The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have hit the nail on the head with third-round pick Tykee Smith. He’s made headlines all camp for his ability to play at a high level and understand schemes very quickly.
Bucs All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield spoke about Smith earlier this week:
“He’s been doing a phenomenal job, especially picking up our defense, you know, it’s loaded,” Winfield said. “He’s doing a great job. He’s running with the ones, and getting things like that, so, he’s picking up fast.”
Tampa Bay is also working on trying out Smith at a couple of different positions, including nickel corner.
Throughout his college days, Smith was primarily found near the line of scrimmage as a nickel back so adding new positions to his repertoire speaks to his versatility on the field. In 2023 for the University of Georgia, he recorded four interceptions, six passes defended, and 8.5 tackles for loss.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles runs a complex defense, and because Smith has become flexible in the back end of the secondary, it could result in the rookie getting a chance to see the field in September. As of now, Smith is listed as a third-string defensive back, but with a couple of other members of the secondary having a poor preseason, the rookie defensive back is likely to make the team as a backup.