How The Bucs Got Steals
May 3rd, 2026
Tweener can play.
Why does a prospect drop in the draft? Often it’s a simple, blown-out-of-proportion issue.
Teams find a flaw that general managers cannot justify ignoring if the guy doesn’t pan out. And then the general manager has to explain to the owner of the team, why the general manager chose to throw away tens of millions of the owner’s cash while willfully ignoring the red flag.
As Joe likes to say, it’s awfully easy to watch the draft on TV and kill a suit for not taking a chance on a guy with a red flag. No hair off fans’ arses if the guy doesn’t pan out.
But it is that very reason why the Bucs stole a pair of Hurricanes this past draft.
For Ruben Bain, yeah, it’s the short arms. Joe is exhausted about this short-arm nonsense. If a guy can play, he can play. Joe doesn’t care if the dude has a baby arm, six toes, a tiny hand or has a unit the size of a house key.
Chad Reuter of NFL.com typed the Bucs took advantage of tiny red flags with Keionte Scott and Bain. And the NFL may pay for those overreactions for years.
Tampa Bay was giddy to find Bain still waiting in the green room in the middle of the first round. He should be one of the top defenders in the draft class, wreaking havoc inside and outside in the Buccaneers’ defensive system. …
Scott’s inability to fit every team’s scheme might have cost him draft position, but Tampa Bay could use the versatile defender at nickel or safety, or as a physical outside corner.
Reuter’s take on Scott is interesting. That Scott is such a tweener that, along with his age, scared teams off. Joe isn’t so sure about the tweener thing. OK, yeah, Joe can see how that could turn some teams off. But tweeners have been drafted high before,
Linebacker Isaiah Simmons was a tweener coming out of Clemson in 2020. He had a couple of good years in Arizona, had over 100 tackles his second season. But he’s fallen off ever since.
(Shoot, Derrick Brooks was thought by some in the 1995 draft to be a tweener. He turned out OK.)
Joe thinks what hurt Scott is that he’s not a fantastic pass defender, which usually you have to be to play defensive back. But Bucs coach Todd Bowles wants to use Scott where he excels: blitzing and defending the run.
It’s good that Bowles wants to use Scott to his strengths. Joe prays Bowles has the same epiphany with Bain.
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:18 am
lol Joe we’re all praying for that.
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:30 am
It’s hard to understand why some players slide during the draft
I thought Harold Perkins Jr was a top linebacker
He slid all the way to the 6th round
Todd Bowles knows how to use Bain, Trotter, Scott
They had a plan when they drafted them
The 3 of them played in the exact same defense in college
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:34 am
Again, with even average coaching, these dudes would shine.
But at One Buc Place, they’ll be taught the art of not knowing which variant of the two options they need to read exactly like all the other guys on defense, and then take the cube root and go to the yard line the result says.
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:53 am
I guess they were planning on taking Jackson from FSU before the Jets took him. Would rather have him over Capehart.
May 3rd, 2026 at 2:01 am
Not sure why Joe brings “unit size” into a draft eval post, but you do you brother lol.
May 3rd, 2026 at 2:03 am
Would hate to be in the room when you’re doing those combine interviews lol.
May 3rd, 2026 at 3:45 am
I’d be more surprised to see Bain go up in coverage than I would be to see Bowles playing him as a DE and less as an outside linebacker. But I don’t care what they call it, just let him get after the QB.
May 3rd, 2026 at 5:24 am
I think Tez Johnson should take Jersey #1 and give Bain #15.
The number he was taken in the draft.
Forever a reminder to his inner middle finger and opponents.
Thoughts?
May 3rd, 2026 at 5:59 am
Variations of this theme happen every year. Ala Sapp and Brooks. I’m not going to lie
Look a gift horse in the mouth.
May 3rd, 2026 at 6:51 am
We will have a better understanding on how well Scott can improve in booth camp with the Bucs coaches. It’ll be a test for both the coaches and Scott. I’m betting on the Bucs made a good draft selection. He’s a rookie so there’ll be a learning curve. His ability to rush as a corner must have Todd Bowles excited. As fans we need to have faith in the coaches and Scott. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
May 3rd, 2026 at 7:33 am
It will be interesting to see if Bowles has learned anything, because he is out of bullets as this season is the last round in his chamber.
