The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have enjoyed some high moments over the past 10 years, including a Super Bowl win and the acquisition of Tom Brady.
According to BleacherReport, not every move has aged so gracefully, especially one from 2016 that still stings in hindsight.
The Buccaneers’ worst trade of the past decade came when the team traded up in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft to select Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo.
Aug 11, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo (19) kicks a field goal against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images / David Kohl-Imagn Images
“In the 2016 draft, Tampa made the curious decision to trade up and draft kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round”, BleacherReport writer Kristopher Knox wrote. “That’s right, the Buccaneers traded up to draft a kicker in Round 2. The move to No. 59 cost Tampa the 74th and 106th overall selections.”
Tampa Bay expected Aguayo to be a long-term answer at the position, but instead got just 16 games and a 71-percent field goal rate out of the rookie before cutting him during the 2017 preseason. Aguayo never appeared in another regular-season NFL game.
While current GM Jason Licht has earned praise in recent years for strong drafts and roster-building that led to a championship in 2020, his early tenure was marked by several misfires.
“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 he has done an excellent job of building through the draft in recent years,” Knox wrote. “However, that doesn’t mean that this monumental miscue can be easily forgotten.”
For all the big swings the Buccaneers have taken in the draft over the past decade, the Aguayo trade remains a cautionary tale about overvaluing specialists and the importance of maximizing value with premium picks.
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