.T. Overton, Michigan’s Derrick Moore, Tennessee’s Joshua Josephs, Illinois’ Gabe Jacas and Texas Tech’s Romello Height.

As for the inside linebacker position, there’s a good group to dive into there as well. The Ohio State duo of Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles are likely to be gone by the time Jason Licht and the Bucs are on the clock, but Georgia’s C.J. Allen, Texas’ Anthony Hill Jr., Cincinnati’s Jake Golday, Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez, Missouri’s Josiah Trotter and Pitt’s Kyle Louis are all worth monitoring within the first three rounds of the draft.

With all of these prospects in mind, doesn’t the idea of Licht doubling up at one or both linebacker positions sound really enticing? Just look at the aforementioned Pewter Report 7-Round Mock 2.0 and you’ll get an idea of how much this defense could stand to benefit from two pass rushers and two inside ‘backers with the first four picks in this year’s draft.

Pewter Report has Howell going to the Bucs at No. 15, Rodriguez and Louis being taken with back-to-back picks at No. 46 and No. 77, respectively, and then Western Michigan’s Nadame Tucker coming off the board as Tampa Bay’s second outside linebacker pick of 2026 in the fourth round.

In this scenario, Licht would do two things he’s never done before: select two outside linebackers in the first five rounds of a draft and take two inside linebackers in the first five rounds. The closest he’s come to either of those was in 2021 when he selected K.J. Britt in the fifth round and Grant Stuard in the seventh and in 2023 when he drafted Diaby in the third round and Jose Ramirez in the sixth. But those situations are a far cry from the possibility of spending two selections on either or each position in the first 120 picks.

Jason Licht Has Doubled Up Before, But At Other Positions

During his lengthy tenure as the Bucs’ general manager, Jason Licht hasn’t shied away from doubling up on certain positions in the draft. In 2014, he drafted two wide receivers with wildly different results as his first pick was Mike Evans and his sixth-round pick was Robert Herron.

In 2015, Licht doubled up both on offensive line selections and wide receivers. He drafted both Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet in the second round, which was a huge success given the role they played in the Bucs winning Super Bowl LV. However, doubling up at receiver with the selections of Kenny Bell and Kaelin Clay didn’t work out.

The 2016 NFL Draft was the first time Licht doubled up at cornerback, but it definitely wasn’t the last. He took Vernon Hargreaves III in the first round that year before drafting Ryan Smith in the fourth round. He has since doubled up at cornerback in 2018 with M.J. Stewart and Carlton Davis III, in 2019 with Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean and in 2025 with Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish.

Licht doubled up on running backs in 2020 with the selections of Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Raymond Calais in the third and seventh rounds, respectively. He went with two tight ends in 2022, drafting Cade Otton in the fourth round and Ko Kieft in the sixth, as well as two interior offensive linemen in 2024 with Graham Barton in the first round and Elijah Klein in the sixth.

And in addition to doubling up on cornerbacks on Day 2 of the 2025 Draft, Licht also spent his first and last picks of that draft on wide receivers, taking Emeka Egbuka in the first round and Tez Johnson in the seventh.

With all of these different examples over the last 12 drafts, it’s worth noting that only five of them featured two picks being spent on the same position within the first four rounds. The hit rate for those is largely pretty good, too:

2015: Donovan Smith (Second Round), Ali Marpet (Second Round) – 2/2
2016: Vernon Hargreaves III (First Round), Ryan Smith (Fourth Round) – 1/2*
2018: M.J. Stewart (Second Round), Carlton Davis III (Second Round) – 1/2
2019: Sean Murphy-Bunting (Second Round), Jamel Dean (Third Round) – 2/2**
2025: Benjamin Morrison (Second Round), Jacob Parrish (Third Round) – 1/2***

* Ryan Smith was a key special teamer and stuck with the team from 2016-2020, winning a Super Bowl ring. We’ll count that as a hit.
** Sean Murphy-Bunting had his ups and downs, but three INTs in the first three playoff games during the Super Bowl run feels worthy enough of a hit.
***It’s likely too early to tell on both players, but in terms of their rookie seasons, Benjamin Morrison was a miss and Jacob Parrish was a hit. This can and probably will change.

It’s not a perfect science, but hitting on roughly 70% of those picks should give Jason Licht and Co. the confidence to go that route in 2026 at outside and inside linebacker, especially given the projected depth of the class at those two positions. Yet outside of Devin White and SirVocea Dennis to a degree, it’s not like Licht has had a ton of drafting inside linebackers. And his track record at edge rusher – outside of Diaby – could certainly stand to be improved upon, too.

Throwing more darts at the dart board in an effort to fix Todd Bowles’ defense ahead of a crucial 2026 season isn’t a bad strategy, and while it would be largely unprecedented for Licht and his team, it’s certainly worth exploring.