Bucs Legend Rondé Barber Raves Over Keionte Scott Pick

Rondé Barber Endorses Bucs Draft Pick Keionte Scott 

“He’s a total Todd Bowles-type nickel back, and that’s exactly who he should be,” Rondé Barber said. “I know for a fact Todd Bowles likes Keionte Scott’s body type and production from a safety spot to play the nickel, just because of the way they like to play the run and the way they like to blitz this player. This dude was agent zero at Miami. The guy did everything, blitz, tackle for loss, he was a cover guy of sorts. I don’t know that we could have found a better player to kind of do everything for us in the draft.”

To Barber’s point, Scott’s stat line last season of 64 tackles, five sacks, 13 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two pick-sixes, five pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries is the definition of doing everything. Barber would know as he essentially invented the nickel position and impacting the game in several ways.

Few understand the demands of the position better than Barber, who built his career as one of the most impactful nickel defenders in NFL history. His endorsement suggests Scott has the traits to thrive in a role that requires both intelligence and toughness.

Head coach Todd Bowles was looking to find a player who can execute his vision in a critical fashion. But it also gives Bowles and Tampa Bay’s defensive coaching staff a couple of options. They’ve had a couple of different players excel at the nickel position in recent years. Christian Izien handled it well in 2023 while Tykee Smith and Jacob Parrish thrived in it in the 2024 (Smith) and 2025 (Parrish) seasons.

How Will The Bucs Set Up Their Secondary?

The upcoming 2026 season provides a different challenge. Tykee Smith has since moved on to safety playing along side Antoine Winfield Jr. That’ll be his role once again. While Jacob Parrish was great at the nickel position, the struggles that the Bucs have had at outside corner may put him in that spot instead in 2026.

It was a down year for veteran Zyon McCollum, and with Jamel Dean leaving in free agency, that leaves Benjamin Morrison at the other corner position. Dealing with injuries all year long, Benjamin Morrison’s rookie season suffered as a result, too. This also put Parrish at outside corner from time to time during the season, yet it was also the position he played at Kansas State, so he’s comfortable in that position.

Cornerback was the position that the Bucs didn’t address all too much during the offseason. They signed some players that have bounced around, but they have no true answer as a primary backup besides having a battle between Morrison and Parrish for one role while the other backs up.

So drafting Keointe Scott allows for the Bucs to move him into the nickelback role and put Parrish outside. Scott can also be a backup safety, and another option for Tampa Bay could be to put JJ Roberts in the nickel if that is the best fit. We could also see the Buccaneers play more dime on third downs this season to get a linebacker off the field and several more DBs. But that’s not possible if not for the Scott pick.

And with Rondé Barber’s approval, it just makes it that much better.