The NFL Draft is within the rearview mirror, and whereas nobody might blame you for those who’re able to go full pace forward to September when the Bucs will kick off the 2026 season, there are nonetheless some stops to make alongside the best way earlier than Week 1. And the subsequent one is that this weekend’s rookie minicamp on the AdventHealth Coaching Middle in Tampa.
Friday and Saturday would be the first likelihood for the Bucs’ 2026 draft class to come back collectively on the apply fields at One Buc Place, and with them would be the group’s undrafted free agent signings and different rookie camp invitees. It is a distinctive alternative for these gamers, and with the big-time stars like Baker Mayfield, Chris Godwin Jr., Tristan Wirfs and Vita Vea (amongst others) clearly not being part of this weekend, the highlight absolutely belongs to the Bucs’ rookies.
With that in thoughts, we’re taking a better have a look at these gamers right here on PewterReport.com earlier than we see them up shut and private beginning Friday. Whereas Scott Reynolds (with an help from Bucs vp of participant personnel Mike Biehl) did a incredible job offering an in-depth rundown of the Bucs’ 2026 undrafted free agent class in his newest SR’s Fab 5, the goal right here is to supply one other fast dive into Tampa Bay’s draft class and undrafted free brokers.
We began Wednesday with the offense, so now it’s on to the protection (with a few bonus rookies on particular groups).
Bucs’ 2026 Draft Class And UDFAs: Protection
Bucs edge Rueben Bain Jr., GM Jason Licht and HC Todd Bowles – Picture by: Cliff Welch P/R
OLB Rueben Bain Jr.: Transformational
There’s a purpose why Jason Licht continues to go on and on about his shock and delight that Bain was out there at No. 15, and that’s as a result of he’s a transformational kind of participant. Not solely does he get after the quarterback with energy, approach and an infinite motor, however he units the sting and performs the run nicely. His manufacturing will probably be a welcome sight for a Buccaneer protection determined for a prolific cross rusher, and there’s the truth that his presence will create alternatives for Yaya Diaby and others. There’s a multitude of the way he brings worth, and that’s why he’s such a transformational difference-maker for 2026 and past.
ILB Josiah Trotter: Previous-Faculty
Contemplating that he’s the son of Jeremiah Trotter Sr., it is sensible that the Bucs’ second-round decide suits an old-school type of mould at inside linebacker. He’s extraordinarily nicely constructed, works downhill with excellent depth and effectiveness and he has the requisite toughness to stay his face into each play. His instincts towards the run are off the charts, too, and whereas he’s nonetheless younger and creating in protection, he already has the run-fitting, blitzing prowess and tackling strategy of an NFL Mike linebacker at simply 21 years previous.
DB Keionte Scott: Disruptive
You sometimes get “disruptive” out of men within the trenches, which can actually converse to the combo of aggression and pace Scott performs with to trigger havoc on the line of scrimmage and within the backfield. He has distinctive consciousness and possesses a capability to make himself small, each of which contribute to a bent to keep away from blocks and keep within the play. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler describes him as “more disruptive at the line than most linebackers,” which says loads. He had 5 sacks for Miami final 12 months, and he can even prolong his disruptiveness to the performs he makes within the secondary, as he had two pick-sixes for the Hurricanes in 2025 as nicely.
Clemson DT DeMonte Capehart – Picture by: IMAGN Pictures – Ken Ruinard
DT DeMonte Capehart: Immovable
That is an exaggeration as a result of no, he’s not truly going to be unimaginable to maneuver. However as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo wrote about this week, Capehart’s anchor is a completed product. He received’t get bullied in one-on-ones, and he holds sturdy towards doubles. His measurement makes him arduous to maneuver off his spot, after which there’s the truth that he’s athletic. So actually, he’ll do the transferring at his personal discretion. He fires off the ball rapidly, will get his lengthy arms prolonged and makes use of his athleticism and lateral agility to get after ball carriers, plug operating lanes and shut down escape routes for quarterbacks trying to evade the surface rush – no matter he’s requested to do in a given look.
DT Deshawn McKnight: Riser
McKnight’s finest soccer should still be forward of him. He’s a bit undersized for the defensive deal with place at 6-foot-1, 283 kilos, however he simply produced his best-ever season in 2025 after transferring to Arizona following time as a rotational piece at UT-Martin and Appalachian State. In his lone 12 months with the Wildcats, he tallied two sacks and 11 tackles for loss. There’s nonetheless some methods to go together with his growth, however he’s somebody whose rise could solely proceed.
S Ja’Qurious Conley: Playmaker
Conley can replenish the stat sheet from his security function. He had good ball manufacturing for that place in his faculty profession, which included three years at North Carolina and two at Charlotte. He posted 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in his profession, exhibiting a capability to make some performs behind the road of scrimmage. However it was the takeaways that caught the attention, particularly when he put all of it collectively for a profession 12 months in 2025. In his closing season on the collegiate stage, he totaled three interceptions, two passes defensed, a pressured fumble and a fumble restoration. Pairing manufacturing with measurement, he’ll be an intriguing match within the Bucs’ security room this summer season.
