Where’s The Leadership On The Bucs Defense?

Admittedly, last week’s Slivon’s Slant led off with an opinionated take that didn’t age well for Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

After saying fans should pump the brakes, his performance since the middle of last season is concerning, and he has a lot of work to do to regain the fanbase’s trust and ease the higher-ups within the organization who have invested in him.

Things aren’t much better defensively right now, which is the focus of this week’s column. When I look at this defense, they are running out of runway to take off and play up to the offseason hype.

Through two games, head coach Todd Bowles hasn’t coaxed much from his unit except for an electric performance by rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter in Week 1. With Trotter and outside linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. out with injuries this Sunday, more pressure is on several veterans to rise to the occasion and make plays. I also spoke with two offensive linemen in the locker room this week to get their thoughts on the offense and how they match up against the Vikings’ pass rush.

Bucs Defensive Veterans Need To Start Leading By Example

Bucs defensive tackle Vita Vea’s hold-in was highly publicized through training camp before he came to terms with the team on a one-year extension. Tampa Bay took care of Vea on the business side; now, it is time he takes care of business on the field. The impact the 31-year-old nose tackle makes is not always defined by the box score, as he clogs up running lanes and takes up double teams.

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Yet the team did not pay him all this money to simply be a space-eater.

From a production standpoint, Vea has been invisible this season, recording just two tackles in 80 defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus’ grades tell a similar story, painting a picture of subpar performance and a significant year-to-year decline.

His 53.7 overall grade ranks 74th out of 120 defensive linemen, while his 56.3 pass rush grade (86th) and 52.4 run defense grade (67th) aren’t much better. Those numbers are a far cry from even last season, when he had a 71.8 overall grade (26th out of 134 defensive linemen) that better illustrated a consistent run-stuffing menace.

He is not the only player failing to meet expectations, but he is one of the highest-paid players and the longest-tenured defensive player and captain. Maybe it is the fact that he didn’t do much conditioning outside through the summer, with Todd Bowles saying after the first game that he looked “rusty.”

Still, there are no excuses for any player on this defense, especially one expected to be a pillar for success. Tampa Bay can ill-afford to pay players large sums of money, only for their production to take a dip.

That brings me to safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: Adam Slivon/PR

Winfield became the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history when he signed his four-year, $84.1 million contract after a record-setting 2023 season. Even if that was a career year, he was presumably hitting his prime and playing like the best safety in the league at that time.

What happened?

His production since then has not matched that price tag, as he played only half of the 2024 season and was good, but not great, in 2025. While some might point out that he hasn’t had the chance to take as many chances on the football given the rest of the secondary struggling, I don’t want to hear any more excuses about why Winfield hasn’t been a quality defensive playmaker. The tackle numbers are there, but that means little when he is the last line of defense wrapping up a wide receiver 20 yards down the field.

Whether it is scheme-related or not, there is more than enough talent for Todd Bowles to work with to give “Tweeze” more opportunities to play closer to the line of scrimmage. Watching Winfield, though, I don’t see the same guy in the box ready to knock the ball out or coming on a blitz and bringing down the quarterback. He looks more measured attacking the ballcarrier, and that has to change, especially for a secondary that hasn’t had an interception this season.

As a team captain in his late-twenties signed to a high-dollar deal, he has to start playing like it.

Last but not least is the player who has drawn the most criticism for his performance so far – inside linebacker Alex Anzalone.

Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Anzalone was signed to stabilize the middle of the defense, but he has looked like a complete liability in coverage while missing tackles at an alarming rate. I don’t even have to bring up the advanced metrics to drive this point home, but I will anyway.

His 28.5 overall PFF grade makes the days of post-Super Bowl Devin White look good. He ranks 71st out of, wait for it, 71 linebackers. His 29.3 coverage grade is marginally better, putting him 69th. There is no other way to describe his play: it has been abysmal.

This was the same player that was touted for being a quality signing in free agency after Tampa Bay poached him from the Lions after a solid run there. He has time to turn it around, but perhaps Detroit was onto something letting the 32-year old walk.

It is startling to see how substantially his play has nosedived from 2025, and perhaps there is more to the story of him not having Bowles’ defense down yet. I don’t know if that is more of an indictment on the defensive play-caller or the veteran linebacker, but neither has inspired much hope.

Known as a cerebral player and key veteran voice who helped spark a turnaround in the Motor City, Anzalone was viewed as being a critical piece to do the same for the Bucs’ defense. Bowles mentioned this week that he has full confidence in him, but like my overall view of the team as they stand, I will believe it when I see it.

