Defensive back Tykee Smith.
Todd Bowles is hard to read when it comes to one aspect of his defense.
For some reason, Bowles loves to change nickel cornerbacks.
Antoine Winfield was a Pro Bowl safety in 2021, so Bowles moved him to nickel in 2022. Bad move. The 2023 nickel, Christian Izien, he was decet for a rookie but Bowles decided to replace him with another rookie in 2024, Tykee Smith. Now, Smith has relocated to safety and rookie Jacob Parrish is leading the pack to win the nickel cornerback job.
Bowles’ history of changing nickels goes back even further, but no need for Joe to dive deeper. Today on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Bowles noted that he was rather certain Smith would only play one season at nickel.
Joe sure hopes Bowles knows what he’s doing because no Bucs player other than Smith last season had three forced fumbles and two interceptions.
Bowles talked up Smith on radio saying he’s a playmaker.
> “He’s one of our top three most instinctive guys on defense along with Winfield and Lavonte \[David\],” Bowles said of Smith. “And he punches the ball out probably better than anybody. But he played safety in college, so he understands the position. He plays it well. He still taking nickel reps so there’s flexibility there as well. But he’s been doing a great job playing strong safety right now. He’s had a great camp.”
Another Bucs defensive player having a “great camp.” Joe’s happy to hear it, but Joe also sees the Bucs defense continue to struggle in zone defense in practice.
Lotta question marks on this defense, and a lot of high-end talent.