Tough Guy Tykee Smith
March 22nd, 2026
The Bucs defense was a soft unit last season, but that doesn’t mean every player was a feathery presence, or that each guy was as brittle as Jamel Dean.
(Yes, Dean found a way to leave a critical Week 17 game (shoulder) and miss the must-win affair in Week 18. Anyone want to bet he’s absent in January next year for the Steelers? Joe will take that wager.)
One guy who is not soft is safety Tykee Smith. Yes, Smith’s second season was marred by a shoulder injury — Joe was told late in the season Smith could barely raise his arm above his head — but he was a physical force when healthy and productive.
That was a message delivered firmly last season by Hall of Fame cornerback Rondé Barber on the WFLA-TV streaming show that bears his name.
The Bucs legend said Antoine Winfield, Jr. gets all the chatter because he’s very good and highly paid, but Smith is the more imposing presence.
“Tykee might be the most physical player on our defense. Right?” Barber said. “I don’t know what his actual numbers are but I stand next to him on the sideline and I’m like, ‘Dude, this dude is a physical presence.’ And then you watch him throw like guards and tackles around; he threw a tackle out of the way [last season] and made a tackle. I’m like, ‘Alright, he’s just different.'”
Winfield and Smith are similar athletically with Smith being about an inch taller, per draft combine measurements. But Smith does seem to have a more dawg in him.
Smith dealt with injuries (and illness) in his rookie year (2024), as well. Perhaps 2026 will be his true breakout season.