Bucs Offensive Line Previews Tough Matchup vs. Vaunted Vikings Pass Rush

The Bucs’ defense needs veteran leaders to wake up, while the offense needs its own veterans to regain their previous form. Tampa Bay’s offensive line has received mixed reviews for its performance so far, having yet to play like they did in 2024, when they were a key reason why the offense hummed close to 30 points per game.

They will have their hands full – literally – facing the Vikings defense on Sunday. Minnesota has eight sacks in two games, and they are one of the top blitzing outfits in the league with Brian Flores calling the shots. Outside linebackers Dallas Turner (three sacks) and Andrew Van Ginkel (2.5 sacks) lead the way, making it a tough test for offensive tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke.

Vikings OLB Dallas Turner – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Veteran swing tackle Justin Skule, who started nine games for the Vikings last season before returning to Tampa Bay, has a unique perspective after competing against Turner and Van Ginkel in practice and seeing how they compete.

“They’re definitely very good rushers,” Skule said. “I think they rush well in that scheme too, but definitely guys you have to account for every play. You don’t know where they’re always going to line up, but they can definitely wreck a game if you let them.”

Goedeke offered a similar assessment.

“Great pass rushers. I mean, great motor guys, great with their hand usage, great get-off. They present challenges. They’re great pass rushers, just like everyone else in the league. Obviously, it’s full of them, and it’s go to war week after week.”

Skule’s experience in Minnesota last season gives him some familiarity with the concepts the Vikings use, particularly given the Sean McVay influence shared by Kevin O’Connell’s system and Zac Robinson’s offense.

“I think it’s very similar,” Skule said. “You see a lot of these McVay-tree guys, like, everyone comes as a result from [Kyle] Shanahan or McVay, and so it’s all — a lot of the offenses around the league are pretty similar. I think there’s definitely some concepts that our defense has seen throughout training camp that they’ll see on Sunday. So hopefully that helps.”

Getting back to the offensive line, they have not started the season by hitting the ground running. There have been moments, with Wirfs looking more like himself against the Browns while center Graham Barton is coming along despite a couple of penalties. The interior offensive line needs to step up, but Skule and Goedeke are not worried about how well they will hold up on Sunday – or the rest of the year.

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke and RG Cody Mauch – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I mean, you saw in 2024, it was a top offensive line, one of the top of the lines in the league,” Skule said. “Once we get rolling, these guys are going to be rolling guys off the ball, protecting. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

“Only being 2 games in now, just need more time to kind of build that continuity back,” Goedeke added. “It’ll come gradually. I mean, especially with being a new offense as well. Obviously, there’s a lot of different factors, I mean, to why we’re not to where we were in 2024 at this point, but I think we’re definitely on the right track.”

I then pressed Goedeke on those factors, including how much time it takes to learn Robinson’s scheme. More specifically, how much does a new offensive coordinator affect an offensive lineman’s game?

“I mean, it can totally change your technique, or it cannot change it at all,” Goedeke said. “So, it’s kind of — it can be either/or. Each offensive coordinator has their own kind of twist on what plays they like to run versus what they don’t like to run. That different nuance is kind of what plays into it each year, as well as how they like to block the structure. There’s a bunch of different avenues that kind of present different challenges to having a new offense in the NFL.”

After addressing the challenges, the starting right tackle does see one bright spot – the ground game. The discussion of implementing more wide zone run concepts has proved fruitful early on. He does not have the headset to call plays, but Goedeke supports establishing the run.

“I think [Bucky Irving’s] averaging 5-plus yards a carry, so it’s not too bad running that. I’d even like to bump it up a little bit more and keep that run game going and everything. I think we had four explosives as run plays this last game. I’d like to keep the run game going and implement it even more if possible. At the end of the day, that’s above my pay grade. I just play O-Line and I do what’s asked of me.”

There is definite room for improvement, but all hope is not lost for what this unit can look like once they hit their stride.

Closing Slant

The Bucs don’t need their veterans to be perfect. They need them to be difference-makers.

Vita Vea needs to start looking like the disruptive force Tampa Bay just invested in. Antoine Winfield Jr. needs to find the playmaking spark that made him one of the NFL’s best safeties. Alex Anzalone needs to stop being a problem in coverage and become the steadying presence the Bucs signed him to be.

On offense, Tampa Bay needs its veteran offensive linemen to turn all of this talk about continuity, scheme and improvement into production. There are legitimate reasons for some of the early-season struggles. It’s is only two games. It’s a new offensive system. Injuries have already taken away some important defensive pieces.

But at some point, explanations become excuses.

The Bucs have invested too much money, too much trust and too many leadership responsibilities in their veterans to keep waiting for them to look like the players Tampa Bay thought it was getting.

Sunday is the latest opportunity to change that conversation.

But this time, the Bucs need more than potential. They need results.