Bucs’ Best Defensive Depth Comes As A Surprise

Regardless of how anyone feels about the 2025 Bucs football team, there’s no doubt about it that this time has much more depth on their roster going into the season than they did a year ago.

From quality free agent signings to their strategy in the draft, it feels as if the Bucs have covered ground in every aspect of the team. That’s definitely the case on offense where Tampa Bay spent their first round pick on Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka despite Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan all there.

It came as no surprise that Todd Bowles said that wide receiver was their deepest position on offense, while also giving a nod to the running back room of Bucky Irving, Rachaad White and Sean Tucker.

“Obviously, offense is the wide receiver room,” Bowles said. “You’ve got a bunch of guys that can play. In the running back room, you’ve got three guys back from last year, as well – and we’ve got two guys we’re waiting to see.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles Has Gives Surprising Response

While Bowles’ answer to the offensive side wasn’t the most coveted of secrets, his response to where he thinks they have the best depth on the defensive side came as a shock.

“Defensively right now, I like the depth of where the inside [linebackers] are right now,” Bowles said. “We’ve got a lot of competition at cornerback.”

The latter of what coach Bowles said about the corners make total sense. It’s an excellent mixture of veterans that is spearheaded by Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Bryce Hall and Kindle Vildor mixed in with second and third round picks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish respectively. The two rookies will push the starters and all involved.

Discussion over the linebacker, though, has been at the forefront. A case could be made that they were the thinnest group out of the defense, but Bowles’ faith and trust in them tells a lot.