Jason Licht has been incredibly transparent when speaking to the media before the NFL Draft. Regardless of the question, he has provided some sort of insight into his mind and the Bucs' process. His most recent comments came in response to a question about whether the team would be open to trading back.
Licht gave a rather open-ended response, but one with some good substance as well.
". . .It just kind of depends on how things fall. You can't walk into it saying, 'I am definitely looking to trade back,' because you don't know what's going to fall to you. I do think this year is going to be – I could be wrong – you're going to see maybe a little less people maybe wanting to move up and offering enough to make it worth your while just because the draft is pretty leveled out at a certain point. You might be able to get the same level of player in the second round as you can in the fourth round at certain positions, so I think you'll maybe see a little bit less of that."
Licht has been a fan of trading in the past, as he likes getting value out of his picks when possible. If he is indicating that you can get the same type of player in the fourth as you would in the second, it seems he is telling 31 other teams he is open to a trade. Of course, if a player of value falls to 19, he would pounce on that, as would anyone.
It will all come down to how the dominoes fall on April 24, whether the Bucs trade back or if he stays in the first round altogether.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Could the Bucs move back in round one of the 2025 NFL Draft?