Jason Licht shares how scouting Johnny Manziel led him to a franchise legend

USA Today

a day ago

Sometimes, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.
For Johnny Manziel and any potential to be drafted earlier, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that is precisely what happened. Bucs GM Jason Licht was a guest on Chris Long's Green Light podcast, and among the topics they discussed were Mike Evans and Licht's approach to the 2014 NFL Draft.
2014 was Licht's first year as general manager of the Buccaneers, and to say that the team had quite a few areas of opportunity to improve was an understatement.
Starting at quarterback was journeyman Josh McCown, who was on his sixth NFL team and had a notable run in the UFL in 2010, leaving a significant area of opportunity. What better way to make a splash in your first NFL Draft as GM than to select who you think will be the face of your franchise for the next decade and run your offense? That is exactly where Licht's head was, "I really went into that draft wanting to draft a quarterback," Licht recalled. The kicker, flashing back to that draft class, the quarterback position was not a highlight.
Blake Bortles, Jimmy Garoppolo, Derek Carr, and Manziel headlined the quarterback class, with "Johnny Football" getting most of the spotlight. "I really wanted to draft Johnny Manziel, and so I locked myself in my office watching quarterbacks that year," the Bucs GM told Long. "I'd wake up and say ok, I have to watch Johnny Manziel again, so I'd watch it again, and every time I would watch, Mike [Evans] would make these spectacular catches."
As the Buccaneers' GM continued the story of his shift, his conversations also shifted. "That was the game where Mike did this and this," would be the reply to comments about Manziel's game tape.
From that point on, Licht knew that Evans was his guy, not Manziel, and the rest is history. NFL history, actually.