The Buccaneers came under heavy criticism for not only using a second-round pick on former Florida State kicker Robert Aguayo, but trading up to do it.
Despite the skeptics, Aguayo's college coach lauded the Bucs' decision to take the draft's best kicker.
"Tell me what a guard or a tackle's going to do more than a kicker does in critical situations," Jimbo Fisher told the Tampa Bay Times. "They're all just as critical. ... When a puzzle's put together, if one piece is missing, it's still empty. When you can get the best kicker you've seen and one of the best in the history of the NCAA, why would you not?"
Fisher also had no issue with the Buccaneers giving up a draft pick to the Redskins in order to move up and grab Aguayo.
"Really they didn't lose anything," Fisher said. "To me, it was genius. It was pretty smart, what their GM and them did. Got a piece of the puzzle which they needed... I'll say this: Most people who said that (it wasn't a smart pick) ain't ever coached. Maybe that's including scouts. They ain't never been on that sideline."
Meanwhile, Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston -- who also played at Florida State -- has Aguayo's back.
"We came in together at Florida State so we always were close and I always knew he was good because we always said at Florida State the 2012 class was the best to ever come through Florida State," Winston said. "We've always stood by that and were always good buddies. ...
"Opinions are always going to be out there," he continued. "I'm just happy to have Roberto on this team. Just like a lot of people had opinions about me when I first came out and first started the season. Like Roberto is going to do, he's going to shut them up.''
Aguayo says he's heard the naysayers too.
"There's going to be critics everywhere, you know?" the kicker told PFTLive earlier this month. "I think the Buccaneers and the coaching staff here made the right decision. I think you're just going have to wait until the season gets here. I mean kickers, I think, they score points so they're an offensive weapon and as we can see with the extra point moving back to 33 yards you know it's gonna change the game. I think in the future that there's going to be a lot more draft picks used on good kickers, and I think the kickers are gonna change the game."
Not surprisingly, Bucs general manager Jason Licht defended the pick earlier this month, calling Aguayo "the best kicker I've ever seen coming out of college ... He's super consistent. He's never missed inside the 40 in his career, which is rare. And he's the best and most accurate kicker in college history."
Of course, all that matters is how Aguayo plays once the games count. Because, ultimately, no one cares when the kicker was drafted if he's converting in critical situations.
