TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and hope to begin to rebuild the club behind a franchise quarterback — either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.

But free agency has to be a big part of their success. In the first year under head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht, it was a complete failure.

Much of the Bucs’ 2-14 record can be attributed to the loss of offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford before the season due to a heart procedure.

But Smith and Licht swung and missed badly in free agency. If 2014 reaffirmed anything for Licht, it’s that the best path to success in the NFL still is through the draft.

“That’s where we’ll find our stars,” Licht said.

The Bucs negotiated contracts valued at more than $135 million to high-level free agents in 2014, and with few exceptions, players such as tackle Anthony Collins and defensive end Michael Johnson, were enormous disappointments. Collins was inactive the final four games and Johnson finished with only 27 tackles and four sacks.

“We went out and got a lot of pieces,” Licht said. “Nonetheless, we spent a lot of money on free agents and some didn’t work out and it was very disappointing. It is further proof that free agency is not the safest way to build your team. We’re not hiding from the mistakes.”

That said, the Bucs did have some success with lower-paid free agents such as defensive tackle Clinton McDonald (four years, $12 million) and cornerback Alterraun Verner (four years, $27.5 million).

Despite the failures, the Bucs can’t ignore free agency. In fact, no rookie quarterback will succeed unless the team starts by improving the offensive line.

“We can’t let what happened deter us from taking some risks,” Licht said. “If you’re afraid of taking risks, you’re going nowhere. Take the lessons that you learned and it helps you become wiser with your decisions.”

Assuming much of the draft will be devoted to the offense, which ranked 30th last season, the Bucs might have to use free agency to help their defense. The team could use another pass rushing defensive end behind Jacquies Smith, a middle linebacker and a free safety.

Veteran Dashon Goldson has only one interception in two seasons after the Bucs guaranteed him $18 million the first two years.

Fortunately, the Bucs have a lot of room under the salary cap. They could clear more space with the release of Collins, Johnson and possibly punter Michael Koenen.

The sense you get from Licht is that the Bucs will focus more on proven players rather than projections. The team has even been linked with the possible pursuit of Ndamukong Suh, even though the Bucs already have more than $100 million committed to defensive tackle Gerald McCoy.

The Bucs also have a big need at middle linebacker. Starter Mason Foster is a free agent. There has been some consideration of moving Danny Lansanah from Sam to Mike LB, but Smith and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier weren’t as high on that idea at the end of 2014. If the Bucs part ways with Goldson, Patriots safety Devin McCourty could be pursued.