Blitzing “Big Part” Of Josiah Trotter’s Game
April 29th, 2026
It seems — and Joe doesn’t fully know why — is that the big knock on Bucs’ second-round pick Josiah Trotter is that he allegedly cannot defend the pass.
Joe honestly cannot remember the last time he watched a Missouri game. Why would anyone willingly watch a Missouri game unless that happened to be the only game on TV? Even then, one can find something better to do like clean the bathroom?
So Joe cannot say either way if Trotter can or cannot defend the run.
But on Friday night when the Bucs had vice president of player personnel Mike Biehl represent the organization, he seemed to slightly bristle with the notion that Trotter cannot defend the pass.
He referred to that idea as a “misnomer.” What Biehl did say was that Trotter excelled at was blitzing.
“That’s a big part of his game, too,” Biehl said of Trotter. “He understands how to rush the passer and he can go through running backs’ faces if he chooses to or he can make them miss.
“That’s going to be a plus for Todd [Bowles] on third downs. You guys have seen the way that he uses our inside linebackers when Devin [White] was here and I would anticipate Josiah having a lot of production in that phase.”
Well, if Trotter is like White, let’s hope Trotter is the pre-head case White.
Joe guesses, technically, White was a bust for the Bucs. White was drafted No. 5 overall and he didn’t earn a second contract. What happened to White is still a mystery. At one time, he may have been a top-two inside linebacker in the league.
That’s right. Joe doesn’t believe the Bucs win the Super Bowl for the 2020 season without White. He was Derrick Brooks and Ray Lewis rolled into one in the playoffs that year. A total force.
Sadly, he never reached that peak again.
So if the Bucs are getting the 2019-2021 version of White, Trotter will be a godsend.
April 29th, 2026 at 12:15 am
I wanted this kid before the draft. He’s young, he’s going to improve and grow over these next few years. Can’t teach attitude.
April 29th, 2026 at 12:21 am
Trotter is going to blitz on every down when Bowles runs his famous Charmin coverage.
April 29th, 2026 at 12:29 am
White was enrolled in the coveted Bowles Regression Program. Like all defensive draft picks, they play their best ball their first two seasons and then fade into milk toast.
April 29th, 2026 at 12:37 am
Josiah Trotter wasn’t that bad in coverage, from what I seen
Missouri had a very tough schedule last year
But they still finish 8th in the nation in total defense
And I’m sure Jason Licht and Todd Bowles watched every game he played last season
I’m not concerned about his coverage skills
And I’m sure they’re not concerned either
But he will improve his overall game, I’m sure of this
He’s a student of the game, he breathe football
April 29th, 2026 at 12:40 am
He’s a Trotter, they love to hit folks
They play the game the right way, violent and physical
April 29th, 2026 at 1:04 am
Missouri defense was ranked 8th in the nation in total yards
They gave up only 277.3 yards per game
173.5 passing a game — 103.8 rushing yards a game
They gave up a completion rate of 56.7
And they gave up 18.9 points per game
When they played Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt TE had 1 reception for 4 yards
I didn’t see any poor coverage from any of Missouri defenders
Teams wasn’t going up and down the field on them
And they played some tough teams last season
South Carolina
Alabama
Vanderbilt
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Virginia
These are the ranked teams they played
April 29th, 2026 at 1:05 am
“””Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers had 1 reception for 4 yards against Missouri
April 29th, 2026 at 1:09 am
Sorry
Eli Stowers had 4 catches, 46 yards against Missouri
April 29th, 2026 at 1:32 am
Watched some Missouri games because they’re in the SEC and I watched a lot of SEC games.
This kid is great against the run… I don’t know where the notion comes from that he is slow. He goes sideline to sideline, explodes towards line a scrimmage, stopping running backs in their tracks. Sure tackler, hits hard.
I don’t remember seeing him blitz although I may have. I have seen him just explode with a burst to close in on running backs so I would imagine that comes in handy blitzing.
Could not tell you if he’s detrimental in pass coverage.
I wanted them to pick CJ Allen, but I’m more familiar with Georgia, so biased.
Hopefully, I’m wrong with that
April 29th, 2026 at 1:33 am
What I do know is the Buccaneers got an Edge, ILB, & CB that all close down in a hurry, hit hard, and are sure tackles
April 29th, 2026 at 1:41 am
Originally, this Trotter pick made say “WTF???!?”
BUT, this pick is growing on me bigtime. It started after watching Baldinger’s breakdown of him and then I realized that he’s not slow like people were saying (he runs a 4.49 40) and I really don’t think he’s gonna be KJ Britt 2.0 in pass coverage.
I love his aggressiveness, athleticism, and demeanor. And his pedigree.
I wanted CJ Allen at this spot, but now I’m glad we got Trotter instead.