Todd Bowles Talks Rookie Speed, Says Keionte Scott Can Play Safety And Linebacker
May 3rd, 2026
Todd Bowles
Joe already shared that Bucs head coach Todd Bowles says rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain will play all across the defensive front.
As for fourth-round pick rookie cornerback Keionte Scott, Bowles was talking on SiriusXM NFL Radio like Scott will have all kinds of responsibilities.
“Well, I know he is a nickel, but I think he can play corner and safety as well,” Bowles said. “I was super excited to get him. I was extremely happy when he was sitting there for us. I think he is a heck of a football player.
“He plays some linebacker, some nickel, some safety, some corner. He can do quite a few things and he is one of the few guys where you say he runs a 4.3 [40-yard dash] and you can see it on the tape and on the film. He plays like that. And he is very physical, he is very heady, he is very fundamentally and technically sound. We think we got a heck of a football player, so we can’t wait to get him in there and see what else he can do.”
Man, Bowles has some big hopes, dreams and expectations for Scott. Joe gets that Scott played six years of college ball and will be 25 on opening day, but he’s still a rookie.
If he can master nickel and use his speed on special teams, Joe will be ecstatic.
May 3rd, 2026 at 8:41 am
I just hope he does not confuse the poor kid. Let him settle in at nickel. Moving guys around has not worked so well with others. We definately need him at nickel so Parrish can move to the outside hopefully replacing McColumn or Morrison.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:07 am
Let’s not use him on special teams. SVD can do that now that he’ll be riding the pine (IF he makes the team) I’m sure we are not done in FA and maybe add yet one more veteran ILB ( or after rosters are trimmed)
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:08 am
If Morrison finds his way this year ( it took Barber around year 3) and Parrish continues his upward trend and god willing Winfield plays like the stud we drafted, the secondary could be a real force this year with the addition of Scott! The now hopefully fierce pass rush will make them even better! Now the middle of the field is still the biggest concern, but even that group has been improved, Blows has no excuse if the defense as a whole craps the bed again, if so he will be let go…and rightfully so
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:16 am
Last year with SVD, RBs and TEs killed the Bucs. With Keionte and Anzalone, we have much better coverage guys.
Trotter and Roseboom could be a liability in coverage, and opponents will likely target them, just as SVD was attacked last year. Playing Trotter and Rosie on early downs will just lead to teams passing on early downs.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:17 am
I’m not sure if most people realize just how good this kid could be in this scheme. I’ve seen a lot of talk about Bain as potentially DROY. Well I think we have 2 legitimate candidates. Imagine this young fella goes out there and gets something like 5 Sacks, 3 INTs, A nice amount of TFLs and a few forced fumbles/recoveries.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:30 am
Yep! Got a Hybrid….I wanted that last year with Emmanwori! Then trade up in the 2nd to get Schwesinger…..Welcome aboard to what I saw that was needed a year ago
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:30 am
He’s not a Nickel back
He’s a Rover, there’s a huge difference between a Rover and Nickel
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:32 am
But seriously, everything falls into place, and we wouldnt have been picking 15th this year and Bain falling to us…..so its all good….ish played out properly.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:51 am
When I read about this pick right after it was made I was instantly wowed. He isn’t very big but he plays like a demon and he isn’t injury prone at all from what I can tell. Sub 4.33 speed. Sweet. 4th round? Gotta love it.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:52 am
If Bowles plays him in as many positions as his talents and athletic ability would allow, one has to wonder when the wear and tear on his body has Keionte Scott joining the injury ranks.
There is a case to be made for TB’s incessant focus on positional flexibility…I get it…but it seems that little consideration is made for the price athletes pay with that wear and tear…using different muscle groups needed to “succeed” in each position. In life most positives come with a price tag. Could TB’s need for positional flexibility be a significant contributor to our annual injured lists?
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:55 am
All talk and no action
May 3rd, 2026 at 10:20 am
Scott is definitely a perfect fit in this defense. I know no one is happier than Bowles was to see ANOTHER Miami Hurricane still on the board. Man you’ve got to really like what our Bucs have done to fix the defense this off season with Licht (doing what he does best) which is Nailing ANOTHER draft while filling all our needs and also getting Bowles players that are a perfect fit 4 his scheme, so it im excited to see what this defense will look like now that he has some of those missing pieces. All the Bowles haterz could be in for a real shock this year…
??
May 3rd, 2026 at 10:43 am
football 1 Says:
“I just hope he does not confuse the poor kid. Let him settle in at nickel. Moving guys around has not worked so well with others. We definately need him at nickel so Parrish can move to the outside hopefully replacing McColumn or Morrison.”
He’s a hybrid player. He’s best at shifting around. Nickle. Safety. LB. This kid is a potential HoFer if he works out. But, even though I expect him to contribute early, he will still take a few years to become his best.
May 3rd, 2026 at 10:53 am
Lokog Says:
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:55 am
All talk and no action
—————
Just checked my calendar and apparently the season hasn’t started yet.
May 3rd, 2026 at 10:56 am
Scott sounds a lot like ex-Buc Mark Barron… a Lovie castoff along with Darelle Revis
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:01 am
If Bowles doesn’t screw him up, he will be a solid player
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:34 am
Here we go again. Why can’t he let players play where they have played in college? We don’t need people’s responsibilities being changed at a whim.