May 3rd, 2026 at 7:35 am
Alright, who was it going be Jason? If Bain wasnt there and the other 5 that went before us.
Was it going to be a reach, a trade down, or was he already taken?
The way this draft played out, its ok to say because we knocked it out of the park with Bain. Me? I think it was Ioane. But if both were still there, BAIN all day!
May 3rd, 2026 at 7:42 am
Is Bain essentially replacing Logan Hall or someone else?
May 3rd, 2026 at 7:51 am
Bain is replacing JTS and Hall plus a missing force of pass rush. Todds going to have to work it out. Walker is hopefully healthy….thats our Hall. Kancey, if he stays healthy will be better utilized outside to minimize injuries. Kancey (if healthy) on one side, Bain/Yaya on the weak side
May 3rd, 2026 at 7:53 am
Rotations….we have rotations, thats what matters. Capeheart will find a way to nose.
May 3rd, 2026 at 8:05 am
“Joe thinks what hurt Scott is that he’s not a fantastic pass defender, which usually you have to be to play defensive back in the league“
To this point Scott is not the best playing boundary corner, BUT he can cover and more importantly he does a lot of other things well. There was no CB as physical in terms of tackling or as decorated in terms of getting into the backfield or playing the run as Scott. What he is, is an extension of the front 7 rostered as a defensive back.
Scott’s presence on the roster makes it so we don’t have to gift Benjamin Morrison a starting spot, in fact it frees up Parrish who also played on the boundary as a rookie to push Morrison & McCollum. No matter how that shakes out, it gives us the ability to play the match up game at NB and CB on a gameplan to gameplan basis. I’m all for giving Morrison a chance to start, but not without a fight.
May 3rd, 2026 at 8:09 am
Yeah, the short arms thing is exhausting, but it will continue to be until Bain proves it is not. And he will.
May 3rd, 2026 at 8:52 am
“It’s good that Bowles wants to use Scott to his strengths. Joe prays Bowles has the same epiphany with Bain.” Scott surely hasn’t won our nickel job, Joe. Parrish is a tough nickel , and Tykee is, too. And Winfield probably is a better nickel than safety. And McCollum and Morrison are going into camp as our starting corners. I fully believe Bain and Scott are both going to be on the field alot. And their chemistry and attitude will reflect on our upgraded defense. I’m just not sure how the secondary is gonna be used this year. It’s a good thing having a guy can play anywhere. And Bowles has 3 or 4 guys that can legitimately play anywhere in the defensive backfield. Heck, those guys can fill as pretty tough linebackers. Attitude. And Talent. That’s all our defense needed a little more of.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:28 am
I want Scott to attack RBs everywhere – running the ball or catching it. The Bucs need a pass rush that doesn’t depend on blitzing. If Scott is blitzing, then you know Bowles will drop an edge in coverage! F&*k that – we don’t want Bain and AQM in coverage.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:40 am
We need to run a 4-2-5 defense
And Keionte Scott can play Rover
May 3rd, 2026 at 10:11 am
Scott falling to us in the 4th round was a huge surprise. I was waiting for him to get picked starting in the second round. When we picked Hurst in the third round I said to myself, “no way we are getting Scott now.” Thankfully I was wrong. We drafted 4 immediate contributors to our team in this draft. Well done by the Bucs front office.
May 3rd, 2026 at 10:42 am
@MADMAX
I’ve heard from multiple sources that they were all set on taking the other Miami Hurricane Edge rusher and Bains partner in crime in Ahkeem Mesidor which obviously benefited highly from playing opposite of Bain who commanded all the attention and drew a lot of double teams so it’s hard not to think how much of his success came from all that. we will soon see.
May 3rd, 2026 at 10:48 am
Lakeland … ‘We need to run a 4-2-5 defense’.
One of the things that I like about Todd’s version of the 3-4 is that it’s almost impossible for an offense to tell what’s REALLY coming. The Bucs MIGHT be rushing 3, or 4 … or more. We MIGHT be blitzing or we might be faking blitz.
