Could David Walker Be The First?
October 10th, 2026
The time is now.
The Bucs defense this year is playing pretty good. Maybe better than you think.
Still, as always, there’s a major hole in the defense of KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
Sing along with Joe… No edge rush.
Imagine what this defense would be like if the Bucs had an ornery dude coming off the edge to obliterate quarterbacks (but not too rough to bruise a quarterback and draw a flag from Roger Goodell’s goons in Goodell’s don’t-hit-too-hard league).
For years Joe has railed on Todd Bowles for ignoring an edge rush. No, he didn’t ignore it when his job was just defensive coordinator. That mentality manifested in 2022.
However, this year, maybe, just maybe, could Bowles develop his first edge rusher with double-digit sacks?
(Before you begin typing in fury, Shaq Barrett was a seasoned veteran schooled by Wade Phillips when the Bucs got their mitts on him.)
Joe believes every Bucs fan wants to see edge rusher David Walker on the field. He’s a great guy. He’s a fantastic story. And more important, he seems to have been worthy of the hype the Bucs spread thick and long about him this past offseason.
J.P. Acosta of CBS did a short film breakdown of Walker. And Acosta loves how quickly Walker gets to the quarterback.
Alas, Joe thinks there are two obstacles in the way of Walker getting 10 or more sacks this year. The first is Walker (and other Bowles edge rushers) have to do “other things” in Bowles’ defense.
The second impediment is simply a dollars-and-cents thing with an emphasis on dollars.
Major emphasis on major dollars.
The Bucs have a ton of both Team Glazer loot and draft capital riding on Rueben Bain who, through four games, appears lost on an NFL field. Joe’s not trying to be harsh, but if Bain had never taken a snap this year, you wouldn’t have missed him.
Bain isn’t going to work his way out of his rookie funk by watching on the sidelines. That creates an issue for Bowles.
The Bucs, Bowles and Bowles’ staff have their backs against the wall. The Bucs are 1-4. They are fighting for their football lives if not careers. To have a winning record the Bucs need to go 8-4 the rest of the way.
Joe isn’t sure the Bucs can pull that off with hope, which the Bucs way too often seem to use as a strategy.
The best chance includes Walker on the field, especially on passing downs — even if he isn’t smooth at doing “other things.” Because right now, Bain isn’t doing anything.
Look at how quickly David Walker gets into the backfield on this pass rush game whew. Tampa Bay and Todd Bowles did a really good job of using their front to throw off the rhythm of Dallas' offense, never let them get comfortable pic.twitter.com/CvM9D3VFbz
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) October 9, 2026
October 10th, 2026 at 12:11 pm
Excellent vision and understanding what is unfolding in front of him!
A NATURAL in other words.
October 10th, 2026 at 12:25 pm
I was wondering why I hadnāt heard anything from Bain during the Cowboys game so I started keying on watching him every snap in the 3rd quarter. Every single time I looked Bowles had him dropping back in coverage.
October 10th, 2026 at 12:29 pm
Defense is playing Good
Well except No Pass Rush
ARE YOU KIDDING
WHAT IS THW NUMVER ONE THING ANY TEAM WANTS IN DEFENSE
PASS RUSH!!!!!!!!!!
Do the Glazers pay to have a positive spin put on this Bum Coach
October 10th, 2026 at 12:36 pm
Bain is still hurt. Playing but hurt.
October 10th, 2026 at 12:36 pm
Great coaches get the most out of their players even if it means they have to change their systems a bit, or a lot like Shula did when he got Dan Marino.
Crappy coaches shoehorn their players into a system that fails to capitalize on the playerās strengths and makes them ādo other thingsā while theyāre still new to the league and learning the system.
October 10th, 2026 at 12:37 pm
Here is the down-side of the Dallas win: We are stuck with Bowels the rest of the year.
October 10th, 2026 at 12:43 pm
Maybe Bains is being protected and used differently while his torn AC is healing
October 10th, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Didnt learn from Shaq or JPP. Stubborn gets him fired.
October 10th, 2026 at 1:02 pm
I’ve been saying it…
Bowles is a lackluster Head Coach.
However he is at least a mediocre DC.
Our GM is also lackluster so you can’t put 100% of the blame on the “Toad”.
I’m going to quote “The Big Tuna” – “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.”