May 3rd, 2026 at 11:40 am
Todd says a lot of ish. Usually involving playing people out of position, while calling them chess pieces.
F that. Todd’s barely playing checkers.
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:34 pm
When he was drafted was thinking he sounded like he could play the old in box safety or lb on obvious passing downs.. maybe even put on some weight. But who knows maybe he can cover better than we think?
May 3rd, 2026 at 12:53 pm
Todd trying to confuse himself and the players. He can’t get guys in position on basic plays (3rd and 28). Now he wants to move rookies all over the place. Genius will outsmart himself per his usual MO. His oversized ego will continue to be his undoing, unfortunately. He shouldn’t be allowed to do two jobs. We can’t be certain if he’s even qualified to do 1.
May 3rd, 2026 at 2:04 pm
Bowles ruins players by tinkering too much
May 3rd, 2026 at 2:35 pm
Man…if our guys had good coaching, I think we could do some damage…but alas!
May 3rd, 2026 at 3:16 pm
Its too bad he went to a coach that will always have him playing out of position.
Im eager for a real defensive coach to get their hands on some of these guys before their careers are totally wasted.
May 3rd, 2026 at 3:38 pm
O dear lord….
Can’t wait to see Bowles outsmart himself yet again….
We draft a safety and Todd will have him play linebacker.
We draft a 4-3 DE and Todd will have him drop back to cover receivers like a linebacker in a 3-4..
I want to be a glass half-full but with our HC, A Defensive Genius – I just can’t drink the kool-aid.
May 3rd, 2026 at 3:47 pm
Finally, Bowles is taking my advice.
I called for a dime defense last season with 7 DB’s and rushing 4.
I wanted to give LVD some snaps off on 3rd down.
I wanted some packages with 7 DBs and ZERO big, slow linebackers.
Did Bowles listen to Teacherman? No. And we got burned all season.
Putting Scott at LB is genius. Or “moneybacker” as we call them in Tampa Bay.
I want some packages on defense without ANY linebackers.
I want some packages with Tykee Smith and Scott at ILB.
I want some packages with only moneybackers.
Please!
Put Scott at ILB on obvious passing situations.
I have high hopes for JJ Roberts and Rashad Wisdom this season.
I will miss Izien though.
Morrison? He looked really slow when he got burnt last year. He doesn’t look like he can catch up to à WR from behind. Not good.
Please Bowles. Cross train more DBs like Scott to play moneybacker.
Thank you.
Go Bucs!
May 3rd, 2026 at 4:21 pm
You gotta have the tallent to rush 4..
May 3rd, 2026 at 4:40 pm
Defensively, I’m looking at 2026 much like what we experienced in 2019. We were just starting the process of converting from a 4-3 to Bowles’ 3-4 hybrid. We’d brought in quite a few new guys to our defense (Suh, Shaq, Devin White, Dean, SMB, Edwards, Nelson among others) via FA & the draft, and it took awhile to get that defense to gel. Despite ranking #29 in Points Allowed (gave up 449 pts) and going 7-9, the Bucs’ defense actually did quite well in several key respects (#1 Run Defense, #5 in 3rd Down Conversions Allowed (34.4%), #6 in Red Zone TD Allowed (50.0%) among others.
What hurt us a LOT on defense was that our offense committed 41 turnovers, directly leading to 49 pts (7 Pick-6) and a ton of other short fields to contend with (which also cost the defense points).
Here in 2026 we’ve also got a LOT of new players on defense to incorporate. By my count, I could see up to 7 new starters on defense: DT Robinson, OLB Bain, ILB Anzalone, ILB Trotter or Roseboom, Nickel CB Scott, CB Parrish, CB Morrison) plus several new key rotational players (NT/DT Capehart, OLB Muhammad, OLB Walker). It takes awhile for ANY coach to get that many changes to gel.
We started off 2019 VERY sluggishly, going 2-6 in our first 8 games, but finished strong, winning 5 of our last 8 games. And that helped set us up for 2020 … and winning the Super Bowl. HOPEFULLY we start off 2026 much better than we did 2019, and more like how we started off 2020 … going 6-2 in our first 8 games. That’s probably unlikely though; just breaking even by mid-season is probably more realistic, HOPEFULLY followed by a strong 2nd half of the season. And oh ya, 4 playoff games ending with a victory.
May 3rd, 2026 at 5:36 pm
He was a great rover at Miami. Hes the perfect NFL nickel in a scheme that allows him to roam and play the run, blow up screens and play close to the LOS.
Meanwhile, the kids on this site that only login to write negative comments should puttheir phones down and go outside. Get some Vit D. You contribute nada.
May 3rd, 2026 at 8:32 pm
The Bucs have got to have stability at the OC position. Every hotshot team in the playoffs, etc. is not getting a new OC every year. Put yourself in the players’ shoes. They get a coach’s scheme down, and then poof! the coach is gone. Then, add in the injury report which is beyond absurd. Been a devoted fan since 1979, and I’m the only nut still alive from my BucBuddies.
May 3rd, 2026 at 9:40 pm
Unfortunately, he’ll probably have to play a corner.
May 4th, 2026 at 6:49 am
stop talking coach. no one is listening. you are clueless.