The Tampa Bay Buccaneers used their second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to select Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter.
The linebacker spot has been a major weakness in Tampa Bay, so upgrading the position was a key priority this offseason.
Buccaneers draft pick Josiah Trotter gets compared to Devin White
Trevor Sikkema of the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast is one of the most knowledgeable evaluators when it comes to scouting draft prospects, and his comparison for Trotter will give Bucs fans some pause.
“Right now I kind of think he’s Devin White. Good athlete, powerful player. Basically just a downhill only guy,” said Simkema. “If you want a linebacker that is just strictly a downhill football player who you do not want to retreat and play coverage at all whatsoever, this is your guy. But there’s a reason why Devin White has bounced around the league a lot and that’s because teams kind of try to upgrade that position if you don’t give them coverage ability.”
From a scheme perspective, Bowles does want his Mike linebacker to be a downhill thumper and stop the run. The team signed Alex Anzalone in free agency who they’re hoping will provide good coverage.
But Anzalone will turn 32 this season, and he’s only on a two-year contract. Drafting a linebacker of the future that struggles so poorly in coverage is a puzzling move. They’ll really be counting on his ability to develop in that area, and he absolutely can, but the team simply can’t afford to have another liability in pass coverage.
Poor pass coverage from the linebacker spot has been the defense’s Achillies heel in recent seasons, and this pick doesn’t solve that. At least not this season.
A linebacker with elite coverage skills went just a few picks earlier to the Miami Dolphins in Jacob Rodriguez, and he was the apple of the Bucs fanbase’s eye. PFF ranked Rodriguez as the nation’s No. 1 linebacker in both pass coverage and run defense.
Rodriguez might not be as good of a scheme fit, but he was simply the better, more NFL-ready player. The team could’ve made a move to trade up just a few spots to secure Rodriguez, which couldn’t have been very costly, but they were content with adding Trotter, who they were very high on.
Hopefully, their belief in Trotter pays off in a big way, because it would be painful to watch Rodriguez take the league by storm and turn into a superstar in Miami while the Bucs deal with Devin White 2.0.
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