Heading into the upcoming NFL season, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles gave an interesting response when asked which position group was the strongest on his team.
Following a strong 2-1 showing in preseason, and high expectations surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this upcoming year, the team is expected to be back in the running for the NFC South crown.
Despite losing franchise cornerstones like Mike Evans and Lavonte David, the front office did well to add to the roster through free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft.
On Tuesday, head coach Todd Bowles joined 95.7 WDAE with radio host Tom Krasniqi to talk about the roster and overall state of the team.
When asked about which position group Bowles feels is the best on the team, Tampa's bench boss named the inside linebacking group.
This is increasingly impressive considering the loss of David and plethora of new faces manning the middle.
"We have more depth at that spot than we've had since I've been there, and I think that's really a plus for us," Bowles said.
He went on to mention Alex Anzalone as a big pickup, saying that the room is bigger and more athletic than years past.
Anzalone spent the past five years with the Detroit Lions, joining during head coach Dan Campbell's inaugural season.
Anzalone served as a veteran leader for Campbell, providing experience to a young, up and coming team and helping the Lions transform their culture into a winning one.
Overall, he has played in 111 games, notching 613 tackles, 13 sacks and four interceptions over his nine-year tenure.
After playing on two one-year deals, Anzalone secured a three-year extension with Detroit in 2023, earning the honor of captain and becoming the "quarterback of the defense" for Campbell, a term first used to describe Anzalone during his playing days at Florida.
Now, he returns "home" to a city where he and his family live in the offseason, getting to play for a hungry Bucs defense.
Second-round draft pick Josiah Trotter is another player set to see significant action in the middle this upcoming season, coming off a strong senior year with Missouri.
Throughout the preseason, Trotter has been hailed as a high-upside player, while the former Tigers standout has grown more comfortable with the playbook.
In early-August, following a training camp session, Trotter talked about balancing playing fast with knowing his personnel around him and said that he feels he has put the work in to understand what is needed from him.
Linebackers coach Mike Caldwell is extremely high on his new man in the middle, saying Trotter has no limit for how good he can become.
"When you understand the talent that he has, the ceiling is high," Caldwell said. "There is no ceiling for him right now."
Christian Rozeboom and SirVocea Dennis are additional players in the room who provide consistent tackling and experience to Bowles' defense.
Having this amount of depth and talent in the middle should be a huge benefit for a Tampa team looking to return to defensive prominence this upcoming season.
