Tykee Smith Wants To Be More Vocal
April 22nd, 2026
Hopes to fill leadership void left by Lavonte David’s retirement.
You can tell the flow of NFL news dwindles in the days before the draft and a couple of weeks before Bucs players hit the practice fields for the second phase of OTAs,
How so? Because cackling about leaders is a big talking point.
Just this past season, watching the Bucs defense fold and quit just reinforced even more for Joe that “leaders” is such empty rhetoric.
(That’s exactly what Jack Ham called chatter about leaders, “empty rhetoric.”)
But here we are. Bucs safety Tykee Smith is not just a good dude, but a strong player. He’s the kind of guy who is a backbone of the Bucs defense.
He didn’t quit last year. Smith, Joe was told, had such a messed-up shoulder that in the final weeks of the season, he couldn’t raise one of his arms above his shoulder he was so hurt.
Imagine playing safety when you can’t raise your arm above your shoulder? That’s gutting it out. Joe wishes more of Smith’s defensive teammates played with that sort of heart and desire.
So with the departure of Lavonte David, the chatter was this week at One Buc Palace who is going to step up and be a leader? (This is also known as bad sports talk radio.)
Smith said he needs to be seen and heard more.
“Definitely looking to step up more with losing Lavonte,” Smith said. “Just going into my third year, trying to become more of a voice on the team.
“I think my leadership style would be more vocal than [Antoine Winfield. “I think we both have two different approaches how we say it.”
Smith said there is no doubt David will be missed. David sort of adopted Smith as a rookie and Smith noted he learned so much from David.
“Since I got here, I think he played a big part in my success that I had early on,” Smith said. “I think the biggest thing I learned was how to be a pro [and] how to go about it day-to-day.
“Watching him and how he handled everything, how he prepared for the game. … I feel like there would be sometimes he knew what play was about to come before it happens.
“Him taking me under [his] wing was a real blessing my first two years.”
Bucs coach Todd Bowles loves Tykee Smith — loves how he hustles, how smart he is, how he has the heart of a lion.
Smith is a player Joe doesn’t think anyone has to worry about.
April 22nd, 2026 at 1:45 am
Like Tykee as a Buc. Don’t trust him to last as a player. Most top safeties are in the 205+ range. The team has used smaller players with good results in the short term but neither Winfield nor Smith have proved to be durable.
The best ability is availability. We can admire the courage but have to question the durability of our undersized safeties.
April 22nd, 2026 at 1:56 am
I don’t worry about Smith being a valuable part of the Bucs’ defense but I am worried about Bowles’ use of his talents and ability to be realistic about his limitations. He was just a body out there at safety compared to all the great things he did from the slot in 2024.
I was too busy to join the chorus of ridicule at Ben Solak calling him and Winfield Jr. one of the best tandems in the NFL the other day. Smith after his DROY sparks of buzz garnering rookie campaign and AWJ the $21 million dollar man looked great on paper but anyone who watched them on the field saw they were a pair of pants-pooping, pooch-screwing busters along with the rest of their teammates. It’s not just the coverage busts. Smith’s elite run defense ability from the slot in 2024 did not translate to his play at safety. RBs and QBs gashed the Bucs for long run after long run regularly in a way we haven’t seen in a long, long time. I can’t not lay that at the feet of these safeties. The ILB play wasn’t solely responsible for the collapse. How much more does Winfield need to be paid to be a leader who is in position and gets loud when the others in front of him aren’t?
Bowles of course has his accountability for the despondent amoeba he deployed so disastrously but Tykee Smith will be louder with two arms so it’s going to be better? I’d love it if everyone who played defense for the Bucs in 2025 would shut the eff up until the Week 1 post game presser. Coaches and players are grievously misoverestimating their abilities and making too many excuses for themselves and one another. I want these busters who ran Mike Evans out of town to show me something on the field.
Get loud? How about get long? How about get fluid? How about get some range? How about a move back to the slot where he belongs?
April 22nd, 2026 at 2:45 am
Hopefully it’s somebody else being vocal on the field. I hope he’s not talking about becoming more vocal as in pooping or something.💩
April 22nd, 2026 at 2:47 am
They can always have Chris Braswell become the vocal leader of the D.🤦💩
April 22nd, 2026 at 5:43 am
What is it with the Bucs players playing hurt? Do they not know they are hurting the team overall?
April 22nd, 2026 at 6:39 am
He’s the same weight as LVD.
He moves like a LB.
He’s not the fastest guy on the field.
He needs to be cross trained at MLB and moneybacker.
We need a MLB who can cover.
I hope we move him to LB on 3rd down so we can get off the field!
April 22nd, 2026 at 6:45 am
Yeah, Tykee had a pretty high missed tackle number last year. That arm was probably a big reason why.
April 22nd, 2026 at 7:19 am
I don’t see anyone being vocal and communicating on this team, from the head coach on down. Bowles wears a headset but never says anything – to other coaches or players. In the huddle, nobody is talking except for the play call. On the sidelines the players just sit, staring into space. No communication, no energy. The only vocal guy on this team is Baker, he’s talking to his teammates on the sideline.
April 22nd, 2026 at 7:20 am
Teacherman. I don’t know much. But I know Tykee is not nearly as tall or as heavy as Lavonte. He’s a good football player though.
April 22nd, 2026 at 7:22 am
I want Little Tyke to simply make more tackles.
April 22nd, 2026 at 8:23 am
Tykee Smith 5′ 10″ and 202 lbs
Lavonte David 6′ 1″ and 233 lbs
Lavonge is slightly below average sized for LB, Tyler is on the lower end of normal, being pretty solidly built for his height.
Prototypical NFL linebacker size generally ranges from 6’2″–6’4″ and 235–250 lbs, while safety prototypes are typically 5’11″–6’3″ and 190–220 lbs
April 22nd, 2026 at 8:23 am
Tyler (LOL) = Tykee
April 22nd, 2026 at 8:36 am
I find it hard to believe if Smith was so hurt that he could not raise his arm above his head, why was he playing at all. And being that injured, there wasn’t a backup player on the team capable of replacing him is an indictment of how poorly the coaches and management developed this team.
Corporations would fire that kind of incompetency from their president to managers. Wake up Jason Licht and take control. In the business world, good organizations would never allow this incompetency to exist.
April 22nd, 2026 at 9:20 am
Hammer. Skull. Beat repeatedly.
April 22nd, 2026 at 9:23 am
Blah blah blah
No one wants to hear all of these excuses
CJ Allen played against Georgia Tech 13 days after a meniscus surgery
Athletes often plays nicked up
April 22nd, 2026 at 1:07 pm
I think the new leader will be a rookie that would trade back in the draft for… ILB Jacob Rodriguez. I have a strong Hunch that Licht and crew are very enamored with him.
April 22nd, 2026 at 2:31 pm
HIRE A DEFENSIVE CORDINATOR PLEASE. CHANGE TO A MORE AGGRESSIVE SCHEME!! Draft any GEORGIA DEFENDER YOU CAN GET CJ ALLEN. Kirby has them NFL READY!!!! Philly Knows!!