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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions. @PewterReport This week’s Twitter account can be found at Bucs Mailbag. Submit your questions to the Bucs Mailbag weekly via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucks questions we chose to answer in this week’s issue.
Question: Do you think we’ll see defensive back Tykie Smith taking some snaps at linebacker this year?
answer: Tyke Smith, the team’s first third-round pick, is a defensive back who will be cross-trained as a nickel cornerback and safety. During his two years at West Virginia and three years at Georgia, Smith saw plenty of action in the slots as a free safety, strong safety and nickel back. I think there’s a good chance he beats undrafted free agent Christian Isien, who was signed last year, for nickelback duties.
Georgia S. Tykey Smith – Photo by USA Today
Isien had quite the debut as a rookie last year, opening the season with interceptions in back-to-back games. He started all 19 games in that slot, including both playoff contentions, but went undrafted for the final 17 games of the season, including his postseason run. Bucs head coach and defensive playcaller Todd Bowles wants to see more play at the nickelback position, and Smith led the Bulldogs’ defense with four interceptions last year. He has a high soccer IQ and a knack for always being around the ball.
In fact, Smith has some of the same traits that Bucks legend Ronde Barber had in terms of finding the ball. He also gives the Bucks an Antwon Winfield Jr. vibe. At 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, Smith isn’t big enough to play linebacker on a down-in, down-out basis on defense.
However, in a nickel defense, the slot cornerback is essentially the third linebacker on the field playing in the box. Smith has the toughness and physicality to contribute in coverage as well as run support. Barber always said he was essentially a linebacker on third down playing in the slot, and he did that very well at 180 pounds. Smith is 25 pounds heavier than Barber, which makes him better suited to fill that role.
Smith could replace Jordan Whitehead as the team’s strong safety in a few years. He has great ability there as well.
Question: The Bucs were ready to select Tulane QB Michael Pratt with the No. 246 pick. But am I wrong to view this as a blessing? I think tight end Devin Culp has the potential to be our No. 2 tight end due to his speed and special teams ability. . Most likely Pratt will be cut or the Bucks will cut John Wolford.
Bucks TE Devin Culp – Photo courtesy of USA Today
answer: Time will tell if Devin Culp is the right seventh-round pick. The Bucs intended to select Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt with the final pick in the draft, but Green Bay won and selected the Green Wave star one pick ahead of Tampa Bay. Adding another quarterback to the competition for the backup job with Kyle Trask and John Wolford is a bad decision considering Trask is in a contract year and is still a relatively unknown commodity. It probably wasn’t.
Culp is an interesting athlete with 4.47 speed, making him the fastest tight end at the NFL Scouting Combine. Tampa Bay appeared to be targeting a faster receiving tight end in this year’s draft, spending time formally interviewing at the combine in addition to Florida State’s Jaheim Bell, also a smaller receiving tight end.
The Rams have had success with this type of tight end in years past with Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee. It remains to be seen whether he has enough size and blocking ability for Culp to truly become a TE2, or even challenge for the starting spot with Cade Otton. Ko Kieft is basically a one-dimensional blocking tight end and isn’t very good at that, so Culp could join the team as a rookie. He needs to build special teams, and that’s what Kieft is good at.
Question: Have the Bucks done enough to rebuild the run game? Graham Burton is looking great and Bucky Irving is doing well, but how optimistic should we be?
Bucks RB Bucky Irving – Photo courtesy of Oregon State
answer: Tampa Bay has had the league’s worst ground game over the past two seasons and really has no choice but to move up. I think Rathard White showed improvement towards the second half of the season, reading the hole better and becoming a more decisive runner. He did his part, which helped produce multiple 100-yard rushing games for Tampa Bay through the end of the 2023 season.
The drafting of Duke offensive lineman Graham Burton should help Tampa Bay’s rushing attack, especially at the interior where the center is the tip of the spear. The position has really lacked punch since Ryan Jensen suffered a career-ending knee injury in 2022 training camp. Robert Hainsey was an undersized center who didn’t get enough push to be effective in the running game.
Cody Mauch is bigger and stronger entering his second year, which should help at right guard. But the real question is who will start at left guard in 2024. The position was a weak spot on offense last year, but it remains to be seen if the position has truly been upgraded this offseason.
oregon running back bucky irving His instantaneous acceleration and ability to make you miss has great effect. He was one of the best running backs in college last year at forcing missed tackles. Even at 5-foot-9, 192 pounds, he’s tough to beat and should someday take over the RB2 role from Chase Edmonds.
