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SB Nation has put together a theme for this week so with that said, they are asking each NFL site to talk about a “what if” moment in recent team history. Every fan remembers that one moment that sticks out the most. So the staff got together at Bucs Nation headquarters (or a group chat) to brainstorm on a Buccaneers what if moment. Unanimously, we thought what if the Bucs never draft Florida State kicker Robert Aguayo.
For starters, I’ll shamefully admit (now) that I was all for drafting Aguayo. To be fair, I felt the Bucs really needed a kicker. Like, really bad. So I started a campaign on Twitter heading into the 2016 draft. The below tweets are just a small sample size of my attempt idiocy to entice fans into believing selecting Aguayo high was not a bad idea.
#AguayoAt9 https://t.co/sIB0Z2XFDZ
— Lord Gilliam (@GilArciaBUCS) April 29, 2016
Yes. I was saying #AguayoAt9 for how long now? Perhaps Licht understood "59" and so he made magic happened... https://t.co/qISw0VxafS
— Lord Gilliam (@GilArciaBUCS) April 30, 2016
Also, I did let someone in the front office know about my #AguayoAt9 campaign. Perhaps they liked it? I don't know. https://t.co/DD5mAJ6K4k
— Lord Gilliam (@GilArciaBUCS) May 3, 2016
Ah yes, #AguayoAt9. The satire there was all in good fun. There was no reason to believe the Bucs were seriously going to select the Florida State product ninth overall. Since Tampa Bay needed a kicker so bad, I figured we would have some fun with it. They traded up in the second round to get him, but that pick wasn’t used wisely.
A guy many fans wanted was Vonn Bell, who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints just two picks later. Or another safety in Kevin Byard — a Pro Bowler in 2017 with the Titans.
So what if they never drafted Aguayo?
Fans and media wouldn’t be harping on drafting a kicker “so high.” Rather they’d be harping on something else.
The team would have probably won more games. But then lose out on drafting O.J. Howard.
We would have never seen such a depressing roster cut as depicted on Hard Knocks. But it was rather entertaining. #Hollywood
Critics wouldn’t be so quick to call for Jason Licht’s job. And he’d perhaps be more accepted?
Everything happens for a reason, so what’s your Buccaneers “what if” moment in recent history?