October 10th, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Would definitely like to see David Walker get more def snaps. Get him just 500 def snaps this season, and at the rate he’s going he could end up with 14-15 sacks.
As an aside Joe, you wrote at the top of this piece that ‘The Bucs defense this year is playing pretty good. Maybe better than you may think.’ It’ll be interesting to see where we stand once this weekend’s games are over. If not for those 2 TDs scored while our defense was sitting on the bench, we’d be in the Top-10.
On looking at the current defensive rankings, 7 of the top defensive teams have a winning record, 2 have 2-2 break-even records, and the #9 ranked defense (Tennessee) has yet to win a game. What’s most interesting though is how well the top defensive teams are doing. Based on today’s rankings:
#1 – Vikings: 4-0 (their offense is ranked #18)
#2 – Jaguars: 3-1 (their offense is ranked #12)
#3 – 49ers: 4-0 (their offense is ranked #2 … Mike’s happy)
#4 – Bears: 3-1 (their offense is ranked #8)
#5 – Seahawks: 3-1 (their offense is ranked #10)
#6 – Patriots: 2-2 (their offense is ranked #30)
#7 – Chiefs: 4-0 (their offense is ranked #5)
#8 – Giants: 3-1 (their offense is ranked #21)
#9 – Titans: 0-4 (their offense is ranked #31)
#10 – Rams: 2-2 (their offense is ranked #19)
Gotta feel sorry for the Titans in that group. Their defense (their HC Robert Saleh is a defensive mind) is playing very well, but their offense just can’t seem to get it together (only scored 55 pts in 4 games).
October 10th, 2026 at 1:07 pm
That was a good example of why Todd drops D-line into coverage.
The Bucs show 6 D-linemen coming, then two drop into coverage. This causes the Dallas RG to double up with the RT (the RG stupidly missed Walker) and Walker stunted inside and came in untouched to (almost) sack Dak.
IMO, the 3-4 D provides great flexibility to have a heavy pressure scheme like this. The Vikings are #1 in pressures and the blitz at a crazy rate of 73% with 16 sacks – great success. Washington #2, Tampa #3 and Broncos #4 all blitz about 50% of the time.
But the Broncos are tied at 11th in sacks with 8
Redskins (always will be) are tied at 21st with 7 sacks
Bucs are tied at a lowly 27th with 6 sacks.
The Bucs should not be an NFL lowly 27th in sacks, if you are blitzing half the time.
I would mix it up like Todd does, occasionally rush 6, sometimes 5 or 4 or 3, and mix up who I drop into coverage. and I might move Walker (and maybe Bain) around a lot, even to the inside.
But Walker (and maybe Bain) would be rushing the passer 90% of the time. Why the F would you drop him into coverage?
October 10th, 2026 at 1:13 pm
“Iām going to quote āThe Big Tunaā ā āIf they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries.ā
Marine, there is no way JL does not get Todd’s approval on personnel. That is weak take. It is not even worth arguing how misplaced the take is.
Who did we draft this year and sign as FA? Are you telling me you don’t think Todd blessed all those moves?
And are you actually saying Todd did not push to have VV and Baker extended?
Come on dude, you can do better than that
October 10th, 2026 at 1:15 pm
Not only is Walker pur best pass rusher, he also caused that crucial INT with a good pass breakup in coverage.
Walker needs to play 60% of the snaps at minimum.
Also, if Jalon Daniels keeps starting, I definitely think we can go 8-4 or better the rest of the way.
If Baker comes back into the lineup, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell.
October 10th, 2026 at 1:40 pm
āJust to have a winning record the Bucs need to go 8-4 the rest of the way.ā
That would be a hell of a run.
Can they do it? Yes. If Baker learns how to stay calm in the pocket by watching Daniels. If Zyon stays interested. If Trotter stays healthy. If they stop TOs. If they learn how to tackle.
I aināt betting on it. But they did not quit against Dallas.
October 10th, 2026 at 1:40 pm
Todd wants to win games right?
Put 51 on the field. He lives in the backfield.
Is it too much common sense for mr Bowles?
October 10th, 2026 at 1:42 pm
“Not only is Walker pur best pass rusher, he also caused that crucial INT with a good pass breakup in coverage.”
—————
An interception – caused by an OLB in coverage. Go figure
October 10th, 2026 at 1:49 pm
Iād envisioned Walker and Bain on the field at the same time. That sacrifices Diaby but he just doesnāt close it out, interception notwithstanding. Iāve not noticed this combination though.
