The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made it their mission this offseason, both in free agency and the NFL Draft, to overhaul Todd Bowles’ defensive unit and give him more talent to work wirh.
In free agency they signed five-time team captain Alex Anzalone to help bring steady play and leadership to the inside linebacker spot.
They signed pass rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, coming off an 11-sack season to bolster their pass rush rotation.
They signed massive defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson to add size and a mean streak to the defensive line.
The majority of resources during free agency were used on the defensive side of the ball, and that continued during the draft.
The Buccaneers spent four of their six draft picks on defense. They drafted Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round, a dominant pass rusher out of Miami.
In the second, they drafted Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter — a downhill, violent run defender.
They added cornerback Keionte Scott in the fourth, whose elite blitzing ability make him a dream scheme fit for Bowles’ defense. He led all cornerbacks in sacks and pressures last season.
They added developmental defensive tackle DeMonte Capehart out of Clemson in the fifth round, an athletic standout who will join a stacked rotation in Tampa Bay.
Todd Bowles’ seat just got even hotter after Buccaneers’ defense-focused offseason
Nobody comes out of this offseason a bigger winner than Todd Bowles. He was given everything he needed, with a major investment into an infusion of talent on defense.
Bowles will be thrilled to utilize his new chess pieces, but there will be pressure to perform immediately.
The Buccaneers had the 20th-ranked scoring defense last season and the 27th-ranked passing offense.
That bottom-dwelling unit isn’t going to cut it for a defensive head coach. His unit can’t be the Achilles heel holding the team back.
Nobody is expecting a top-five defense from Tampa Bay, but they’ll need to make quite the jump from last season.
The Bucs finished 8-9 in 2025, and Bowles might need to win 10 games and a playoff game for his job to be safe. The Buccaneers have been stuck in a loop of mediocrity, and Bowles is running out of time to show he’s the guy that can take them to their ambitious heights.
This defensive overhaul has given him everything he could ask for to succeed, and now it’s put up or shut up time in Tampa Bay.
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