Question: Why did they take Graham Burton over Johnny Newton? Their two big priorities were improving the ground game and improving the four-man pass rush. Was it Newton’s foot injury, was it a personality difference, or did he simply rate Burton higher?
Bucks OL Graham Burton – Photo courtesy of Duke
answer: The Bucks have Graham Burton, who is more highly rated. It’s that simple. Bucs general manager Jason Richt said he will emphasize the trenches, selecting Barton in the first round, outside linebacker Chris Braswell in the second round and guard Elijah Klein in the sixth round. It was realized.
Tampa Bay was prepared to take Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton at No. 26 if Barton was unavailable, but upgrading the offensive line proved to be the biggest area of need. Barton is expected to upgrade at center, but if Robert Hainsey improves dramatically this offseason, he could also be considered for an upgrade at guard.
Remember, the Bucs have spent three of their top picks on defensive tackles since drafting Vita Vea in the first round of the 2018 draft. Tampa Bay also used its No. 1 pick in the top of the second round in 2022 to select Logan Hall in the draft. Kaliya Kanshi in the first round last year. Newton could help the team as he is a very good player and could be an upgrade over Hall, who has been an underdog so far. But the more pressing need was to upgrade the offensive line, so they chose Barton.
Keep in mind that Barton was the better prospect because of his RAS (Relative Athletic Score). Barton scored a perfect 10 on the RAS scale, making him the most athletic center drafted since 1987. The Duke All-ACC lineman had a perfect 10 athletically. That, combined with his high football IQ, businesslike demeanor, and tenacity as a blocker, made him a more valuable draft candidate than Newton.
Question: New kickoff rules could be the difference in close games this season, and the Bucs have a new special teams coach. Is Thomas McGaughey a creative type who wants to find ways to take advantage of rule changes, or is he just interested in kicking between the uprights?
Bucs special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
answer: That’s a great question. The media had a chance to meet with new Bucs special teams coach Thomas McGaughey on Monday, and while I expect him to be a better special teams coach than Keith Armstrong, I didn’t think he was very good at his job.
Tampa Bay has a great kicker in Chase McLaughlin and a great young punter in Jake Camarda, but special teams coaches have little involvement in coaching the kickers or punters, leaving them alone to hone their skills. Often left behind. The Bucs coverage team has been good under Armstrong’s watch over the past few years, but the returning unit has been below average. The Bucs failed to return a punt or kickoff touchdown during Armstrong’s five-year tenure, but that has to change.
New Kickoff Rules give you the opportunity to quickly discover ways to excel with Kickoff Rules, whether it’s improving field position or scoring the occasional kick return touchdown, to quickly understand how you can gain an advantage on game day. Masu. That hasn’t happened in Tampa Bay in more than a decade, since Michael Spurlock returned his second kickoff as a Buccaneer for a touchdown in 2010.
My hope is that McGaughey is an imaginative coach who can take Tampa Bay’s kick and punt return units to the next level and make them a real threat. He said he is both aggressive and conservative. I’d also like to see Camarda, one of the most athletic punters in the league, get used on a fake and regain momentum on fourth down. I like offensive special teams coaches, and you’ll quickly see how offensive McGaughey is.
Question: Who are the sleeper undrafted free agents who will not only add to the team but make an impact this season?
answer: What I did recently Pewter Pulse videos on the Pewter ReportTV YouTube channel On how Florida State inside linebacker Karen DeLoach could be a steal for the Bucs as an undrafted free agent. So he would be my sleeper pick. Tampa Bay’s last two draft classes have produced eight starters, and the Bucs are a young team overall, so it will be difficult for undrafted free agents to make the 53-man roster this year.
However, given the fact that the Bucs did not draft an inside linebacker this year, and given that Lavonte David and KJ Britt are under contract, there could be some upheaval at linebacker in 2025. be. DeLoach is on the smaller side at 5-foot-11.21. He needs to gain 5-10 pounds to be more effective and hold defense, especially in run support. But he’s plenty fast with a 4.47 speed and is a pretty good blitzer, as evidenced by his seven sacks for the Seminoles last year.
With David and Britt scheduled to start at linebacker this year, and Sarvosia Dennis and JJ Russell on reserve with some experience, finding a spot on defense will be an uphill battle for DeLoach. It will be. However, with his physical style of play and speed, he should be able to make an impact on special teams.
If he carves out a kicking and punting role as a rookie and uses his special teams prowess to force the Bucs to keep five inside linebackers or beat out Russell or Dennis for the fourth linebacker spot on the depth chart. If DeLoach can be acquired, he has a chance. He plans to stay around Tampa Bay for a while. With his ability to tackle, blitz, and cover, DeLoach is a Todd Bowles-type linebacker.
