When you look back on the 2016 NFL Draft, there are a few things that stand out. The first overall pick (Jared Goff) and second overall pick (Carson Wentz) both ended up on their respective teams due to a trade. Both made a trip to the Super Bowl during their second seasons as full-time starters. There was the infamous Laremy Tunsil video. For Buccaneers fans, though, the part of the draft that probably stands out the most has to be Tampa Bay’s move to trade up for kicker Roberto Aguayo. Trades involving kickers are incredibly rare, so they’re not the easiest to analyze. But, when it comes to the Roberto Aguayo trade, it’s hard not to look at it as a “monumental miscue,” writes Bleacher Report‘s Kristopher Knox.
‘Monumental Miscue’ Cost Bucs an Additional Pick in 2016
Heading into the 2016 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers needed to bring in some young talent on their defense. Opposing passer gashed their defense during the 2015 season. Tampa Bay allowed a league-worst 70% completion percentage and finished with the second-worst passer rating allowed (102.5). There were only four teams who surrendered more touchdown passes (31).
They addressed the secondary and outside linebacker with their first two picks, then traded a third-round pick (No. 74) and a fourth-round pick (No. 106) to the Chiefs to move up to No. 59 for Aguayo.
“In return, the Bucs got 16 games and a 71-percent field-goal rate out of Aguayo, who was waived during the 2017 preseason and hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game since,” writes Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox.
“General manager Jason Licht survived a bad 2016 class—his top three picks, Vernon Hargreaves, Noah Spence and Aguayo all failed to sign second contracts with Tampa—and has done an excellent job of building through the draft in recent years,” writes Knox. “However, that doesn’t mean that this monumental miscue can be easily forgotten.”
What Made the Bucs Jump up to Draft Aguayo?
As the old saying goes, “hindsight is 20/20.” It’s easy to look back now and question the decision to draft Aguayo in the third round. But, there were legitimate concerns heading into the draft.
Aguayo never missed an extra point or a field goal of under 40 yards. But, from 40-49 yards, he made just 18 out of 24 field goals (75%). From 50+ yards, he made just 5 out of 8 field goals (62.5%). The expectation for college kickers is not perfection. But, at the next level, teams expect them to consistently make field goals between 40 and 49 yards.
Following the announcement that Tampa Bay had released Aguayo during the 2017 preseason, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht clarified the thought process that went into their decision to select him. Licht lamented that the Bucs didn’t bring in stronger competition to challenge Aguayo, saying that they “basically anointed him,” according to a 2017 piece by Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King.
“At the time, I was bound and determined to get the best kicker we possibly could,” said Licht. “I thought Roberto had the chance to be a special kicker in the league for a long time. That’s a position that had been a rough spot for us. What did I learn from this? I’ve said this before, but when we took him, we essentially anointed him. If I could do it again, I would have gone back and brought in competition to challenge him. I look back on that a lot. Roberto is a great kid, but the magnitude of that position, and the pressure on a 21-year-old—his performance is affecting the lives of men who have families to support. That got tough.”
Now, with nine more draft classes under his belt, Licht seems to have recovered nicely following that “monumental miscue.”
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