3 Lingering Questions Facing Buccaneers' Defense: Red Zone Defense Must Improve

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled out every stop in 2026 to revamp their entire defense.

They drafted new players like Rueben Bain Jr., Josiah Trotter, DeMonte Capehart and Keionte Scott to inject some youth into the unit. They signed free agents like A'Shawn Robinson and Alex Anzalone, and they also let go of multiple defensive position coaches in favor of younger talent.

One thing that didn't change, though, is the team's primary playcaller on defense. Head coach Todd Bowles will assume those duties as he always does in 2026, and he's looking to improve on a dreadful unit from last year. Injuries were a factor, as was a lack of talent, but there are still a few things that need to improve on the playcalling side of things for the Bucs to truly contend next season.

Tampa Bay could certainly make all the right moves and field a competitive defense in 2026 — but we have a few questions for them first.

How Will Tampa Bay Fix Its Red Zone Problems?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles looks on before the game against the Atlanta Falcons | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

To say that Tampa Bay's red zone defense was bad is underselling it. The Bucs gave up a touchdown in the red zone on 69.77% of attempts — the Bucs gave up a touchdown on seven of every 10 red zone trips, and that number is by far the worst in the league.

Bowles, known for his complex defensive schemes, simply cannot allow a number this poor to stand again. A defense that bends and then breaks can't win any games, and Tampa Bay displayed that type of defensive play far too often to be playing under a defensive coach in 2025.

So how does that get fixed in 2026? Communication is a big part of red zone defense to avoid coverage busts, so that simply must get better across the board. More pressure has to come from Tampa Bay's front seven, which will allow more hurries and pressures and force red zone offenses to think faster. Finally, Tampa Bay's outside corners must be able to win while isolated at a respectable clip.

Some of that comes down to personnel. But a good chunk of it also comes down to defensive scheming and putting your players in an advantageous position to win and stop the offense. Can Bowles improve on that metric this year?

Will Josiah Trotter Be Stout in His Rookie Year?

Missouri Tigers linebacker Josiah Trotter (40) reacts during the first quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers had a lot of trouble at the linebacker position last offseason, and it mainly happened because their two starters — Lavonte David and SirVocea Dennis — were very poor during coverage snaps.

David retired and the Bucs replaced Dennis, drafting Trotter to fill in for him. Trotter is a MIKE linebacker, though, and he'll be more focused on blitzing the quarterback and crashing run gaps than he will in coverage. Coverage is a learned skill for every linebacker in the NFL, but will Trotter have the know-how to be able to do it decently enough in 2026? Being average at it is one thing, and being a liability is another.

The Bucs brought on Anzalone to handle coverage duties as the team's main linebacker. But Anzalone is already 31, and if his coverage skills take a dive, Trotter may not be able to do enough to salvage the situation and Tampa Bay will be back to square one.

How much of the defense will hinge on Trotter's coverage skills in Year 1? That remains to be seen, but it could be more of a deciding factor than anyone wants it to be.

What Will Tampa Bay's Corner Rotation Look Like?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jacob Parrish (25) during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers drafted Scott to play nickel in 2025, which takes the job that second-year defensive back Jacob Parrish had last year. Parrish is now moving to the outside to help bolster the outside cornerbacks room, but how exactly is that going to work?

Parrish is set to compete with Benjamin Morrison and Zyon McCollum for an outside spot. If he beats out one of those two players, the Bucs will have gotten what they're looking for — but if he doesn't, he played far too well last year at nickel to simply leave on the bench in case one of the other two gets injured.

Will Bowles rotate him into the lineup as he did with Morrison and Jamel Dean last year? Will Parrish take some snaps at nickel again? Will he largely be saved for packages with more defensive backs, like dime?

Parrish played good football in his rookie year and figures to do the same in 2026. So with that in mind, we're very curious to see what his role in this revamped Buccaneers defense is actually going to be.

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