Tykee Smith Brings 'Dawg Mindset' To Bucs Secondary

For a Tampa Bay secondary looking to make more plays next season, the team did well bringing in a variety of players that add the versatility head coach Todd Bowles covets in his defensive backs. Smith, the youngest of the group, has the most upside, and is expected to compete at the nickel position as well as serve as the third safety behind Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr. – also known as “Mr. Winfield.”

“Tykee Smith is probably what Coach Bowles always wants to get in a safety,” safeties coach Nick Rapone said this week. “Meaning, we’d like him taller if we can, but he’s 4.46 and we cross-train so much because during the season if somebody breaks a fingernail. So, he will come in as a safety and a nickel. It could be nickel-safety [or] safety-nickel. We’ll see how the progress goes, but he gives you a 205-pound frame, he’s productive, he’s physical, he can run, and he’s used to winning. It’s important.”

As a Bulldog last season, Smith had a career year, recording 70 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, six pass deflections, a team-high four interceptions, and two sacks across 14 games. In the process, he not only displayed his do-it-all playstyle but did so playing for a Georgia program that is known for churning out plenty of NFL-ready talent.

“I think we would expect him to come in here and compete right away,” Bucs assistant general manager John Spytek said after drafting Smith. “That’s a great program at Georgia. When you sit down with those kids at Georgia – especially the defensive players – and you talk through coverages with them, blitzes, all of that stuff, they are so well-drilled and schooled that you can see why they’re so good at playing defense in the SEC. And then, they have to be really talented athletes, too.

“So I think from that standpoint, Tykee is way ahead of a lot of kids that would enter the NFL. In a defense where we ask a lot of our secondary, in particular, they have to know a lot of things, they have to be versatile, they have to think really fast, think on the fly. To me, that’s always the biggest hurdle. These guys that you pick on Day 1 and Day 2, they’re usually pretty good athletes, it’s really the mental stuff that will slow them down. So for Tykee, I think we would expect him to come in and compete for that nickel spot right away. Nothing’s promised here, obviously, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Smith himself discussed playing both positions and having Winfield to learn from. There is no one better to learn the tools of the trade than the All-Pro safety who has dabbled in playing various roles in Tampa Bay.

“When [Todd Bowles and I] talked, he said he could see me playing safety or nickel,” Smith said after being drafted. “If I play safety then, obviously, I get an opportunity to learn from Antoine Winfield [Jr.], which would be a blessing [considering] the impact he has on the game. [I] definitely can’t wait to get around him and see the type of player he is and learn under him.”

Tykee Smith Will Fit Right In Todd Bowles’ Bucs Defense

When it comes to creativity and dialing up coverages and blitz packages, few defensive minds draw things up the way Todd Bowles does. Bowles has earned a reputation across the league for being one of the best defensive playcallers, with much of that stemming from the unique ways his defensive backs cross-train and learn multiple roles in the secondary. Doing so not only helps the team cover for players getting injured or struggling, but it also enhances the communication across the defensive backfield.

When it comes to how Tykee Smith, a Pewter Report Bucs Best Bet, will fit within Bowles’ scheme, he already knows what to expect. While part of that comes from knowing Bowles’ son Troy, a junior linebacker at Georgia, Smith also trusts that he can come in and fit in wherever needed.

“I also think he does a real good job putting his players and using their skillset to the best of their ability, which Georgia also did a real good job [in position] at,” Smith said of Bowles’ play designs and packages. “When we met he said they run similar stuff to what Georgia ran, so it would be plug-and-play.”

Going from the Bulldogs to the Bucs, there is one trait that Tykee Smith will look to carry over – and that’s being a dawg.

“Football IQ, versatility, and then just a dawg mindset – see ball, get ball,” Smith said.