Tampa Bay Buccaneers News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

ESPN Analyst Heaps Praise on Buccaneers Draft Steal

Miami Hurricanes defensive back Keionte Scott (0) looks on during the 2025 Cotton Bowl and quarterfinal game Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Add us as a preferred source on Google

ESPN Analyst Heaps Praise on Buccaneers Draft Steal

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By River Wells | Last updated Apr 29, 2026 1:49 PM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had what many consider to be a strong draft in 2026. The pick with the most attention is, of course, Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain, who could make an impact in Tampa Bay immediately off the edge in 2026. But the Bucs also drafted one of his Miami teammates, too, and he could be equally impactful.

The Bucs took Miami cornerback Keionte Scott in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, and he's set to be the team's starting nickel if all goes well. Scott is an excellent blitzer and a thumper in the run game, and his production last year at Miami is undeniable — he boasted five sacks and a staggering 13 tackles for loss, just 2.5 less than Bain had off the edge last year.

Scott has been cited as one of the draft's biggest steals, and a potential reason he fell to the Buccaneers is because other teams believed his skill set fit a niche they did not need. ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak spoke on Scott's arrival in Tampa Bay, and he seemed to dismiss concerns that Scott is only a good player in the right system.

ESPN analyst Ben Solak praises Buccaneers DB Keionte Scott

Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Solak told fellow ESPN analyst Mina Kimes that Scott's football smarts and physicality would be an asset for any team — and now that he's gone to Tampa, he's in a prime position to make some noise.

"They're like, 'Oh, he's gotta go to a team where they blitz him, because you don't want him dropping all the time,'" Solak said. "Okay, so he goes to Tampa. He's gonna have 6.5 sacks this year, and it's your fault, because you said, 'Oh, we can't make a guy like this fit.' If you can't make a guy like this fit, you're not running the right defense, man. This level of urgency, this level of football IQ, this sort of physicality."

“If you can’t make a guy like this fit, you’re not running the right defense.”

Keionte Scott to the Bucs made perfect sense—as did most of their draft.

Discussed with @benjaminsolak on the pod… pic.twitter.com/pJDbA5EvGu
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) April 29, 2026

Scott will continue to be developed as a nickel cornerback in the NFL, per Buccaneers assistant general manager Rob McCartney, and as a result, should get a significant number of snaps next year. He'll step in for defensive back Jacob Parrish, who will likely head outside and compete with Benjamin Morrison and Zyon McCollum for a role there next season.

The Bucs have options with Scott, though. Solak went on to mention that with Scott's physicality, you could feasibly have multiple defensive backs on the field in Dime looks, with Scott playing the role of a third safety in conjunction with three other corners.

"With Keionte, Tykee Smith and Jacob Parrish, they have a lot of modularity, a lot of interchangeable pieces at that overhang spot," Solak said. "If Scott hits for you, you can start playing some three safety stuff and actually feel kind of good about only playing with one backer on the field... they've got options."

The thought is appealing, but it would be a big tendency breaker for Tampa Bay. The Bucs almost never play in Dime under Todd Bowles — they did it just on just 1.1% of their plays in 2025, 2.54% in 2024 and 5.18% in 2023, per SumerSports. The league average last year was 10.08%, making it clear that Tampa Bay prefers not to use it in most circumstances.

Still, with Scott's skill set and some good injury luck, Bowles could look to switch things up in 2026. He certainly has the means to do so, but it remains to be seen just how the Bucs plan to utilize Scott over the course of the season.