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The Bucs need secondary depth.

The Bucs need linebacker depth.

The Bucs need juice off the edge.

This was my assessment of the team at the end of last year.

It’s also a fun twist on a line from the HBO show “The Newsroom.” Senior producer Jim Harper, an avid fan of the New York Mets, says, “The Mets need speed. The Mets need power. The Mets need pitching,” to illustrate how he lost interest in a news report one of his co-workers was pitching him. But I digress.

Back to the Bucs.

The secondary depth was priority No. 1 for Tampa Bay as the team added two Day 2 picks in cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish. Parrish has already started to impress in live game action and Morrison had a good camp before a hamstring injury sidelined him for two weeks. The team also brought in free agent Kindle Vildor to add to the back end of the defensive roster.

But there is another less heralded name that made quite an impression in his first preseason game.

J.J. Roberts Had Himself A Game

J.J. Roberts was a revelation on Saturday. His coverage chops in the slot were excellent. He displayed plus speed and athleticism and added an incredible feel for route recognition and closing passing windows. It was against the Titans’ back of the roster, but there was still a lot to like.

The team is collectively holding its breath that a leg injury Roberts sustained in Thursday’s joint practice with the Steelers in Pittsburgh isn’t serious because he’s on his way to making the 53-man roster.

Bucs Db Jj Roberts And Cb Tyrek Funderburk

Bucs DB JJ Roberts and CB Tyrek Funderburk – Photo by: USA Today

Roberts totaled five tackles and two passes defensed against the Titans. One of those passes defensed ended up in the hands of teammate Tyrek Funderburk for an interception. Pro Football Focus had Roberts targeted seven times, allowing just one catch for 13 yards over 27 coverage reps. Beyond the box score, the tape and traits were promising.

The hip fluidity to transition from full backpedal to dead sprint while covering the slot fade is impressive. Staying in phase to give the throw no shot of being completed, even if it were a better throw. But the most impressive rep of the night was this zone coverage later in the game.

The ability to close off two throwing windows at once is really special. To do it while still keeping a closer pinch on the eventual choice and making the break on the ball to force the incompletion. It was the best play of the night from a process standpoint in my opinion.

These plays show that Roberts offers what is needed from both the mental and physical aspect of the game to be a real asset for the Bucs as they hope to have enough depth to weather a grueling 17+ game season. And he is establishing a multi-positional skillset that can be a real asset for a down-roster player.

Where Did The Bucs Find Roberts?

The Bucs had interest in J.J. Roberts in the pre-draft process, hosting him for an official 30 visit. The safety out of Marshall displayed impressive athleticism when he tested prior to the draft, earning a 9.67 score on Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score system.

In his final year playing college, Roberts recorded 94 tackles, five for a loss, one sack and 14 passes defensed. Despite the impressive athletic markers and ball production, Roberts’ size and some tackling concerns coming from a smaller program left him undrafted in April. The Bucs brought him in with a $300,000 guarantee and an opportunity to factor into their push for a deeper secondary.

J.J. Roberts’ First Preseason Game Was Impressive

Things couldn’t have gone much better for J.J. Roberts and the Bucs in his first preseason game. His physical traits played well against the Titans depth receivers.

His speed, transition out of his backpedal and closing ability all checked the boxes and showed as plus in his first NFL game action. The exciting part was that all of his almost 80% of his snaps came in the slot, where the Bucs have had him focusing this year. That’s a new role for the converted safety. He played in the slot just 14% of the time in college.

Beyond the physical traits on display, the even more impressive part of his performance was the mental acumen he displayed in coverage. His zone IQ was truly special.

Roberts ended the game with five tackles and two passes defensed. Pro Football Focus credited him with forcing one incompletion while allowing just one reception for 14 yards despite being targeted seven times. His QB rating allowed when targeted was a ridiculous 39.6.

Factoring Into The Bucs Defensive Backfield

Full disclosure: I started this article on J.J. Roberts early in the week. It was before he pulled up limping during joint practices with the Steelers. That injury will keep him out of the second preseason game at Acrisure Stadium, which my colleague Bailey Adams affectionately calls Heinz Field. But as long as his injury is not major and he is physically available come Week 1, he already secured his place on the team’s 53-man roster.

Roberts’ impressive play gives the Bucs depth at a position that can be classified as a question mark at the top, even if the team has several quality options they could turn to if need be. The problem is many of those quality options are needed at other starting positions.

Bucs Fs Antoine Winfield Jr. And Ncb Tykee Smith

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr. and DB Tykee Smith – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs carried 11 defensive backs to begin the 2024 season. They carried 10 the year prior. In 2022 they relied on just eight.

My guess is that after the depth issues they experienced last year, they stick to 10-11 in 2025. Seven of those spots are locked in with Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith, Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish and Christian Izien. That leaves three or four spots still up for grabs. Roberts has the inside track over veterans such as Kindle Vildor and Bryce Hall, as well as younger players Tyrek Funderburk, Kaevon Merriweather and Josh Hayes.

Roberts has more positional flexibility than that group, and a higher ceiling than most. If he can improve his tackling, there is a legitimate starter-level ceiling that others vying for roster spots just don’t possess. By the end of this season, he could be seen as the third best safety/second best slot on the team.

As far as undrafted free agents go. J.J. Roberts is special. Let’s just hope he’s healthy.

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Joshua Queipo

Josh Queipo joined the Pewter Report team in 2022, specializing in salary cap analysis and film study. In addition to his official role with the website and podcast, he has an unofficial role as the Pewter Report team’s beaming light of positivity and jokes. A staunch proponent of the forward pass, he is a father to two amazing children and loves sushi, brisket, steak and bacon, though the order changes depending on the day. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 2008 with a degree in finance.

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