Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.
QUESTION: Why do the Bucs have so much faith in SirVocea Dennis?
Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
ANSWER: It all goes back to the college tape for SirVocea Dennis. The Bucs were thrilled to select him in the fifth round back in 2023. He had 238 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, two interceptions, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown on a pick-six in three years as a starter at Pittsburgh. During his senior season, Dennis recorded 94 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one interception, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles for the Panthers defense as a first-team All-ACC performer.
The Bucs loved his ability to do it as a linebacker – tackle, blitz and cover – coming out of college. When he arrived as a rookie he had three or four pick-sixes in practice between OTAs, mini-camps and training camp. In my 30 years of covering this team I can’t recall one player recording that many pick-sixes – especially in such a short amount of time.
Then he gets on the field as a platoon guy at middle linebacker last year and outperforms starter K.J. Britt in the first three games of the season. Dennis had his first NFL sack when he dropped Jayden Daniels in Week 1 win over Washington. Then he posted a career-high 11 tackles the next week in a victory at Detroit.
Before a shoulder injury that began in college flared up in Week 4, Dennis had 22 tackles and was on his way to recording around 100 tackles in his first real playing time in 2024. Team sources tell me he was going to unseat Britt as a starter in Week 5, but he needed surgery to repair his shoulder and his season was over after the Eagles game in Week 4.
Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
There’s no doubt that Dennis has dealt with injuries in his first two seasons in Tampa Bay, and that does give some pause about his ability to stay healthy and available for an entire season. He had a hamstring injury that forced him to miss the final two preseason games and the first couple of games of his rookie season. Then he saw the field as an injury replacement for Lavonte David at San Francisco and started the game at Indianapolis. He would’ve started the next game versus Carolina at home, but was sick with the flu that week, which was unfortunate timing.
Dennis then missed the 2024 preseason due to his shoulder injury, but he tried to play through it through the first four games of the season. Now that his shoulder has been surgically repaired the team is optimistic that his injuries are in the rear-view mirror. Time will tell, but the Bucs love his football I.Q., his instincts, speed and striking ability.
Despite being a Day 3 pick, both general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles believe he’s a starting-caliber linebacker. We’ll see if that belief gets tested in the draft and if Tampa Bay selects Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell in the first round at No. 19.
QUESTION: Am I the only that’s not as worried about inside linebacker and doesn’t want to draft one in the first round? I know Lavonte David eventually retires, but SirVocea Dennis and Anthony Walker Jr. are solid, and Deion Jones looked good in this scheme. Edge, defensive tackle and cornerback are far more important to me and much better positional value, right?
Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
ANSWER: Off-ball linebackers don’t have a great track record of succeeding in the NFL – or at least becoming stars. Out of all of the Pro Bowl linebackers from a year ago, only Baltimore’s Roquan Smith is a first-rounder. Most regard San Francisco’s Fred Warner as the best inside linebacker in the game today and he was a third-round pick. Lavonte David was a second-round pick and the Bucs drafted SirVocea Dennis in the fifth round.
The Bucs picked Devin White with the fifth overall selection in 2019 and experienced some mixed results. White helped the Bucs win Super Bowl LV in his second season and he made the Pro Bowl, but his success went to his head and his play suffered. White is now a backup linebacker in the league and is quickly running out of opportunities. At age 27 he’s already on his fourth team in the span of one year.
There is really only one off-ball linebacker that carries a first-round grade and that’s Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell. I know Georgia’s Jalon Walker played linebacker for the Bulldogs, but I think he’s viewed as more of an edge rusher at the next level. Will the Bucs draft Campbell, who had a formal interview with the Bucs at the NFL Scouting Combine, if he’s there at No. 19 or wait to draft another linebacker prospect?
I will say this, Jason Licht has typically drafted trench players in the first round, dating back to 2018 when he selected Vita Vea. In 2020 the Bucs drafted offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and then used their 2021 first-round pick on Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. In 2022, Tampa Bay traded out of the first round, but used its first selection at the top of the second round on defensive tackle Logan Hall. When Hall didn’t impress as a rookie, Licht and head coach Todd Bowles drafted defensive tackle Calijah Kancey with the No. 19 pick in 2023. Last year the Bucs stayed in the trenches and drafted center Graham Barton.
So if the Bucs do draft Campbell in the first round it will be a departure from the team’s core philosophy. Knowing the emphasis the Bucs are putting on their pass rush and the ability to get to the quarterback with a four-man front, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tampa Bay went with an edge rusher like Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku at No. 19. And drafting a defensive tackle in the first round shouldn’t be ruled out either with Hall entering a contract year.
Licht has only drafted one cornerback in the first round, which was Vernon Hargreaves III, who was a bust. But the Bucs need cornerbacks and this is not a very deep draft for taller DBs that can play on the outside. Drafting East Carolina’s Shavon Revel Jr. or Ole Miss’ Trey Amos in the first round wouldn’t be a surprise.
QUESTION: Jihaad Campbell is a game-wrecker. Many don’t know he was recruited to Alabama as an edge rusher but since they had Dallas Turner and Will Anderson they moved him to inside linebacker. But he can be a weapon for Todd Bowles as a pass rusher and covering passes over the middle.
