Which Bucs Newcomer Quietly Had A Strong Preseason Debut?

Out of 28 defensive snaps, the former Miami Hurricane was in the slot for 26 of them. That’s no surprise, as he’s one of the top candidates to fill the nickel cornerback role in Todd Bowles’ defense this season. But what’s not being talked about is what he did with those 28 snaps, particularly on those when he was in coverage.

Of his 28 snaps on defense, Scott had 17 coverage snaps. He was targeted only twice and only allowed one catch for 5 yards. On the other target, he knocked the ball away to force a turnover on downs, getting the ball back to the Buccaneers offense in the fourth quarter with the clock winding down.

For his efforts, the 25-year-old rookie earned an 81.3 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.

Overall on the night, Scott was credited with two tackles (both solo) in addition to that pass breakup late in the fourth quarter. With his 81.6 coverage grade and 73.9 tackling mark from PFF, the rookie cornerback earned a 73.8 overall grade, the fourth-best of any Bucs defender in Week 1 of the preseason.

His grade was dragged down by a 46.5 mark in run defense, though with only 10 run defense snaps, he may have been hurt by a small sample size rather than any egregious mistakes he made. Between the 81.6 grade he put up in coverage and the 73.9 grade he had as a tackler, it was quietly a very good debut for Keionte Scott, who Todd Bowles described earlier in camp as a “very good” tackler and an “outstanding” mind.

“For him, it’s been great because he went yesterday for the first day after missing the whole spring,” Bowles said on July 30, the second day of training camp. “He played corner, he played nickel and he played safety. To process that kind of information and come out on your first day, then come out today and do what he’s been doing has been phenomenal to see. It really helps him learn the defense, moving around and playing different spots. So, his mind is outstanding and we just look for him to keep getting better.”

Starting His Bucs Career, Keionte Scott Is “Attacking The Transition”

Not that long ago, Keionte Scott had a ton of momentum coming off a phenomenal season at Miami and heading into the NFL Draft. His 2025 season with the Hurricanes, who fell just short of the program’s first national title since 2001, saw him tally 13 tackles for loss, five sacks and six takeaways (two pick-sixes, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries).

Undergoing offseason wrist surgery could’ve stunted the momentum Scott had and put him behind the eight ball to start his Bucs career.

But the rookie made it a point to avoid looking at it like that.

“I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity,” Scott said Aug. 6. “I told myself when I was drafted in the fourth round, just be ultimately ready to contribute to the team in any way, so that is my mindset going in. Missing OTAs and missing the spring would be a setback for somebody, but I feel like I’ve been through certain similar situations – you know, getting to a place late, so I’m just trying to use those similar situations to have the same mindset – just being prepared.

“Attacking the transition is something I’m working on – being big on that. It’s definitely a difference, you know, great guys on the team though, great guys going against the offense, so I’m just attacking the transition.”

The transition is ongoing, and there’s still more work to be done before Scott is officially put in position to be the Bucs’ primary nickel corner and someone his coaches can rely on to be a true chess piece for this defense.

But his debut Friday night against the Jets was a big step forward, and now it’ll be about building on it in practice this week before taking another step in his Raymond James Stadium debut Saturday night against the Chiefs.