Bucs EDGE Jack Pyburn – Picture by: IMAGN Pictures – Scott Clause
OLB Jack Pyburn: Edge-Setter
Pyburn has proven little or no to latch onto when it comes to his means as a cross rusher, however he’s an distinctive run defender. He units the sting with nice violence and fearlessness, and his muscular construct, sturdy palms, bodily nature and fast hips all assist him break by means of blockers to trace down ball carriers. There’s an depth to the best way he performs the run, one thing that doesn’t at all times click on for edge rushers. He had 5 tackles for loss over three years at Florida, then broke out with 5.5 tackles for loss final 12 months alone as a member of Blake Baker’s LSU protection.
CB Ayden Garnes: Twitchy
Garnes has 4.4 pace and could be very twitchy, which might set him up exceptionally nicely in protection. He had eight cross breakups and an interception for Arizona final 12 months whereas permitting receptions on simply 47%-55% of the snaps through which he was focused over the past three years at Arizona, West Virginia and Duquesne. He has respectable size, which blends nicely together with his pace and twitch. The trick will probably be eye self-discipline, as he can get caught out at instances. However when his eyes catch as much as his athleticism, he may very well be a distinction maker.
ILB Javin Wright: Traitsy
The Bucs had been shocked that Wright wasn’t drafted, and it’s clear why they had been thrilled to get him as a possible undrafted free agent steal. He has measurement at 6-foot-4, 232 kilos. He has 4.6 pace and nice athleticism, making for good fluidity in his actions, which serves him nicely in protection. He earned a 71.3 protection grade final 12 months and is barely a few years faraway from a season with a 79.6 mark in protection. Wright suits that developmental kind of mould that the Bucs search for in UDFAs, that means he’s a man who has a lot to work with when it comes to traits, and now it’s about getting him to his full potential within the NFL.
ILB Caden Fordham: Instinctive
“Instincts” is at all times the phrase that comes up with Fordham. He doesn’t have the standard measurement of an inside linebacker, neither is he probably the most athletically gifted ‘backer you’ll ever see. However he merely makes performs on the soccer discipline, and that comes right down to his instincts and soccer I.Q., each of which present up in the best way he reads the sector and makes his option to the soccer. His 143 tackles had been the second-most in faculty soccer final 12 months, and his 10.5 tackles for loss additional exemplified his means to learn and react rapidly earlier than attending to ball carriers behind the road of scrimmage.
Bucs ILB Caden Fordham – Picture by: IMAGN Pictures – Jaylynn Nash
CB Jy Gilmore: Fearless
Gilmore is undersized at 5-foot-9, 185 kilos, however you wouldn’t comprehend it with the best way he performs the sport. He’s a person on a mission each time he’s on the sector, flying throughout and exhibiting a sure fearlessness in the best way he sticks his face in there to shed blockers and make tackles. He’s not afraid to put down an enormous hit or get after the quarterback, both, and his toughness is off the charts. Fearlessness, toughness and physicality are all necessities for those who’re going to make it as an undersized participant, and the previous Georgia State and Georgia tech nickel/security has all three in spades.
DT Josiah Inexperienced: Clever
Inexperienced was a four-year member and three-year letter winner for the soccer program at Dartmouth and earned unanimous All-Ivy honors in 2024 earlier than transferring to Duke in 2025. It goes with out saying that it takes quite a lot of smarts to graduate from Dartmouth, an Ivy League faculty, after which end up your faculty expertise at Duke, one other prestigious college. However it’s not simply classroom smarts that you simply get with Inexperienced, a 6-foot, 284-pound deal with. He spends loads of time watching movie and incorporating the opposition’s tendencies into his method on gamedays.
Bucs’ 2026 Draft Class And UDFAs: Particular Groups
Bucs P Aidan Laros – Picture by: IMAGN Pictures – Jordan Prather
P Aidan Laros: Effectively-Rounded
Laros did all of it as a specialist in his collegiate profession. He dealt with kickoff duties as a redshirt freshman at Charlotte in 2022, with opponents solely returning 13 of his 51 kickoffs. In 2023, he served as UT-Martin’s discipline purpose kicker, kickoff specialist and punter. He led all FCS punters with a 47.3 common and was 10-of-16 on discipline objectives and 43-of-45 on additional factors. Then, over 2024 and 2025, Laros dealt with punts and kickoffs for Kentucky. Oh and again in highschool, he was a linebacker along with being a specialist.
LS Wesley Brown: Athleticism
No, actually. Coaches rave about Brown as an athlete. Former NFL kicker Ryan Longwell, who coached Brown at Cal, stated the lengthy snapper stands out each on the sector and within the weight room as an athlete. His head coach at San Mateo, Tim Tulloch, stated he was “pound for pound, one of the most athletic guys” on their group, which isn’t a shock contemplating Brown was additionally a large receiver in junior faculty. Fresno State particular groups coordinator John Baxter praised his “professional-level commitment to strength, mobility, and flexibility,” and all three confirmed up on the stat sheet in 2025 because the lengthy snapper totaled two tackles and often contributed to the group’s protection items.