October 10th, 2026 at 1:53 pm
Bain is not healthy
The only explanation that jives with his pre injury training camp performance and reporting.
.02
100% he is not another Keith McCants
October 10th, 2026 at 1:57 pm
Bain is a young rookie in his first time around; Walker is an old rookie with a non-playing year behind him. Experience and maturity matter. Withal, I’m a Walker enthusiast and a Bain optimist.
October 10th, 2026 at 2:09 pm
Bain is not healthy
The only explanation that jives with his pre injury training camp performance and reporting.
.02
100% he is not another Keith McCants
Remains to be seen. At gathering of the 1990 rookies that would be drafted Junior Seau was there, and about Keith McCants, I can remember Junior saying “Super man did not bring his cape” to the gathering. It remains to seen if Bain is like that or not.
October 10th, 2026 at 2:14 pm
Quit picking on Bain
Yaya. 0 sacks
Muhammad 0 sacks
October 10th, 2026 at 2:17 pm
The Bucs didn’t draft YaYa or Muhammad with the No. 15 overall pick.
With high investments comes high expectations. Especially at a critical (outside of a Todd Bowles defense) position.
October 10th, 2026 at 2:18 pm
@ Senior Harry
Don’t miss the big picture buddy…
Our GM also has a hand in this 1-4 team.
Everyone wants to blame Bowles but his defense is actually pretty solid so far – so let’s put BOTH of them on the hot seat.
Plus – I really don’t understand the Mayfield extension at all – that was dumb.
October 10th, 2026 at 2:24 pm
He had Dak in his grasp and let him get loose on one play. We already have YaYa doing that when he rarely gets home.
October 10th, 2026 at 2:34 pm
Sick these losers blaming Jason Licht. Most of the JL haters must have been chewing on rubber giraffes during the alllen and Dominick years, cause they donāt know what having a bad GM is really like.
This is bad GM-ing :
Gaines AdamsāRound 1, Dexter JacksonāRound 2, Cadillac WilliamsāRound 1, Kellen Winslow Jr.āTrade, Josh FreemanāRound 1, Brian PriceāRound 2, Arrelious BennāRound 2, Da’Quan BowersāRound 2, Johnthan BanksāRound 2
Trading for a broken as hell Darell Revis. Drafting Cadillac when you could have Rodgerās, because youāre enamored with Brian griese.
October 10th, 2026 at 2:37 pm
Rookie D Ends get a break the first year, don’t they? B Rex just needs to find his groove. Sapp was not a monster his first year, if he gets one or two sacks whatevs, he’ll be better next year. D Walker at least had the platbook all season last year.
I don’t think any of the other D-line drafted around where B-rex was taken have gotten off to stellar starts. I’m sure the studio audience will let me know if somebody is…
October 10th, 2026 at 2:51 pm
Whoa never Joe would let Todd Bowles fool him with one of Bowles random good game. Heās failed in Tampa too many years and with too many players to get credit for this one guy. They come to the team good players already and get better on their own which is why YaYa regressed.
Remember drafting walking and then saying thatās how you win a Super Bowl. Yea right theyāll develop Walker and besides theyāll keep bringing in Anthony Nelson before him so heāll get limited snaps
October 10th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The defense did give up a 99 yard TD drive late in the game. If not for Dallas TE Ferguson not catching the ball in his mitts and it going to Alex Anzalone, we may have lost that game. Don’t forget the Cowboy’s CB dropping a for sure pick-6.
October 10th, 2026 at 3:21 pm
ModHairKen:
yes 0-4 has quintessentially been the de@th of any team’s season…
traditionally, in the 16 game season, you need to be one of the better to best teams in the league, the rest of the season…winning 2 out of every 3 games you play, the rest of the way…
and yes that would be 8-4……and after 0-4……it leaves you at a dismal 8-8…
0-4 was always the end of a season, in a nutshell…
adding 1 game to bring it up to 17 doesn’t really change much on a grand scale…
your estimation is correct…and sadly, for us to get to the bottom rung of double digit wins…10-7…we must actually go 9-3 the rest of the way…winning on average, 3 of every 4 we play…very tall order…
who knows…maybe 8 or 9 wins the south…we shall see…but 10 seems like a safe space type number…
it all starts with these next 3…if it’s going to start at all…
these next 3 we must win, and we are back in the mix…
we gotta go on a run and win 3 in a row climbing to 4-4…
beating:
pitt
carolina
atlanta
if we can hand both atlanta and carolina a loss, and they manage to also drop another game each respectively, in these next 3 weeks, we are back in the mix…
tall order……just sayin’
October 10th, 2026 at 3:26 pm
Marine Buc Says:
@ Senior Harry
Donāt miss the big picture buddyā¦
Our GM also has a hand in this 1-4 team.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I didn’t miss anything buddy. I criticized your implication that Todd has no input “in buying the groceries”. I think most of the groceries were obtained for Todd’s benefit.