I’m convinced Lakeland that the biggest problem we’ve faced since 2021 when Suh wasn’t re-signed is that our interior DLine has been too light, and thus our interior pass rush hasn’t been all that effective. That’s also directly impacted the effectiveness of our OLB pass rushes AND our blitzes IMO.
Look at our blitzing versus sacks & pressures since 2021:
o 2021: 526 blitzes – 47 sacks – 224 pressures – #5 ranking
o 2022: 249 blitzes – 44 sacks – 144 pressures -#13 ranking
o 2023: 341 blitzes – 47 sacks – 136 pressures – #7 ranking
o 2024: 461 blitzes – 46 sacks – 174 pressures -#16 ranking
o 2025: 276 blitzes – 37 sacks – 132 pressures -#20 ranking
Appears to me that with a ‘beefy’ interior DLine in 2021 (Vea, Suh, RNR mostly), Bowles blitzed a ton & it paid off with 224 pressures. But the next year (when Suh & JPP left) Todd blitzed less than half as much & the pressures fell way off.
2023 was an anomaly IMO and I still can’t figure out why. Opponents ran against us MORE than they did in any other year Bowles was our DC … and they paid for it. Bucs gave up the fewest pts (325) of any year since 2008. Todd blitzed considerably MORE than he did in 2022, but achieved FEWER pressures. Strange year to say the least.
These last 2 years were exactly what I’d expect from a defense that had an ineffective pass rush and that was racked with injuries. Blitzed a ton (461) in 2024; our pressures came up some (174) but were still way down compared to 2021 (224) when we also blitzed a lot. Todd blitzed a LOT LESS in 2025, but the results were even more abysmal (37 sacks with only 132 pressures). Apparently, NOTHING worked as it was supposed to.
Based on the defensive restructuring we’ve undergone this off-season, I’m willing to predict that we’ll see a considerably different Bucs’ defense, one that more resembles what Bowles strived for in 2019-2021 when we had a more robust DLine. We’ll see a LOT more 4-5 man fronts & rushes, consisting of 3 DLinemen & 1 or 2 OLBs attacking (he’ll still use 1 OLB in Pass Defense periodically, effectively turning the formation into a 4-3-4, with one of our OLBs serving as a DE). As an example, could easily see that formation consisting of Vea & Robinson inside, with Kancey & Bain or Diaby outside (effectively rushing as DEs).
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:06 am
Joe … ‘But Bucs coach Todd Bowles wants to use Scott where he excels: blitzing and defending the run.’
That’s a very situational role for any Secondary player, but a very common role for a Linebacker on Todd’s hybrid 3-4 defense. Question is: ‘Can Scott (5’11” & 193 lbs) be used as a 3rd ILB in sufficient situations to make that role worth it?’
The answer to that question when we had Deone Bucannon (6’1″ & 211 lbs) on the roster (2019-2020) filling a similar role was NO. He only got 8 def snaps in 2019, then had ZERO snaps in 2020, even though he was on the roster.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:10 am
I Defense Rules, l agree with you
I’m saying we have the personnel to run multiple defenses
4-2-5, 2-4-5, 3-3-5, etc
We can shift from a 4-2-5 to 3-3-5 without substitution
We can make the same shift from 2-4-5 to 4-2- 5
Or 3-3-5 to 4-2-5 without substitution
We can throw many defenses at the offense
And they all can be effective
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:32 am
This “steal” talk confuses me ..If a player is passed up 10 times at least.I would think he ” fell into your lap” sort of speak..A ” steal” to me is trading down and “stealing” The pick before another team wants that pick..Its like a player that “inks” a deal the rhetoric is dumb…
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:43 am
And …”Punching their ticket to the playoffs ” that’s dumb too…
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:49 am
There’s no steals in a NFL draft
Teams passed them up because they didn’t want them
They liked another player more, and that’s the player they drafted
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:00 pm
Doug Flutie rings a bell….
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:03 pm
“I’m saying we have the personnel to run multiple defenses
4-2-5, 2-4-5, 3-3-5, etc
We can shift from a 4-2-5 to 3-3-5 without substitution
We can make the same shift from 2-4-5 to 4-2- 5
Or 3-3-5 to 4-2-5 without substitution“
Bingo. Though, I think situationally the substitutions will come on to come play and it’s justified based on guys proving they can be relied upon.
