One of the Buccaneers’ most pleasant surprises last year was the emergence of undrafted defensive back Christian Idieng. Idieng quickly emerged from camp and was named the team’s starting nickelback, a role he held throughout the season. He played the role well, but it seemed like he was quickly written off the team heading into 2024.
The free agent signings of Jordan Whitehead and Tavierre Thomas and the third-round draft selection of Tykee Smith made Izien’s path to playing time less clear.
What is the most realistic path for him to get on the field, and will he be the team’s most versatile defensive back this season?
Tykee Smith is Christian Izien’s main rival in the Buccaneers’ secondary.
It’s fair to say Christian Izien has exceeded expectations in 2023. With star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. moving back to free safety, the Buccaneers are lacking a true nickelback, which was a big hole going into training camp last season.
Buccaneers NCB Christian Izien – Photo Credit: USA Today
Izien was the standout player who earned the starting slot spot, appearing in all 17 games last season and being an unsung contributor out of Rutgers University. He recorded 65 total tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble and looked unfazed when immediately thrown into the fire.
He couldn’t have had a better start to his NFL career, with both interceptions coming in the first two games of last season, the first of which came in Week 1 when he ripped the ball out of KJ Osborne’s hands on the goal line on a key play before halftime.
Midway through the season, Izien hit some rookie wall, but he still played a tough position and played at least 35% of the team’s defensive snaps every week of the season. At the end of the season, he spoke about how tough it was to play the position:
“In the real world, I don’t think people understand how complicated and difficult it is to play slot corner,” Izien said at the time. “There’s so much space to cover and I consider myself the toughest job on defense. I understand that and I’m honing my craft because I know how valuable my position is.”
X handle “Chris Craft” It’s fair to say his focus right now is carving out a role for himself on the Buccaneers’ defense in 2024. But where is that?
Buccaneers DB Tykee Smith – Photo: Cliff Welch/PR
Looking at the depth, it will likely be a battle between Izien and rookie Tykee Smith for the nickelback spot. Tampa Bay values Smith’s ability, and with both starting safety positions secured, the way to get him on the field is in the slot, where his 4.46 speed and 5-foot-10, 205-pound frame give him the range and strength to produce at the high end.
That’s exactly what he did last season at Georgia, recording 70 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, six pass deflections, a team-high four interceptions and two sacks in 14 games.
“It was a big win for us,” safeties coach Nick Rapone said. At the beginning of this season The plan is to cross-train Smith at nickel and safety, but from a personnel standpoint, plugging and playing him as a slot corner makes the most sense.
That would mean less playing time for Izien, and less time in the spot where he got the most playing time by far last season.
603 Snap to Slot
54 snaps in a box
30 snaps at cornerback
Played seven times as a free safety
How will Christian Izien factor into the Buccaneers defense if he’s not in the slot?
In February, Christian Izien’s offseason goals He continued to evolve as a playmaker and was supposed to be the best slot corner in the game, but now he has competition to prove his worth.
Buccaneers DBs Ryan Neal and Christian Izien – Photo courtesy of USA Today
If Idienne doesn’t play in the slot, there will be a battle for playing time to receive snaps at safety or cornerback, but that may not happen unless there are injuries in the secondary, or as Nick Rapone likes to say, “someone breaks a fingernail.”
At 5-foot-8, he’s too small to regularly play the outside corner role, but his 4.41 speed and 41.5-inch vertical leap could help him fill that role in a pinch, and his ability to tackle and be nasty off the line of scrimmage could be an asset to him.
Another creative idea to get him on the field would be an occasional cameo in the box as an inside linebacker: In a world where Antoine Winfield Jr., Jordan Whitehead, Tykee Smith, Jamel Dean and Zion McCollum are all on the field, it would be an intriguing idea to slot Izien in next to Lavonte David on passing downs and get him involved as well.
He was the team’s highest-graded run defense (80.3) by Pro Football Focus last season, and Todd Bowles played his best last season when filling in for Ryan Neal at inside linebacker against the Panthers.
Regardless of how things turn out, Christian Izien Intention He will play a role on the Buccaneers defense in 2024.
His ability to play nickel, both safeties, cornerback and even in the box as a linebacker is a testament to his versatility. how He carves out his own role, looks over the field, but is one of those players who stays focused on not getting lost in the shuffle.
