Josiah Trotter May Be Making Lavonte David Proud
October 8th, 2026
Dominating so far.
Remember all the kvetching and hand-wringing that Bucs rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter couldn’t defend the pass?
Well, that nonsense was pretty much put to bed in Week 1 when Trotter had a pick-six of Joe Burrow, not exactly some scrub quarterback or a rookie in his first NFL game.
In his first three games, Trotter had 33 total tackles, 17 solo tackles, 16 assists, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, a sack, a pass defensed, a pick and a defensive touchdown.
Joe decided to look up what an all-time Bucs linebacker did in his first three games. Lavonte David had 19 total tackles, 16 solo, three assists, three tackles for loss, no sacks or quarterback hits, no picks or passes defensed.
Joe is not saying Trotter is the next David, but damn, you’ve got to like this start.
Trotter has the most tackles of any Bucs rookie through their first three games this century. He has seven more than Antoine Winfield and Kwon Alexander did through their first four games.
(The Bucs have Trotter with 30 tackles, Pro-Football-Reference.com has Trotter with 33.)
Trotter is tied for sixth among all rookies through their first three games, for all rookies who entered the league since 2000.
Joe spoke with Trotter this week about his uncanny consistency, though it is still incredibly early and a sample size. Trotter has had no less than nine tackles in each of his first three games.
“You want to be as consistent as you can,” Trotter said. “You want to go out there and play with these guys and do my job
“It’s ultimately going out there and doing my job to the best of my ability.”
When Trotter brought up David, he broke out into a big smile. It seems Trotter and David have a nice little bond.
“We text back and forth,” Trotter admitted. “We texted before the Bengals game. Yeah, I am able to chop it up with him. … I can always reach out to him.”
Trotter told Joe that David’s record with the Bucs speaks for itself and he holds David up as a standard he strives to match.
“That was a goal, to keep that same standard,” Trotter said of David. “Just try to be as consistent as I can.”
And that’s exactly what David was.
There are a lot of reasons to be angry with the Bucs so far in this dreadful season. But one thing to be damn happy about is how well Trotter has played.
JOSIAH TROTTER WITH THE PICK-6 🔥
THE ROOKIE IS HAVING A DAY
TBvsCIN on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/v71cdd3uyp— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
October 8th, 2026 at 4:05 pm
Trotter is not too good….
October 8th, 2026 at 4:06 pm
Im getting to the point where I know were not going to win and that’s bad in itself but I do wish this coaching saga is over I sold my tickets and hope for the best
October 8th, 2026 at 4:19 pm
These fans were reading trash articles on the internet
That was saying Josiah Trotter was so bad in pass defense
They never actually seen him play in college
At least watch a player play before passing judgement on him
October 8th, 2026 at 4:41 pm
hes been solid no where near dominant
October 8th, 2026 at 4:44 pm
Seems like a good kid. Looks good in the box.
But teams are targeting him with their TEs.
They are eating him up
That one pick 6 should get some pressure off him
But it’s an area he has to improve
And quick.
Watch Trotter tonight in coverage. That’s gonna be his litmus test.
October 8th, 2026 at 5:41 pm
Have watched a lot of 2026 Bucs’ defensive play analyses, and Trotter has made a lot of very good plays. He’s also made a lot of rookie mistakes that’ve cost us. But Anzalone’s made a ton of mistakes also, and he’s no rookie. Rozeboom has also made some very noticable mistakes, and he’s no rookie either. Haven’t seen much of SVD in this films, but he’s only gotten roughly 12 def snaps average per game so that’s probably why.
When your 3 primary ILBs are making multiple costly mistakes though, it’s probably time to question the coaching.
October 8th, 2026 at 5:48 pm
Lakeland … Trotter seems to be doing reasonably well in pass defense thus far. He’s been targeted 12 times in the 3 games he’s played in, and they’ve completed 8 passes against him for a 66.7% Pass Completion rate. And he’s only allowed 72 yds on those 8 completions.
Considering that Anzalone is sporting a 78.9% Pass Completion rate, and Rozeboom is allowing 100%, I’d say that Josiah is doing very well.
October 8th, 2026 at 5:55 pm
Defense Rules,
Josiah Trotter will be great with the right coaching and scheme
He’s only 21 and very experienced for his age