Everyone has a hand in this train wreak. Some of course, more than others. JL sold us Dennis, kept LVD a year too long and told us Braswell is going to surprise us – and he did – just not in a good way.
But IMO, Todd is NOT close to being the coach we want. He is total rhetoric: play the guy with the hot hand – NOT, he lets Baker dictate when he is playing injured, the Bucs NEED an edge rusher but Todd cannot develop one, #4 in blitz rate but #27 in sacks, play calling, etc. And lets not forget who hired the dynamo OC and the wizard OC last year.
Yea, I concede the defense is playing much better.
JL has 4 rookies out there starting and contributing: Rueben Bain Jr., Josiah Trotter, Ted Hurst III, and Keionte Scott. I think that is fairly decent grocery shopping.
October 10th, 2026 at 3:28 pm
maybe coach is having david walker assist jay recher in his new sideline gig…
assisting with sideline reporting stuff – like an intern…working the sidelines…outside the white lines…not inside the white lines…
could that explain why walker is never on the field š
October 10th, 2026 at 3:38 pm
Soā¦if you are concerned about investmentsā¦
Egbuka. Less than 40 yards per gameā¦ 1 receiving TD
Barton. 5 penalties
Vea. 1 solo tackle
Kancey. 3 tackles
Thatās some pretty piss-poor production from 1st round picks
October 10th, 2026 at 3:43 pm
Gotta say…as a edge rusher ya ya is disappointing
October 10th, 2026 at 4:00 pm
If they keep bowles next season, ill take lichts advice and root for another team, the Falcons
October 10th, 2026 at 4:07 pm
mobucs … ‘Bain is a young rookie in his first time around; Walker is an old rookie with a non-playing year behind him. Experience and maturity matter. Withal, Iām a Walker enthusiast and a Bain optimist.’
Interesting perspective. Bain played 3 years (38 games) at Miami. Walker played 5 years (57 games) at Univ of Central Arkansas and Southern Arkansas Univ.
There’s quite a bit of age difference though. Walker’s 26 years old already; Bain just turned 22. And I agree 100%, ‘experience and maturity matter’.
One thing I came across looking those up flabbergasted me. Found an interview that Casey Phillips did with David Walker back several months ago titled ‘David Walker: Turning Adversity into Motivation’. It is fantastic. You can’t help but root for this guy.
October 10th, 2026 at 6:19 pm
So…… Let’s do the same with R. Bain sit him get him coached up for next year and let D Walker play ball, we’ve held on to him for a reason now its time to put the dude in the lineup. GO BUCS!!!
October 10th, 2026 at 6:28 pm
Walker could have had 3 sacks if Dak didnt get rid of the ball. I hope he gets multiple sacks vs Aaron Rodgers.
October 10th, 2026 at 6:37 pm
I have several issues with the Todd vs Jason argument although I understand itās part of the process.
1) you only draft players that āfitā what the HC wants if the coach is firmly entrenched. No ambiguity as to whether or not heās going to be around. That is not our situation.
2) assuming # 1 holds, you should be drafting talent, regardless of whether or not it āfits a schemeā. Thatās how I took that Bain draft pick.
