Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2025 Defensive Depth Chart Prediction Shows Familiar Names originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers struggled mightily on defense last season, especially disappointing since head coach Todd Bowles is also the team’s defensive coordinator.
General manager Jason Licht addressed aspects of the defense this offseason in free agency and in the NFL Draft.
But don’t expect any those rookies to break into the starting 11 on defense next season, at least not according to Pro Football Focus. The outlet also ranks each team’s starting 22 and lists the Bucs at No. 10 overall.
PFF lists all 11 starters on defense as the same names the Bucs rolled out in 2024. That seems like a disappointment until you realize some of those names we injured for a portion of last year, and a healthy 11 on defense could be an improvement.
The same is true of the offense. All 11 starters from last season are predicted to fill the same spots in 2025. That makes sense, as the unit was top 3 in most statistical categories and top 5 in the league in others.
The defense especially struggled in the secondary, where Tykee Smith and Zyon McCollum combined for just four interceptions.
Bowles showed excitement for the secondary with the additions of Jacob Parrish and Benjamin Morrison in this year’s draft.
«I think this year with the additions of [Benjamin] Morrison and [Jacob] Parrish along with Zyon and obviously [Jamel] Dean, I think we can do some things like that and match up personnel because they’re kind of all interchangeable in certain man coverages,” Bowles noted.
Bowles mentioned the coverage deficiencies were due to poor communication. That sounds like it’s on the coaching staff. Whether they’re coaching the guys to play off the ball or the players are not receiving the message clearly, it’s still on the coach and the coaching staff.
Related: Coach Reveals Reason for Buccaneers’ Biggest Defensive Deficiency in 2025
Related: Buccaneers Cornerback Named Top 20 in Position Rankings
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
