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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense Preview
Defensive Ends
The veteran Robert Ayers Jr. and William Gholston held down this position all season last year and they return to a solid defensive end group with a few new additions as well. The main addition being Derek Barnett who was Tampa Bay's first round pick at 31st overall. The main issue with the defensive line last season was there wasn't enough speed to get after the quarterback but Barnett fills that void. He'll start the year as the #1 right end on the depth chart while William Gholston is at left end. Gholston is a crucial part to the Bucs' run defense and the front office knew that when they franchise tagged him. Robert Ayers Jr. and Noah Spence will both get plenty of time as well since Tampa likes to come out in a 4 DE formation on defense quite a bit. Ayers was second on the team in sacks last season with 6 and Noah Spence didn't make much of an impact at all in his rookie campaign. Spence recorded 1 tackle the entire year while backing up Ayers but look for the speed rusher to get a lot more action this year. Devin Taylor and Adrian Hubbard provide some solid depth at the position as well. Taylor was signed as a free agent and spent last season with Detroit while Hubbard was with Tampa Bay last season but didn't get much playing.
Defensive Tackles
This is another very strong position on the Tampa Bay defense. Gerald McCoy is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL and is always a threat to rush the passer while also being a force in stopping the run. McCoy led the Bucs in sacks last season with 9.5 while also racking up 59 tackles, 13 of which were for a loss. The man starting next to him in the 4-3 defense is first year Buccaneer Michael Brockers. The Bucs' front office wanted to field and even more impressive front 7 this year and Brockers does just that. The Rams let him test free agency and the Bucs jumped on the opportunity and locked him up for 3 years. McCoy and Brockers can both get after the quarterback and shut down the best or running backs. The Tampa Bay defense is a force to be reckoned with and their defensive line is a big reason why.
Linebackers
Kwon Alexander was an absolute stud last season. He led the team in tackles with 98, picked off opposing quarterbacks 3 times, forced 4 fumbles and recovered 4 fumbles as well. There was even a stretch of the season where he was in contention for DPOY. We went over how strong the Tampa Bay defensive line is and their linebackers are just as good. Lavonte David is one of the best outside linebackers in the league and pairs well with Alexander. The unknown starter in this core is Jeremiah George. George took over as the starter about halfway through the season last year when Daryl Smith went down with an injury against rival Atlanta. The former Iowa State Cyclone only racked up 23 tackles but he's impressed the coaching staff enough to where they're comfortable starting him and not looking for outside help this past offseason. They did add some depth to the linebackers though. Kentrell Brothers and Khairi Fort are both good, young players to backup Alexander in the middle. On the outside Matt Milano was drafted in the 5th round out of Boston College and Khaseem Greene, the former Rutgers Scarlet Knight, was brought in through free agency to add some depth. Greene and Milano got a ton of playing time in the preseason and earned their spots on the team. Either of them could step in and be serviceable.
Cornerbacks
The corners were the weakest point of the defense last season. Veteran starter Brent Grimes went down with a torn pectoral in week 1 so rookie Vernon Hargreaves III and Josh Robinson were thrusted into the spotlight and they both did solid jobs. Hargreaves only had 1 interception the whole year but had 62 tackles which was 5th on the team. Robinson was tested a lot and he held his ground all year. He had 5 interceptions and wrapped up 55 tackles. With that being said, the front office knew they had to add some more pieces in the offseason and they did just that. Marquez White was taken in the 3rd round out of Florida State and will be starting the year as the #2 corner opposite of his old college rival Hargreaves. Robinson is the nickel corner after signing an extension last year but undrafted rookie Chandler Stribling out of Michigan was extremely impressive in preseason and is looking like he could be a vital part to the defensive backs.
Safeties
Bradley "Scottish Thunder" McDougald had a breakout season last year. McDougald was 2nd on the team in tackles with 96 and tallied 7 interceptions which was highest on the team. He returns and will once again be a big part to the Tampa defense but the other starting safety from last year, Donte Whitner, was not brought back so they needed to bring in a replacement. Aaron Williams is that replacement. Williams was cut by the Buffalo Bills and with the Bucs needing a safety they went out and signed him to a 2 year deal. McDougald and Williams are both young defensive backs who could both be fixtures in Tampa Bay for quite a while. Keith Tandy was cut at the end of preseason last year but he's back to add some depth to the position. He's quick and very good in coverage so if needed he could step in and do just fine. Major Wright returns from last year's team and he's also fully capable of stepping in if needed. Wright isn't as good in coverage as the rest of the guys but he can lay down the hammer and can cover well enough to be serviceable. He's essentially a younger Donte Whitner.