Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.
QUESTION: How much do you think preseason injuries cost Benjamin Morrison in development? Do you think he will be healthy and ready to compete going into 2026? And if you are a betting man, do you think he can make the jump to the next level like Ronde Barber did after a few seasons back in the day?
ANSWER: First of all, I don’t want to compare any cornerback to Rondé Barber – let alone a young player like Benjamin Morrison, who doesn’t even have 17 NFL starts under his belt. Barber is a Hall of Famer and a true 1-of-1 in Tampa Bay at the cornerback position. No one has played it better for the Bucs organization. But I understand the premise of your question, as Barber had a bust of a rookie season in 1997 where he barely played and didn’t really show signs of becoming great until the 1999 season.
Morrison is already ahead of the game from that standpoint, as he played in 10 games as a rookie cornerback, including three starts. But the Notre Dame prospect did miss four weeks of training camp due to a hamstring injury and that wiped out all three preseason games for the rookie. That came on the heels of him missing the final day of mandatory mini-camp with a hamstring injury.
Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison – Photo by: IMAGN Images
Then Morrison’s hamstring flared up again, causing him to miss seven games in his first season in Tampa Bay. I really have any idea how Morrison is going to fare in his second season, but the team is hopeful that he will be healthier and benefit from last year’s experience and elevate his play in year two. Yet hope is not a strategy, and I have some doubts because he dealt with a hip injury at Notre Dame that shortened his junior season.
Some players just seem to be more injury-prone than others. It’s interesting that the Bucs drafted an injured cornerback in Morrison to replace an injury-prone cornerback in Jamel Dean. I do believe that Morrison missed a lot of developmental time in camp and missing the three preseason games hurt him for sure. Just look at how well Jacob Parrish played as a rookie with the benefit of a nearly full training camp and playing in all of the preseason games.
After drafting two cornerbacks on Day 2 last year and not showing much interest in cornerbacks prior to the draft this year, I’m not sure that the Bucs will select one this year. Instead, I think Tampa Bay will focus on the front seven in the draft and sign a veteran cornerback after the draft.
QUESTION: How realistic are the Kenyon Sadiq to the Bucs predictions I keep seeing?
ANSWER: I think it could happen. The Bucs might consider Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq either at No. 15, depending on who’s available, or later in the first round if he’s still on the board should Tampa Bay trade down. I don’t think tight end is a big need this year, especially for a starting-caliber tight end since the team re-signed starter Cade Otton to a three-year deal worth $30 million.
Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq – Photo by: Troy Wayrynen IMAGN Images
Tampa Bay has more pressing needs at inside linebacker, outside linebacker and defensive tackle. But the reasoning for taking Sadiq is that he is a fast, athletic tight end who is much more of a receiving weapon than Otton is. Sadiq has sub 4.4 speed and caught eight touchdowns last year for the Ducks to lead the team. Bucs general manager Jason Licht said that if the team drafts a tight end he would want someone who would bring a different dimension to Tampa Bay. Sadiq would do that.
The Bucs do want to upgrade their depth at tight end. No. 2 tight end Payne Durham is mainly a blocker and is entering a contract year. Third-string tight end Devin Culp has struggled to see the field in his first two seasons in Tampa Bay under two different offensive coordinators. Reserve Ko Kieft is back on a one-year league minimum deal, but he’s not guaranteed to make the roster.
New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was second in the league in Atlanta with 12 personnel, which is two-tight end sets. So Sadiq would be an upgrade over Durham and make the Bucs offense less predictable in 12 personnel with both Otton and the rookie on the field together. I just don’t think Sadiq will wind up in Tampa Bay with the team having more important needs elsewhere. His selection would seem like a bit of a luxury.
QUESTION: What draft surprise could the Bucs pull?
ANSWER: After last year’s selection of wide receiver Emeka Egbuka in the first round I’m not sure I could be surprised this year. With the departure of Mike Evans to San Francisco in free agency I could see Tampa Bay draft a wide receiver – although I don’t think it’s likely. I could see Tampa Bay draft another defensive tackle given the fact that the Bucs have two starters – Vita Vea and A’Shawn Robinson – who are both 31 and are in contract years – although I don’t see a defensive tackle necessarily worthy of taking in the first round.
If the Bucs decided to select Penn State guard Vega Ioane at No. 15 I could totally see the justification for that. Ioane is the best guard in the draft and would be an upgrade over Ben Bredeson.
Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Steve Roberts
If the right cornerback is there in the first round – possibly Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy or LSU Delane Monsoor (less likely) – I could even see Tampa Bay going in that direction. I don’t see the team drafting an offensive tackle or safety in the first round. That would be a stunner.
I suppose if the Bucs drafted Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round that would be a shocker. Tampa Bay did meet with Simpson formally at the NFL Scouting Combine, but with the team poised to sign Baker Mayfield to a long-term contract extension before the start of the 2027 season I don’t think that would be smart at all.
The Bucs wasted a second-round pick on Kyle Trask in the 2021 draft after the team won Super Bowl LV. Tampa Bay has far more important needs on defense than drafting a backup quarterback. That would be a total luxury pick and would be a page out of the Atlanta Falcons’ playbook when they drafted Michael Penix Jr. just a month after signing Kirk Cousins to a massive contract in free agency. That’s a move that has yet to work out as Penix hasn’t proven to be a legit starting quarterback yet and is coming off a torn ACL.
QUESTION: What edge rusher do you think best fits our defensive scheme?
ANSWER: I think there are eight edge rushers that could really help Tampa Bay’s pass rush and fit in Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme. I did a new Pewter Pulse video over the weekend titled, “The Bucs Can’t Screw This Up, Right?!” The premise of the video is that there is an abundance of really good pass-rushing outside linebacker candidates that could elevate the defense.
Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Sam Navarro
The Bucs had just 37 sacks last year, which was the lowest of any Bowles defense since he arrived in Tampa Bay as defensive coordinator in 2019. And it’s about 10 sacks less than what the Bucs typically average. Bowles has not had an edge rusher with double-digit sacks since Shaq Barrett recorded 10 in his last Pro Bowl season during the 2021 campaign. That has to change for the defense to truly take the next step.
Whether it’s finding an outside linebacker that can become a double-digit sacker or just drafting a really good pass rusher that can rival what Yaya Diaby gets – about seven sacks per season – and is part of an ensemble cast that gets around 50 sacks in piecemeal fashion. I profile the eight edge rushers that I believe could help the Bucs in the Pewter Pulse. Check it out below.