It’s always hard to predict what will happen in the NFL Draft in any given year. Plenty of mocks come out to try, but at the end of the day, crazy stuff can happen — take the Atlanta Falcons drafting Michael Penix Jr. in the first round last year. for example.

That being said, it’s foolish not to try. Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has typically been exceptional in the draft, and a majority of his starters were drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a result. The Bucs pick at No. 19 this year, and when Licht was asked about whether or not he’d consider trading down from that pick, he mentioned that it’s important to wait to see how the chips fall.

“There have been years where I’ve thought about it more than others,” Licht said. “It just kinda depends on how things fall. You can’t walk into it and say, ‘I am definitely looking to trade back,’ because you don’t know what’s going to fall to you.”

That wasn’t all, though. During his explanation, Licht made an interesting comment about the draft as a whole.

“I do think this year — I could be wrong — you’re gonna see maybe a little less people wanting to move up and offering enough to make it worth your while, just because I think the draft is pretty leveled out at a certain point,” Licht said. “You might be able to get the same level of player in the second round as you can in the fourth round in certain positions.”

As it stands, the draft may be a little top-heavy, so teams could be more patient. If that’s the case, trading up may not happen as much for teams that are confident they could get the guy they want across multiple different rounds.

The last time Jason Licht traded back was in 2022, when he traded out of the first round to pick defensive tackle Logan Hall with the first pick of the second round. The Bucs have a few different needs on defense, so it seems unlikely that the Bucs would do that this year