John Romano: No more fixer-upper. Buccaneers go for a complete remodeling on defense.

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on May 14, 2026

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — The pass rush is always fierce in May. Linebackers are all Pro Bowl-bound in April.

That’s just the way it works in the NFL, where hope springs eternal while the scoreboard is unplugged.

And so it is around One Buc Place, where the defense has gotten an infusion of draft picks and out-of-warranty free agents in the past couple of months.

The front-office types see potential. They see passion. They see size, versatility and a dash of nastiness.

And what should you see?

A fresh start.

For now, that’s enough.

There may be a half-dozen familiar faces in the huddle come September, but, make no mistake, this is a new defense. New linemen, new linebackers, new defensive backs. All three levels of the defense will have a fresh look, and that’s an excellent start considering the way 2025 ended.

It wasn’t the most woeful defense we’ve ever seen in Tampa Bay, but it was the worst in quite some time. The Bucs gave up nearly 26 points per game in the final two months of the season while stumbling to a 2-7 finish.

Specifically, the Bucs had one of the worst pass defenses in the league. They couldn’t get pressure from the edge, and the linebackers couldn’t cover tight ends or slot receivers. Worst of all, none of that was surprising.

Since 2023, no NFL defense has given up more passing yards than Tampa Bay. If you’re the optimistic type, you could also point out that no defense has given up fewer yards on the ground than the Bucs during that time. But is that because the Bucs are great run-stoppers or because teams just know it’s easier to attack them through the air?

Considering how much revamping has gone on this offseason, the Bucs may have answered that question for you.

Essentially, they wanted to make opponents less comfortable — less confident — in passing situations.

With that in mind, they drafted Rueben Bain Jr. to be the edge rusher this team has lacked since Shaquil Barrett was in his prime. They signed linebacker Alex Anzalone to provide better pass coverage over the middle. They drafted Keionte Scott for the all-important nickel position.

Throw in interior linemen like free agent A’Shawn Robinson and fifth-round pick DeMonte Capehart, along with rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter and veteran linebackers Christian Rozeboom and Al-Quadin Muhammad, and you have the potential for a lot of new faces on Sunday afternoons.

Or, here’s another way of looking at it:

Of the 20 players with the most snaps on defense last season, 40% are no longer here, including Lavonte David, Jamel Dean, Logan Hall, Christian Izien and Haason Reddick. And SirVocea Dennis, who started 16 games at linebacker, will be hard-pressed to find regular playing time.

What the Bucs were looking for in the draft was production over potential. They cared more about what game tapes looked like instead of what the measurables suggested at the combine. For instance, neither Bain nor Trotter have elite 40 times, but both are exceptionally quick in short bursts, and that shows up on film.

And while Scott is undersized and older than the typical rookie — he’ll be 25 by the season opener — he excelled in almost every way imaginable at Miami. He had two interceptions, five sacks, 13 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

Does any of that guarantee a return to the glory days of defense in Tampa Bay?

Of course not.

The Bucs have drafted edge rushers (Chris Braswell and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka) who didn’t work out. They signed free agents (Reddick and Akiem Hicks) who turned out to be expensive busts. They’ve had a revolving door in the secondary with eight players chosen in the second or third round in the seven drafts from 2018-24.

At one point or another, all of those players had similar expectations to Bain, Trotter and Scott.

But there is one basic difference:

This offseason feels like an acknowledgment that something drastic was necessary. This is more like remodeling instead of adding a few accent pillows.

With 2025 draft picks Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison expected to compete for Dean’s outside corner position and Calijah Kancey hopeful of staying on the field after missing most of last season with a torn pectoral, the Bucs could look dramatically different.

Now, it’s true that new doesn’t automatically mean better.

But considering Tampa Bay’s pass defense the past few years, it’s hard to imagine it being any worse.

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