Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Brett Davis

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Do you think Todd Bowles is open to input from Zac Robinson on the team’s defensive vulnerabilities? Or is Bowles convinced he just needs the right players and everything will fall into place?

ANSWER: I hope Buccaneers head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles is open to input from new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson – or anyone – at this point. Coming off an 8-9 season in 2025 that saw the team go 2-7 down the stretch, it’s clear that Bowles doesn’t have all the answers. He certainly didn’t have them in the months of November and December as Tampa Bay lost its lead in the NFC South to Carolina.

If I’m Bowles I’m paying attention to anything and everything that Robinson has to say about the Tampa Bay defense. As I wrote in last Friday’s SR’s FAB 5 column, Robinson’s Falcons offense was 3-1 in four games against Bowles’ defense.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Mark J. Rebilas

“Under Robinson’s direction, Atlanta averaged 29 points per game against Tampa Bay as the Falcons went 3-1 versus the Bucs. Bowles’ defense surrendered 12 passing touchdowns and recorded just one interceptions in those four contests. In the last meeting, a 29-28 Falcons’ win over the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football in Week 15, Tampa Bay blew a 14-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in regulation.”

If Bowles doesn’t ask Robinson why he felt he had so much success against his defense he’s either being too prideful or just not smart. Tampa Bay’s defense ranked 18th in yards allowed and 16th in scoring defense in 2024, and 19th in yards allowed and 20th in scoring defense last year. As much as the offense needs to improve under Robinson’s watch in 2026, Bowles’ defense needs to make the most strides next year if this team is going to get back atop the NFC South.

QUESTION: Zac Robinson is a “prove me wrong” hire just like Todd Bowles’ situation. Pick one thing you want him to improve in Tampa Bay based on lessons learned from the Falcons. Mine is to improve red zone/ scoring efficiency. The Bucs were 24th. I’d help him by hiring a red zone/third down specialist like Josh Grizzard was.

ANSWER: The Falcons were the the NFL’s 10th-ranked red zone team last year, converting red zone trips into touchdowns 62% of the time. The Buccaneers ranked 24th, as you said, scoring touchdowns in the red zone just 54% of the time. Tampa Bay was significantly better in 2024 under Liam Coen, ranking fourth in the red zone efficiency at 66.7%.

Josh Grizzard’s primary responsibility as Coen’s pass game coordinator wasn’t red zone, it was third down as the Bucs ranked first in the NFL in that category in 2024. Had the Bucs scored a touchdown instead of a field goal in every game they settled for three points those four additional points would have won them three more games in 2025. Tampa Bay lost to Atlanta, 29-28, as well as to Carolina, 23-20, and to Miami, 20-17. With three more wins the Tampa Bay finishes 11-6 and NFC South champions again instead of having the 8-9 record they posted.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Brett Davis

It will be interesting to see who handles red zone preparation and game-planning with Zac Robinson this season. Atlanta was quite good in the red zone, especially on the ground with 17 rushing touchdowns, which was four more than Tampa Bay had on the ground in 2025. So yes, I would agree. Getting more efficient in scoring touchdowns in the red zone would be at the top of my list for fixing one thing on offense.

A close second would be upping Baker Mayfield’s completion percentage, which was 63.2%. Mayfield threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024 under Coen. But what led to all those yards and scores was the fact that he completed 71.4% of his passes, which was a franchise-record. A higher completion percentage leads to more third down conversions, more first downs and longer drives. I’m hoping Robinson has Mayfield get back to shorter, rhythmic throws like Coen called for rather than more downfield shots like Grizzard favored.

QUESTION: I find myself struggling with a sense of real disinterest towards the Bucs. Last season’s record and performance was mediocre. The head coach and staff decisions were mediocre at best. The OC hire is mediocre. The upcoming free agency period and draft feels uninspiring.

There is nothing about this team that gets me excited for next year. The best that I can say is that I feel apathetic. Can you help me feel better about the team and their path forward?

ANSWER: Well, I can understand where you’re coming from, especially given Todd Bowles’ popularity with fans, which is at an all-time low following the disappointing 8-9 finish last season. You’re not alone in your line of thinking. And the Tampa Bay fan base is only luke warm over the hiring of offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, as evidenced by a recent poll on Pewter Report’s X account, which showed 53.9% of fans call his hiring “so-so” and 35.2% “like” the hire.

I will say this. With Bowles being on the hot seat this year I would expect the Buccaneers to be quite aggressive in free agency and perhaps in this year’s draft, too. This is a make-or-break season for Bowles, and if he doesn’t win in 2026 I suspect he will be fired. So either this team will be significantly better in 2026 with Bowles and the Bucs going back to the playoffs, or Bowles will get fired. Either way, I think most fans will be pleased with the possible outcomes.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bowles’ defense has to get remarkably better in 2026 for him to stick around. And in order for that to happen, Bowles and general manager Jason Licht need to seriously upgrade the talent along the front seven. The Buccaneers will need to add 2-3 new inside linebackers and add another edge rusher or two, in addition to another defensive tackle.

With only one unrestricted free agent that truly needs to be re-signed in wide receiver Mike Evans – the Bucs can live without bringing anyone else back – Tampa Bay’s salary cap room can be spent on new free agents rather than re-signing current players. Hopefully that, and a couple of possible stars via the draft, brings some excitement to Tampa Bay this offseason.

QUESTION: I currently have no feel for where our team is right now. We are a backup guard and backup quarterback away from a fantastic offense I think. On defense, we have a good secondary but seemed desperate for inside linebacker and a quality edge rusher. Todd Bowles a big question mark.

Last year we were talking Super Bowl. Right now, do you feel the team is in a nose dive or is it a couple of players away from being a division, champ and possible contender?

ANSWER: This is a great question. And I agree that Todd Bowles is a big question mark this season. His defense is sub-par and has been the unit that has held the team back in each of the last two years. The unit does need more talent, and that falls on the shoulders of general manager Jason Licht – but not entirely. Licht is not going to draft a defensive lineman, a linebacker or an edge rusher that doesn’t have Bowles’ seal of approval from the head coach’s own scouting process.

But I truly don’t have a good feel for whether this team is a a few players away from being a legit Super Bowl contender or staying below .500. That depends on if the Buccaneers add the right players on defense and how well Bowles coaches those players and how well he calls the defense. And it also depends on if Zac Robinson can be an upgrade over Josh Grizzard and if special teams are shored up with the arrival of Danny Smith. That’s a lot of ifs, right?

Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I don’t think Tampa Bay is in a nose dive where the team would lose more than eight games next year. You are correct that the offense is further ahead and doesn’t need as much attention as the defense does. Tampa Bay literally has two inside linebackers under contract in 2026 – SirVocea Dennis, who is entering a contract year, and Nick Jackson, an undrafted free agent in 2025. So that would be a great place to start.

The Buccaneers also need to upgrade at outside linebacker and add another stud, starting-caliber defensive tackle. Picking the right players will be huge. Another bad decision at edge rusher like Haason Reddick in free agency or Chris Braswell in the draft will be catastrophic for Tampa Bay in 2026 – and possibly beyond.

Be sure to check out Pewter Report’s first 2026 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft and watch Scott Reynolds and Josh Queipo discuss each pick on the Pewter Report Mock Draft Show.