All in all, Scott included we’ve got a really good mix of youth and veteran experience in our front 7. Now is the time to start figuring out who’s the best fit for the job, whether it be our best 6-7 early down guys. Then transitioning to our best 6-8 players who can reliably apply pressure in pass situations. We can get back to being stout in the redzone.
Even if we’re talking depth guys, it’s not like we don’t need new looks on all phases of special teams either. That’s where pairing guys like Roberts & Capehart with Nacho & Robinson, get those paws up and give US some big game changing special teams plays rather than having them made on us.
Scott too, get him out there as a gunner in those return lanes, with that kids energy his first big hit as a Buc is going to be crazy.
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:22 pm
Lakeland … ‘We can throw many defenses at the offense
And they all can be effective’.
And THAT’s the beauty of having a more robust, beefier & nastier interior DLine. If the opposing OLine has to use double-teams to keep your DLine off their QB, YOU end up with a numbers’ advantage. And far as I’m concerned, any time that happens either a lane opens up (for blitzing) or the pass rush causes the QB to move (and that helps the outside pass rushers). It’s a numbers’ game, but it’s a numbers’ game based on TALENT.
Guys like Vea & Suh mandate double-teams in certain situations, and when that happens, we get a numbers’ advantage. And if the opposition chooses NOT to double-team, guys like Vea & Suh are talented enough to take full advantage.
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:29 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch … ‘Bingo. Though, I think situationally the substitutions will come on to come play and it’s justified based on guys proving they can be relied upon.’
Agree WBL, but that gets me wondering WHO on the Bucs is identifying the personnel for the various formations & packages. Is Todd calling for certain packages when he calls the play that includes players by name, or is he letting Foote & Edwards identify the personnel to take the field to fill whatever tactical formation Todd called? Man it’d be fun to be a fly on the wall in some of their meetings.
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:30 pm
It’ll be interesting to see where the play Scott. Does he just plug in at nickel and pass cover better than we hoped? Does he play more like an old school in the box safety in some packages? Does he sometimes play linebacker in obvious passing situations?
May 3rd, 2026 at 1:08 pm
“Agree WBL, but that gets me wondering WHO on the Bucs is identifying the personnel for the various formations & package“
Likely a consensus amongst Coaches Bowles, Foote, & Edwards. I wouldn’t discount the involvement of Edwards & Foote being people Bowles leans on in terms of taking out carry over talent along with the guys we’ve added thus far, and figuring who fits with whomever else best.
That’s something I’m quietly excited about is our potential personnel combinations and how this staff has the rest of the summer in its’ entirety to start molding these guys into a functioning unit. We’re still a long ways off from the first real test, but we’ve got some guys that can work several different positions. With that also comes with more variations to play with in terms of our best front four.
You may not want Robinson/Capehart in on more advantageous pass rush scenarios. 2nd and medium, sure, could be a run but if I can swap either 4 AQM on 2nd >10, because he gives more immediate push off the ball. Those guys on the defensive staff have plenty of work to do.
May 3rd, 2026 at 1:17 pm
They’re only steals if they pan out to be better value in the round or position in the round where they were taken. Bain an Scott both fell considerably from what the consensus rankings had projected. We’ll soon see if they were steals or not. Hopefully, we rolled some 7s this year to make up for the snake-eyes of JTS, Hall and Brasswell among others that have held back the defense.
May 3rd, 2026 at 8:17 pm
DR, we needed some quality LBers, too. We get any?
May 4th, 2026 at 1:16 am
So bowles drafts a corner to stop the run…..and has our edge rushers covering the pass…..and you guys wonder why the fans want him gone…..cant imagine why
May 4th, 2026 at 7:19 am
people keep talking about STEELS in the draft. there are no STEELS unless these kids outperform their draft ranking. every team got a STEEL when licht picked trotter over allen, hill, & golday. you need a fast cover linebacker, and you didn’t get one. trotter was pegged as late 3rd or early 4th rounder. how is that a STEEL?