Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ general manager Jason Licht is well-respected in the NFL, but not everybody has such a strong opinion.

In an article written for NBC Sports ranking each of the league’s 32 general managers, Patrick Daugherty ranked Licht No. 12.

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Of the 11 ranked ahead of Licht, only five have won Super Bowls as general managers, which Licht accomplished in the 2020 season (Eric DeCosta, ranked fourth, was the assistant GM of the Baltimore Ravens when they won their last Super Bowl in the 2012 season).

The reasoning for Licht being ranked outside the top 10 is that, in Daugherty’s view, Licht hasn’t done much without Tom Brady.

“Jason Licht has been on the job 12 years. The number of times he’s won more than 10 games without the greatest player in league history? Zero,” Daugherty wrote. “In fact, Licht has one total playoff victory without Mr. Thomas Brady. Of course, it came three years ago, immediately following TB12’s retirement. In fact, Licht has had his best non-Brady stretch since the GOAT hung up his cleats. The problem is, that ‘best stretch’ has been nine, 10 and eight victories. Far from terrible. Also far from inspiring, especially in the sleepy NFC South.”

To Daugherty’s point, Licht’s best years as Bucs GM came in the Brady era.

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In the six seasons Licht was on the job before Tampa signed TB12, the Bucs had one winning season (9-7 in 2016), never made the playoffs and went 34-62.

In the three seasons since Brady retired for good, the Bucs have won two division championships, but their overall record is a pedestrian 27-26.

Despite this, Licht is overall highly regarded.

In March 2025, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pegged Licht as the most underrated executive in the league.

It was Licht who drafted Mike Evans with his first pick ever in 2014, and Licht who kept players like Evans, Lavonte David, and Tristian Wirfs (whom Licht drafted in the first round in 2020) in Tampa for the long haul.

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But it must be said that the Bucs, who lost seven of their last nine games to give up the NFC South to the Carolina Panthers, don’t have a ton of momentum right this second.

Daugherty went onto write that he doesn’t see things getting better for Licht and the Bucs in 2026, describing the defense as “old” and needing an injection of talent. He did point out that Licht took a good step by taking Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round of last month’s draft.

As for the offense, Daughtery wrote that QB Baker Mayfield is capable, but doesn’t see him as a long-term solution.

The writer feels that Bucs HC Todd Bowles is “solid,” but isn’t the type of coach that will outclass his opponent strategically.

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Daugherty pointed out that the Bucs recently lost the leading receiver in franchise history, Evans, to a three-year, $60 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers. He also pointed out that the second-leading receiver in franchise history, Chris Godwin, is getting older, having turned 30 in late February.

For Daugherty, one Bain won’t be enough, and instead, the Bucs need several players of that caliber to progress get back to where they were at the beginning of the decade.

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