Todd Bowles and Bucs poised to shock the NFL in 2026. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off an 8-9 season that slipped away from them and put plenty of pressure on Todd Bowles, but one outlet believes the pieces are finally in place for Tampa Bay to make a real jump.
The Pewter Plank’s Josh Crysler argued that Bowles is entering 2026 with the strongest roster he has had since taking over as head coach, especially after the Bucs spent the offseason reworking the defense.
Tampa Bay added veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone, pass rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, defensive tackles A’Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, then followed that up by drafting Rueben Bain Jr., Josiah Trotter and Keionte Scott.
The biggest changes came at linebacker and along the
pass rush, two areas that badly needed more consistency. Anzalone and Trotter are expected to play major roles in the middle, while Bain and Muhammad give the Bucs more options off the edge.
Crysler’s point is pretty simple: Bowles finally has more of the type of defensive personnel he has needed, and now it comes down to what he does with it.
That also puts more pressure on him. Tampa Bay went 35-33 over Bowles’ first four regular seasons with a 1-3 playoff record, so another middle-of-the-pack season probably won’t do much to quiet the criticism.
If the defense takes the step the Bucs are hoping for, though, Tampa Bay could look a lot different than it did a year ago. The roster has more depth, more youth, and more options for Bowles to work with, which is why Chrysler believes the Bucs could turn into a dark-horse playoff team in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Todd Bowles and Bucs poised to shock the NFL in 2026
