Rocky Minicamp For Tykee Smith; “Biggest Intel” On Haason Reddick
June 26th, 2025
“Not only do I hear intel; I actually watch the [practice] film,” Bucs insider and icon Rondé Barber said on his WFLA show today.
That got Joe to sit up straight and push aside the five-egg omelette.
Barber loves telling Bucs nation that he’s got the juice when it comes to what’s happening behind the scenes at One Buc Palace. And he did just that today with the Bucs defense.
“If you’re asking me what I know, also what I’m hearing, there’s an upgrade at corner,” Barber said. “Alright, they moved Tykee Smith, who was a starting nickel back last year, to safety. Now that comes with a couple of caveats because I don’t think he had a great minicamp but he’s got a little bit of a learning curve going on right now. Because he’s also the backup nickel back still. So he’s going to have some mistakes, but the guy’s a really dynamic player. I like him.”
Regarding that “upgrade at corner,” Barber said rookie Benjamin Morris (Round 2) is the Bucs’ No. 3 corner, outside behind Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum. The starting nickel as it stands now, per Barber, is rookie corner Jacob Parrish (Round 3).
“I think he could be the biggets game-changer in the secondary for me,” Barber said of Parrish.
Before talking about free agent edge rusher Haason Reddick, Barber prefaced his comments with “this is probably the biggest intel from One Buc Place.”
“Haason Reddick, who didn’t show up for most of the offseason, was there for minicamp and holy cow, man,” Barber began. “The dude is quick, decisive. He’s got a Rolodex of pass rush moves. And I know everybody talks about veterans helping these young guys; I saw a couple of guys on the interior pass rushing group with the Bucs who were bringing out moves that I know I have never seen them do before. So Haason Reddick is going to help this defensive line.”
Joe reported on Reddick uniquely coaching up pass rushers. Per fellow veteran edge rusher Anthony Nelson, Reddick showed up to minicamp with video to dissect with teammates.
Optimism always flows in late June, but it’s running like Delaware white water this year.
June 26th, 2025 at 1:38 pm
WOW!!!
June 26th, 2025 at 1:40 pm
Daaa Bucs. (in Bob Swerski voice)
June 26th, 2025 at 1:40 pm
If he’s got a spin move in his “roledex’ teach the other Olb’s that one!
June 26th, 2025 at 1:41 pm
As for Tykee Smith, HE’S A STUD … 0.00% concerns. He played a hybrid-Safety on 2x championship teams. He was named all-American. He will get locked in and then we’ll have two AWJs in the secondary. I’m way more excited than concerned.
June 26th, 2025 at 1:42 pm
That Miami Dolphins record is going down this year 🤩
June 26th, 2025 at 1:43 pm
Great intel from Ronde.
June 26th, 2025 at 1:55 pm
Love the pic, Joe. It is reminiscent of the iconic Patterson Bigfoot photo.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:00 pm
Good to hear all these kudos coming from Ronde! He doesn’t just hand out praises either.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:16 pm
We have upgrades at every level on defense.
Just having a healthy Winfield Jr and also Sirvocea Dennis on the field is going to make a world of difference.
Reddick instead of JTS is a HUGE upgrade. D-line and pass rush as a whole should be a real strength now.
All 3 of our ILBers opposite 54 are better than Britt and Russell were – and Dennis is poised for a breakout year…..
Tykee Smith will be an upgrade over Whitehead at SS.
Bryce Hall is a very solid backup CB – and our CBs drafted in Rounds 2 and 3 this year were both steals for where we selected them. Both have higher end talent and will likely be starting sooner than later. Hayes and Funderburk will NOT see the field on defense in 2025…..
Its hard to imagine the Bucs defense isn’t going to improve substantially compared to what we saw last year. I’m expecting top 10 in points against (which is the only defensive stat that truly matters!) and perhaps even top 5….
Either way – combined with a top 5 offense, this 2025 Bucs squad is going to be hard to beat. 11 or more wins should be the expectation – and that guarantees a playoff spot.
The key for a talented team like this with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations is to earn a playoff spot at whatever seeding level with a healthy roster that is ‘peaking’ at the right time – IE: playing its best football of the year in late Dec and January….
June 26th, 2025 at 2:22 pm
Not hearing much mention of Bryce Hall or Christian Izien thus far this year. Both are very talented IMO & I wouldn’t be surprised to see both of them find their way onto the field a reasonable number of times this year. Over the course of the 20 or 21 games it’ll take for us to win the Super Bowl we’ll almost surely need them.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:26 pm
That’s what Buc’s Nation is praying (metaphorically) for, an improved defense. Get a better pressure combined with an upgraded and hopefully improved secondary and this team is going to roll like a well-oiled machine. If we can stop opponents on 3rd and 4th downs, it will result in more possessions for our offense. And with this offensense, more possessions = more points.
June 26th, 2025 at 2:33 pm
DR – we probably would have won a couple extra games last year if Bryce Hall had been available instead of Todd having to play Funderburk and Hayes for so many snaps on defense….
Izien is like a super sub if he doesn’t earn a starting role. He’ll come in and give you high quality snaps if/when needed at either safety spot or from the nickle/slot position……
Our entire backfield all of a sudden seems LOADED with talent – even beyond the starters which is important if/when injuries to key players attempt to de-rail a talented team’s season….
June 26th, 2025 at 2:39 pm
Practicing his dropback to up the probability he gets an INT this season lol
June 26th, 2025 at 3:19 pm
I’m gonna tell you now, if Reddick and the D-Line bring it, teams are going to get buried by the Bucs!
June 26th, 2025 at 3:56 pm
@Pickgrin
I agree with your take 👍🏼.
Like to point out (again) that our PPG was excellent during last 8-9 games (17.5, 17.66) in spite of whitehead, funderburke etc etc
We are looking stacked at positions of weakness on defense last year and I think that alone almost guarantees major improvement.
Turnovers need to be flipped 🤞🏼
June 26th, 2025 at 6:59 pm
I really can’t remember any bad Godwin drops
June 26th, 2025 at 8:13 pm
Always forget about Bryce hall. So much more depth at corner. And what about vildor? Wasn’t he forced into starting for lions or something and wasn’t completely lost?
June 26th, 2025 at 8:30 pm
If the defense can vastly improve, there will be no stopping this team. If the
y can get hungry, win early, they may be unstoppable. IMHO.