If Jason was drafting to fit Todd Bowlesās āschemeā then ownership has a huge gap in their program. Assuming them have a āprogramā
October 10th, 2026 at 10:53 pm
So the Bucs need to win every game against division teams and then beat 2 others. Pittsburgh could easily be one of those games. D looks good, but until the offensive line quits committing so many penalties and starts becoming a whole lot better, this is outta their reach. I hope Lee is wrong with Bainā¦. itās injury and not Bowles ruining him, not using him right. Bain hasnāt looked anywhere close to the energy he was playing with in the preseason. But thereās a really good chance Lee is 100% right with Bowles ruining him. Saw way too much of Bain dropping in coverage Thursday. Whatās the point of drafting him if heās gonna play corner
October 10th, 2026 at 11:03 pm
When I first saw this I thought FORE SHORE it was going to be about Walker potentially being LICKTāS FIRST āPro-Bowlerā DRAFTED in 6-YEARS. Though, guess we didnāt want to mention THAT, to remind us.
October 11th, 2026 at 12:16 am
Somebody said it already but I think Bowels is ruining our young talents at edge. Mind games when your job should be very easy. Eat the QB and outside containment. Never give up! Go Bucs!
October 11th, 2026 at 12:25 am
Alright, alright. In Bloweso’s defense (trust me this won’t last long) Bain is an OLB in a 3-4 defense. In the old days, before the 3-4 defense became a 5-2 defense on ~almost~ every play, OLBs were….well Line Backers. Line Backers play the mid and sometimes hold up at the line, often penetrate on run plays, and just as often drop in coverage. That’s what used to make the zone blitz a really potent thing.
If Bain were playing in a 4-3, he’d be a real weak candidate for DE and would more likely be a WLB in that system. I get that we want him to be a mauler and all that (perhaps because Joe and others have labeled him as a “mauler”), but he’s flat out undersized for that role and he’s got the speed to actually be a WLB. Instincts, who knows, he plays in a different system.
I texted my Cowpoker buds the other night and told them that Walker was our best pass rusher ONLY because he was a terrible cover (other things) guy and when he’s on the field, Bloweso has no option except to green light actual CURRENT and relevant OLB plays by running him straight ahead.
That, as it turns out, was also wrong because when he dropped he stuck a mit in and the other OLB, Yaya got a pick that bounced improbably to him. Don’t get me started on Yaya, because (a) that’s not the point here, and (b) Yaya is so freakish that finding ways for him to succeed requires non-traditional thinking which Toad isn’t capable of.
Back to Walker. His disruptions the other night were all on stunts where he could use his speed and size to get through the gap at a QB bigger than he is. He changed throws, hurried throws, and missed on a sure sack because, well, Dak was just bigger and moving the right direction.
Walker abso-effing-lutely should be on the field more often. So should AQM who had more sacks as a backup than any of our OLBs, DEs or anyone else last season. Problem there, of course, is that AQM and Anthony Nelson and anybody else that lines up at OLB doesn’t get to just rush the QB on every down.
Fine.
But any result in this defense from that position is positively accidental and not by design or forethought or playcall. Its because the dude was just DUDE.
Walker has a year of watching and wanting. Bain has 3-ish games of watching and wanting. He’ll be fine because, though undersized, and alternatively equipped for the league, he’s got tenacity. That will eventually pay off.
But not with this coach and this system.
October 11th, 2026 at 6:29 am
I’d agree and I know I’m. Late to the comment party, but I wouldn’t credit Bowles. Walker is what? 26, turning 27? He was a grown man in a D2 college, not trying to knock him, I’m glad he’s doing as well as he has been, but I’m saying how much is it Bowles and how much is it Walker?
October 11th, 2026 at 9:08 am
But he’s a 4th rounder, and injured, and A BUST!! Licht dont know what he’s doing!!!
lol
October 11th, 2026 at 9:47 am
Walker appears to be the real deal!! Bain still has to prove himself. Time will tell!!
Most of our young guys are producing!!! I expect Bain will too!! In general the Defense has looked improved! The O looked better during the last game. They still have a way to go.
October 11th, 2026 at 11:18 am
Another thing that impacts sacks is his system doesn’t account for the quick fast slant because the corners are always 7-10 yards off the receivers and the LBs are too close together at the snap and nowhere near to take the lanes away for that pass. Once Dallas started hitting that pass OVER AND OVER AND OVER again Bowles made no adjustments as usual. On obvious passing plays if he had the LBs spread and corners up closer just a little they would effectively take those lanes out, but it will never happen because of Bowles stubborn and archaic mindset. The one time he did it was against the Giants I believe in 2024, the lb was right there tipped it and it was intercepted.
October 11th, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Obviously itās pretty critical in a Bowles defense if they drafted an OLB at 15 overall.