Todd Bowles makes it painfully clear the type of players the Bucs will target in free agency and the draft
Up until this past season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense had finished with at least 20 combined turnovers in each season since 2019, when Todd Bowles first joined the team.The unit finished with at least 10 interceptions at 10 fumble recoveries every single year. That came to a screeching halt in 2024, however, when the […]
Up until this past season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense had finished with at least 20 combined turnovers in each season since 2019, when Todd Bowles first joined the team.
The unit finished with at least 10 interceptions at 10 fumble recoveries every single year. That came to a screeching halt in 2024, however, when the defense snagged just seven interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries. Of the seven teams that finished with seven interceptions or less, only the Bucs and Washington Commanders made the playoffs.
The lack of turnovers, especially interceptions, was a major weakness and it certainly played a role in the Bucs' up-and-down season. It's something that needs to change in the worst of ways heading into 2025 and Bowles made that extremely clear when he spoke with reporters at the NFL Combine on Tuesday.
"Right now, for me, I want ballhawks," Bowles said via Pewter Report. "Whether that's a down guy, a defensive lineman, [who] bats balls down or get strip sacks. Whether that's an outside linebacker that does it, [or] whether that's a backer that can punch the ball out and get turnovers. Whether that's a safety that can hit and draw the ball loose and get turnovers. Whether that's a corner that has a nose for the ball – we need ballhawks.
"We need turnovers and we need guys that are very astute in the game and can see things and go make a play and go get it."
The Bucs defense, as a whole, has to find a way to get back to its old ways in 2025. That won't be easy to do, either, as there will be plenty of holes to fill at outside linebacker/EDGE, inside linebacker, and in the secondary.
But, if the Bucs can find a way to tighten things up (and history says there's a good shot of that happening), then they'll certainly be in very good shape when it comes to defending their NFC South title in 2025.
