It’s A Fact – Todd Bowles’ Bucs Defense Struggles To Cover Tight Ends

Todd Bowles’ Bucs defense has struggled to cover tight ends.

That’s a fact – not an opinion.

And there is plenty of evidence to back up this assertion – evidence that apparently escaped Bowles at the podium during Wednesday’s press conference.

Just like tight ends escape Bucs linebackers, nickelbacks and safeties in coverage.

This past Sunday, safety Antoine Winfield Jr. blew a man coverage assignment and allowed Browns backup tight end Blake Whiteheart to get wide open for a 17-yard touchdown, which proved to be the game-winner in the fourth quarter.

On Wednesday, I asked Bowles why his defense continues to struggle to cover the tight end position.

“I don’t think we struggled against it this past weekend,” Bowles said. “I mean, the first week, I thought we missed two zone drops, and this week we busted a coverage and they caught one pass. I don’t really see the [connection] from last year to this year. I thought we made big strides, and it’s too early to tell right now whether we will struggle against the tight ends or not.”

Huh?

Aside from Whiteheart’s touchdown, Browns starting tight end Harold Fannin Jr. caught five passes for 54 yards against Tampa Bay. Did Bowles forget about that?

Cleveland’s tight ends totaled six receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 a week after allowing Cincinnati tight end Mike Gesicki to catch five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown in a 33-27 loss to the Bengals.

Through two games, no defense has allowed more catches (15), yards (172) and touchdowns (two) to tight ends than Tampa Bay’s defense.

It’s a small sample size for sure, but we’ve seen this movie before – and we know how it ends.

Despite personnel changes over the last three years at inside linebacker, safety and nickelback – the three primary positions that defend the tight end – Bowles’ defense still lets tight ends run wild and go off on game days.

Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon.

Bucs Defense Has Struggled To Stop Tight Ends Under Todd Bowles

Last year, the Bucs defense was near the bottom of all defenses against tight ends, allowing 100 catches for 969 yards and 12 touchdowns. The 100 catches surrendered was the eighth-most in the NFL and the 12 TDs allowed were tied for the third-most.

Last year saw Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts destroy Bowles’ defense with 11 catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns in a stunning 29-28 upset on Thursday Night Football. In a 23-20 Week 1 win at Atlanta, Pitts had eight catches for 59 yards.

Pitts was far from the only tight end who did damage against the Buccaneers in 2025.

Rams tight ends Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen combined for seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown in a 34-7 win over the Bucs. Arizona’s Trey McBride had eight catches for 82 yards and a touchdown in a 20-17 loss at Tampa Bay.

Miami’s Greg Dulcich had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in the Dolphins’ 20-17 win over the Bucs. Carolina’s Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans combined for four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown in Tampa Bay’s 16-14 win in Week 18.

The Bucs replaced last year’s inside linebackers SirVocea Dennis and Lavonte David, who retired at age 35, with veteran Alex Anzalone and rookie Josiah Trotter, the team’s second-round pick. Nickelback Jacob Parrish was replaced by rookie Keionte Scott, Tampa Bay’s fourth-round pick, while the safeties, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith, remain the same from a year ago.

Yet Tampa Bay’s troubles in defending the tight end is nothing new. Bowles has been trying to solve the Bucs’ coverage woes against the tight end for some time now. He made even more changes to the interior defenders after the 2024 season when K.J. Britt and David were in the inside linebackers, Smith was the nickelback and Jordan Whitehead and Winfield were the safeties.

In 2024, the Bucs allowed 102 catches to tight ends for 1,144 yards along with five touchdowns. While five TDs were tied for 13th, which isn’t bad, Tampa Bay allowing 1,144 yards to tight ends was the second-most in the NFL that year, and the receptions allowed was tied for the fifth-most.

This suggests that perhaps it isn’t just the personnel, it’s Bowles’ defensive scheme, which is zone heavy, that is the problem.

Bucs Face Another Dangerous Tight End In T.J. Hockenson On Sunday

Despite the personnel changes over the last three seasons, the results against tight ends through two games in 2026 are actually worse. It doesn’t get any easier this week with Minnesota tight end T.J. Hockenson coming to town.

Hockenson, a 6-foot-5, 248-pound veteran who is in his eighth year, has seven catches for 65 yards and a touchdown through the first two games and is the Vikings’ second-leading receiver behind Justin Jefferson. The former first-round pick, who began his career in Detroit in 2019, has had three seasons with over 700 receiving yards, including a career-high 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.

In the 2023 season opener against Tampa Bay, Hockenson caught eight passes, but for just 35 yards (4.4 avg.). Still, he was targeted nine times in that game.

“He’s an extra blocker and an extra receiver,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “He presents a problem that way because he’s a dual tight end. His height says a lot as well. He’s been doing it for a long time.

“[He has] very good hands, [is a] very good route runner, but at the same time, he’s a very good blocker. They can spread you out or they can bring you in. If you play small, they can run it. If you play big, they can throw it. He presents a challenge.”

It seems like every tight end presents a challenge for Bowles’ defense.