Alabama ILB Jihaad Campbell – Photo by: USA Today
ANSWER: There’s no doubt that Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell could help Todd Bowles’ defense. I just wonder if the Bucs would buck the trend I wrote about in the question above and select an inside linebacker in the first round. There is no doubt that Campbell is the best inside linebacker in this year’s draft and there is a drop off in talent after him.
But the Bucs are thrilled that Lavonte David is returning for another season, and the team is excited about SirVocea Dennis’ potential despite a very small sample size. Yet that wouldn’t preclude Tampa Bay from drafting Campbell anyway. The Crimson Tide star had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder in March after the NFL Scouting Combine. The recovery for that type of surgery is 6-8 months, which would put his rookie season in jeopardy.
Whatever team drafts Campbell might have to use his rookie season as a redshirt year, as he would be sidelined for the rookie mini-camp, OTAs, mandatory mini-camp, training camp and the preseason. If Campbell were to recover in six months that would put his return to action in September.
But without any on-field participation in camp or the preseason, it would be doubtful if Campbell could learn – let alone master – any defense just from mental reps from the sidelines. Seven months would put Campbell’s return to the field in October and eight months would be November.
Would a team like Tampa Bay with a Super Bowl window that’s open want to spend – perhaps waste – its first-round pick on a player who would likely not be an on-field contributor in 2025? Conversely, the Bucs do need an eventual replacement for David. And perhaps Dennis’ best spot is the Moneybacker position that David currently plays on the weak side. Tampa Bay could draft Campbell for 2026, expecting him to take over at Mike linebacker while Dennis plays in the middle in 2025 and then moves to Mo ‘backer in 2026 once David retires.
That scenario is entirely possible and plausible. But would it be the best course of action to help Tampa Bay’s quest for a Super Bowl ring in 2025? Or would it be better to use a first-round pick on an impact pass rusher or cornerback?
QUESTION: Great job as always. Are there any under-the-radar guys to keep in mind for the draft?
Washington ILB Carson Bruener – Photo by: USA Today
ANSWER: Yes, there are a couple of Day 3 guys that appear to have interested the Bucs in the draft evaluation process. We know that Tampa Bay is quite fond of Washington Huskies, and linebacker Carson Bruener met with the team at his pro day. Bruener, who is the son of former NFL first-round pick Mark Bruener, ran an eye-opening 4.58 at the NFL Scouting Combine and saw the field at Washington in all four seasons.
He’s coming off a senior year in which he had 94 tackles, three interceptions and two forced fumbles and was Washington’s captain on defense and Defensive MVP last year. Bruener, who is 6-foot-1, 227 pounds, is regarded as a special teams ace.
The Bucs ran the pro day workout for Western Michigan cornerback Bilhal Kone. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Kone ran a 4.43 at the Combine and has a physical style of play. Kone only had two interceptions in two years with the Broncos, but did break up 17 passes.
Another cornerback that should interest the Bucs is UTSA’s Zah Frazier. It took him awhile to develop and see the field, but Frazier had six interceptions and nine pass breakups last year as a senior, in addition to a forced fumble. He’s a late bloomer who had an informal interview with the Bucs at the Combine, but has blazing speed and great size. Frazier ran a 4.36 in Indy at 6-foot-3, 186 pounds.
QUESTION: Where is the urgency to fix that gawd awful secondary? I mean do they feel the front -4/front-7 and more pressure will help the putrid coverage?
Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr., DB Tykee Smith and CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
ANSWER: Tampa Bay is expected to select at least two defensive backs in this year’s draft. One will be a starting-caliber cornerback to challenge Jamel Dean in training camp. The other will be a nickelback or a safety – depending on what they want to do with Tykee Smith, who has the ability to play either spot. Smith tied for the team lead with two interceptions and three forced fumbles in 15 games in the slot last year, but could replace strong safety Jordan Whitehead, who had an awful year in his return to Tampa Bay. Whitehead was released this offseason.
The Bucs are counting on Antoine Winfield Jr.’s return to form as a playmaker in 2025. Winfield dealt with foot and knee injuries that robbed him – and the defense – of his ability to create takeaways and big plays. Winfield and Smith are both playmakers in the secondary, and the team is encouraged from the development of cornerback Zyon McCollum and are expecting even bigger things from him in his contract year this season.
Tampa Bay did sign veteran Kindle Vildor for experienced depth and re-signed Bryce Hall for the same reason. Either would be a better alternative to see the field on defense instead of special teamer Josh Hayes or Tyrek Funderburk, who was an undrafted free agent. The Bucs also brought back Kaevon Merriweather and also have Christian Izien, but could draft a safety for depth – or to start if Smith is left at nickelback. Tampa Bay is also high on practice squad safeties Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks, and we’ll see how they develop in year two in the system.
And yes, Todd Bowles is counting on more pressure from the defensive front to help the Bucs defense and coverage on the back end this season. That’s a big reason why the team signed edge rusher Haason Reddick this offseason.
