TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to fill multiple needs this spring in free agency and in the draft last month, but there are two positions that remain up in the air after player departures.
The Bucs did not address outside cornerback despite trading away Carlton Davis III for a third-round draft pick. They also didn't bring in an inside linebacker despite letting former Pro Bowler and fifth overall pick Devin White sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, raising questions about both positions in coach Todd Bowles' defense.
It should be noted that it's nearly impossible to address every need in a single draft or free agency period, and teams that try to force it often find themselves overdrafting or selecting a group of players they may like but don't love, or getting players who aren't a true cultural fit, which the Bucs place a huge emphasis on. As assistant general manager John Spytek put it, "You can't fix everything in the draft."
However, they feel that they've found a successor to center Ryan Jensen with first-round pick Graham Barton. To fill the void left by Shaquil Barrett's departure, they signed Randy Gregory and drafted Alabama edge rusher Chris Braswell with the 57th overall pick. They drafted a potential successor to wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in Jalen McMillan. They'll have a competition brewing at the left guard position with Sua Opeta, Ben Bredeson and Elijah Klein, and they upgraded the safety spot in bringing back Jordan Whitehead.
These are things the Bucs see as a good problem.
"We have a belief and a confidence in the guys that are in that locker room right now that they can play at the level we need them to play at to be successful," Spytek said.
Here's a closer look at the two positions they didn't directly address this offseason and why:
Drafting safety Tykee Smith vs. an outside cornerback
The Bucs took Smith, a safety out of Georgia. and plan to use him at nickelback. The organization had already signed Tavierre Thomas during free agency and still has Christian Izien, who started there as an undrafted free agent rookie last season.
By all accounts, Smith was a terrific player in college and has the ball skills and physicality that Bowles covets. It's no shock that he ended up in Tampa given that he was one of Bowles' favorites in this draft class. But some have argued that there may have been more of a pressing need at that outside corner position. There was some talent of value still available, but with varying degrees of actual fit.
In taking a look at several players who were available when the Bucs selected Smith and even after -- Elijah Jones was selected one spot after Smith at No. 90 overall to the Arizona Cardinals. He had seven interceptions in the last 20 games at Boston College, surrendering a 38% completion rate, he's 6-foot-2 and ran a 4.40 40-yard dash with a 42.5-inch vertical. The Bucs also met with Florida State's Jarrian Jones (No. 96, Jacksonville Jaguars), Oregon's Khyree Jackson (No. 108, Minnesota Vikings) and Iowa State's T.J. Tampa (No. 130, Baltimore Ravens).
But what if there was a player with 13 interceptions in 56 games, with 54 pass breakups, six forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks, 10 tackles for a loss and 205 combined tackles (147 solo) who ran a 4.33 at 6-2 and 199 pounds?
That was Zyon McCollum's stats coming out of Sam Houston State when the Bucs selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. McCollum has yet to record his first career interception in the NFL, but the Bucs feel he can step into that starting job after filling in several times last season.
"Zyon put his hands on some balls," cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross said. "He filled in nicely. He showed that he can play on this level, expect him to take the next step. Consistency is the big thing and not giving up any crazy plays."
Spytek and the Bucs are hoping that McCollum can "settle into" the role of outside corner, and he's part of the reason they drafted the way that they did.
"We're obviously super excited about Zyon," Spytek said. "He did a lot of really good things last year. His size, his athleticism, his intelligence, his willingness to work and be a good player is something that stood out to us and I thought he played really good football last year. And we asked him to do a lot of different things."
The team also has high expectations for Bryce Hall, whom they signed from the New York Jets as a free agent. They'd been looking at him for a long time and he was a personal favorite of director of player personnel Rob McCartney, believing he'd simply been buried on the depth chart behind Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed.
"Bryce Hall's a legit starter I think in this league," Ross said. "Prepares well, very focused and knows what he's doing, knows where his help is."
And they plan to move Josh Hayes, who led the NFL in special teams tackles as a gunner, to the outside after he jumped around last season at nickelback. The belief is that outside is his home though because he's big, he can run, he can tackle and because of his toughness.
"He's got good hands," Ross said. "He just needs experience on the job. That corner spot, it's tough. We do more things with our corners than anybody else in the league. They could be playing a Cover 2, they could be playing [Cover] 3. They can play the curl, flats, man to man. Those guys do it all."
Bowles views several positions on defense as chess pieces, and if Smith is playing one of them, it can create a lot more flexibility.
Is K.J. Britt the starter at inside linebacker next to Lavonte David?
Regarding inside linebacker -- the Bucs finished out the season using Britt on base downs and White in nickel passing situations. While Britt doesn't move quite the way White does, he was rarely out of position and didn't give up touchdowns.
"He's a serious dude," inside linebackers/passing game coordinator Larry Foote said of Britt. "He's physical, he's kind of a throwback, downhill linebacker, got great instincts, knows how to find the ball.
"He loves ball, he's serious, every day he's early to the meetings. He does a good job studying, knowing the line adjustments, the stunts, he communicates. You ask D-linemen -- they like that, it helps them play faster. He's a true pro, just thinking about K.J. he's a pro, he loves football."
But they believe Britt needs to show more in pass coverage to be an every down linebacker.
"Well, anytime you are a MIKE linebacker, you're more physical," Foote said, "You're better going forward and what his job is going to be is prove to Todd, 'I can be on the field all three downs.' The height, weight, measurements and all that stuff thrown out the window. Can you do it?"
They could have a platoon system again, but with 2023 fifth-round pick SirVocea Dennis. Coming out of Pitt, Dennis was known more for rushing the quarterback. He had seven sacks as a rookie, and the Bucs hope that some of the interceptions he was able to generate during practices can translate to game day.
"He's more athletic like a Lavonte David," Foote said of Dennis. "He's cerebral in the pass game. He does a good job with the study. He was a great blitzer in college. He does have a knack at rushing the passer, but it's just competition time. Going into Year 2 is always a big jump. Last year his head was spinning. He did start a game for us and he played well. He just got to keep taking that leap and got to prove to the coaching staff that you want to play."
There's also J.J. Russell, an undrafted free agent out of Memphis who saw action in eight games and had a sack in his lone start against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13. He also had an interception, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and 11 combined tackles in the preseason. He could be in the mix in that competition as well.
"If you're in this room, every day you go out there you audition for time," Foote said. "He stepped up for us big time last year. I don't know if you remember but K.J. got hurt early and we had to throw a DB [Ryan Neal] in there [versus Carolina]. [J.J.] did a good job communicating, and that's what you want."