Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Biehl enters his ninth season with Tampa Bay and first as the team's director of player personnel. Prior to 2022, Biehl was the director of college scouting. He is responsible for coordinating and compiling evaluations of all draft-eligible players, while overseeing the entire college scouting staff.

Mike Biehl enters his ninth season with Tampa Bay and first as the team's director of player personnel. Prior to 2022, Biehl was the director of college scouting. He is responsible for coordinating and compiling evaluations of all draft-eligible players, while overseeing the entire college scouting staff.

The Buccaneers drafted seven total draft picks in 2021, highlighted by outside linebacker and first-round pick, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Tryon-Shoyinka played in all 17 regular season games, starting six. Despite rotating behind Pro Bowlers Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul, Tryon-Shoyinka played in 48 percent of the defensive snaps.

In 2020, the NFL conducted its first ever virtual draft, with the Buccaneers selecting a total of seven players. Five out of six players saw playing time in at least ten games, led by first and second-round picks Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. Despite no offseason or preseason games, both rookies started all 16 regular season games and every playoff game they appeared in.

Wirfs and Winfield Jr. turned out to be key contributors en route to the Buccaneers second Super Bowl victory. Wirfs played every offensive snap, only allowing one sack. Winfield Jr. had similar success, starting his rookie campaign by winning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month and finishing third on the team with 94 tackles, 3.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception. Both were named to the PFWA All-Rookie team.

The 2019 NFL Draft produced a total of eight draft picks, with five players seeing starts in Todd Bowles' defense. Devin White, picked fifth overall, started all 13 games he played, recording 91 tackles, recovering four fumbles, and capping his first season with consecutive NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for November and December. Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, picked in the second-round, led the team with three interceptions, tying for the most among NFL rookies. Third-round pick Jamel Dean finished the season with 17 passes defensed, tying for fourth in the NFL.

In his second season, White was named a team captain and led Tampa Bay with 140 tackles – fifth-most in the NFL – while adding 9.0 sacks. White earned second-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week twice. Both White and Murphy-Bunting were key contributors during Tampa Bay's postseason run, with White tallying 38 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries, while Murphy-Bunting recorded three interceptions in his first three career playoffs games, becoming just the fourth player to do so in the Super Bowl era.

With the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers selected defensive tackle Vita Vea, who has helped anchor the Buccaneers' top-ranked run defense during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Fourth-round pick Jordan Whitehead, chosen 117th overall, started 59-of-55 career games for Tampa Bay in his four seasons, tallying 292 tackles and five interceptions.

Vea, White, Wirfs, and Winfield Jr. all earned their first Pro Bowl selections following the 2021 season.

Ronald Jones II – a second-round pick in the 2018 Draft – recorded 1,000 yards from scrimmage and six rushing touchdowns in nine starts in 2019 and followed that up with an even more impressive 2020. Jones rushed for 978 yards on 192 carries (5.1 avg.) with seven touchdowns. His 5.1 yards per carry established a new franchise record and ranked eighth in the NFL among qualified rushers.

Fellow 2018 second-round pick Carlton Davis has started 50-of-51 games since being drafted by Tampa Bay and is tied for fifth in the NFL in passes defensed. In 2020, Davis had a career-high four interceptions, tied for the seventh-most in the NFL.

The 2017 NFL Draft saw Biehl, working with General Manager Jason Licht, select six players, with three stepping into starting roles as rookies. The Buccaneers' first-round pick, tight end O.J. Howard, started all 14 games he played in, tying for the team lead with six touchdown receptions – tied for the second-most among NFL rookies and the fourth-most ever by a Buccaneers rookie. Howard finished the 2018 season ranked fourth among NFL tight ends in receiving yards per game (56.5) and his 16.6 yards per catch were the highest among all qualified tight ends, despite missing the final six games of the season.

In the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Buccaneers selected wide receiver Chris Godwin. Over four seasons with Tampa Bay, Godwin has totaled 3,540 receiving yards – the eighth-most in team history – and 24 touchdowns, which is tied for the eighth-most in franchise history. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2019, Godwin ranks fourth in the NFL in receiving yards per game (81.9 avg.). The 2019 season saw him rank third in the NFL with 1,333 receiving yards and fourth in the NFL in receiving touchdowns with nine, earning Pro Bowl and second-team AP All-Pro honors. During the 2022 offseason, Godwin signed a contract extension after he led the team in receiving yards (1,103) and receptions (98) in 2021.

Biehl assisted Licht in the 2015 NFL Draft, where the team held the first overall pick, used to select quarterback Jameis Winston, who earned Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year and a PFWA All-Rookie Team selection, while setting nearly every rookie passing record in Buccaneers history. The 2015 draft also saw Tampa Bay select tackle Donovan Smith (34th overall), guard Ali Marpet (61st overall) and linebacker Kwon Alexander (124th overall), all of whom earned a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team alongside Winston. Alexander was selected to the 2017 Pro Bowl.

Both Marpet and Smith signed contract extensions. Since the start of the 2015 season, they have been part of an offense that has recorded the third-most yards per game in the NFL (380.5), second-most passing yards per game (278.5) and fourth-highest yards per play (5.82) during that span, while ranking third in third-down conversion rate. In 2020 Marpet was named first-team All-Pro by Pro Football Focus and was named to the PFWA All-NFC Team.

Biehl came to the Buccaneers with 16 seasons of NFL experience, including 13 seasons with the San Diego Chargers (2001-13). Biehl worked as the club's assistant director of college scouting for six seasons (2008-13), after being promoted from college scout (2001-07), where he scouted the Midwest region of the country. Over that span, the Chargers had the eighth-most wins in the NFL, won five AFC West division championships and made six playoff appearances.

Prior to his time with the Chargers, Biehl spent three seasons (1998-2000) working in the Buffalo Bills' personnel department, during which time the Bills had the NFL's sixth-best record and qualified for the playoffs twice.

A native of Paxton, Illinois, Biehl attended Illinois State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in finance and a master's in sports management.

Mike and his wife, Kim, have two children: son Nathan, and daughter Kendall.