The NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, and while no one could blame you if you’re ready to go full speed ahead to September when the Bucs will kick off the 2026 season, there are still some stops to make along the way before Week 1. And the next one is this weekend’s rookie minicamp at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa.

Friday and Saturday will be the first chance for the Bucs’ 2026 draft class to come together on the practice fields at One Buc Place, and with them will be the team’s undrafted free agent signings and other rookie camp invitees. This is a unique opportunity for these players, and with the big-time stars like Baker Mayfield, Chris Godwin Jr., Tristan Wirfs and Vita Vea (among others) obviously not being a part of this weekend, the spotlight fully belongs to the Bucs’ rookies.

With that in mind, we’re taking a closer look at these players here on PewterReport.com before we see them up close and personal starting Friday. While Scott Reynolds (with an assist from Bucs vice president of player personnel Mike Biehl) did a fantastic job providing an in-depth rundown of the Bucs’ 2026 undrafted free agent class in his latest SR’s Fab 5, the aim here is to offer another quick dive into Tampa Bay’s draft class and undrafted free agents.

We started Wednesday with the offense, so now it’s on to the defense (with a couple of bonus rookies on special teams).

Bucs’ 2026 Draft Class And UDFAs: Defense

Bucs edge Rueben Bain Jr., GM Jason Licht and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

OLB Rueben Bain Jr.: Transformational

There’s a reason why Jason Licht continues to go on and on about his shock and delight that Bain was available at No. 15, and that’s because he’s a transformational type of player. Not only does he get after the quarterback with power, technique and an endless motor, but he sets the edge and plays the run well. His production will be a welcome sight for a Buccaneer defense desperate for a prolific pass rusher, and there’s the fact that his presence will create opportunities for Yaya Diaby and others. There is a multitude of ways he brings value, and that’s why he’s such a transformational difference-maker for 2026 and beyond.

ILB Josiah Trotter: Old-School

Considering that he’s the son of Jeremiah Trotter Sr., it makes sense that the Bucs’ second-round pick fits an old-school kind of mold at inside linebacker. He’s extremely well built, works downhill with outstanding intensity and effectiveness and he has the requisite toughness to stick his face into every play. His instincts against the run are off the charts, too, and while he’s still young and developing in coverage, he already has the run-fitting, blitzing prowess and tackling technique of an NFL Mike linebacker at just 21 years old.

DB Keionte Scott: Disruptive

You typically get “disruptive” out of guys in the trenches, which may really speak to the mix of aggression and speed Scott plays with to cause havoc at the line of scrimmage and in the backfield. He has exceptional awareness and possesses an ability to make himself small, both of which contribute to a tendency to avoid blocks and stay in the play. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler describes him as “more disruptive at the line than most linebackers,” which says a lot. He had five sacks for Miami last year, and he can also extend his disruptiveness to the plays he makes in the secondary, as he had two pick-sixes for the Hurricanes in 2025 as well.

Clemson DT DeMonte Capehart – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Ken Ruinard

DT DeMonte Capehart: Immovable

This is an exaggeration because no, he’s not actually going to be impossible to move. But as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo wrote about this week, Capehart’s anchor is a finished product. He won’t get bullied in one-on-ones, and he holds strong against doubles. His size makes him hard to move off his spot, and then there’s the fact that he’s athletic. So really, he’ll do the moving at his own discretion. He fires off the ball quickly, gets his long arms extended and uses his athleticism and lateral agility to get after ball carriers, plug running lanes and shut down escape routes for quarterbacks looking to evade the outside rush – whatever he’s asked to do in a given look.

DT Deshawn McKnight: Riser

McKnight’s best football may still be ahead of him. He’s a bit undersized for the defensive tackle position at 6-foot-1, 283 pounds, but he just 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 year with the Wildcats, he tallied two sacks and 11 tackles for loss. There’s still some ways to go with his development, but he’s someone whose rise may only continue.

S Ja’Qurious Conley: Playmaker

Conley can fill up the stat sheet from his safety role. He had good ball production for that position in his college career, which included three years at North Carolina and two at Charlotte. He posted 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in his career, showing an ability to make some plays behind the line of scrimmage. But it was the takeaways that caught the eye, especially when he put it all together for a career year in 2025. In his final season at the collegiate level, he totaled three interceptions, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Pairing production with size, he’ll be an intriguing fit in the Bucs’ safety room this summer.

Bucs EDGE Jack Pyburn – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Scott Clause

OLB Jack Pyburn: Edge-Setter

Pyburn has shown very little to latch onto in terms of his ability as a pass rusher, but he is an exceptional run defender. He sets the edge with great violence and fearlessness, and his muscular build, strong hands, physical nature and quick hips all help him break through blockers to track down ball carriers. There’s an intensity to the way he plays the run, something that doesn’t always click for edge rushers. He had five tackles for loss over three years at Florida, then broke out with 5.5 tackles for loss last year alone as a member of Blake Baker’s LSU defense.

CB Ayden Garnes: Twitchy

Garnes has 4.4 speed and is very twitchy, which can set him up exceptionally well in coverage. He had eight pass breakups and an interception for Arizona last year while allowing receptions on just 47%-55% of the snaps in which he was targeted over the last three years at Arizona, West Virginia and Duquesne. He has decent length, which blends well with his speed and twitch. The trick will be eye discipline, as he can get caught out at times. But when his eyes catch up to his athleticism, he could be a difference maker.

ILB Javin Wright: Traitsy

The Bucs were surprised that Wright wasn’t drafted, and it’s clear why they were thrilled to get him as a potential undrafted free agent steal. He has size at 6-foot-4, 232 pounds. He has 4.6 speed and great athleticism, making for good fluidity in his movements, which serves him well in coverage. He earned a 71.3 coverage grade last year and is only a couple of years removed from a season with a 79.6 mark in coverage. Wright fits that developmental type of mold that the Bucs look for in UDFAs, meaning he’s a guy who has plenty to work with in terms of traits, and now it’s about getting him to his full potential in the NFL.

ILB Caden Fordham: Instinctive

“Instincts” is always the word that comes up with Fordham. He doesn’t have the typical size of an inside linebacker, nor is he the most athletically gifted ‘backer you’ll ever see. But he simply makes plays on the football field, and that comes down to his instincts and football I.Q., both of which show up in the way he reads the field and makes his way to the football. His 143 tackles were the second-most in college football last year, and his 10.5 tackles for loss further exemplified his ability to read and react quickly before getting to ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage.

Bucs ILB Caden Fordham – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Jaylynn Nash

CB Jy Gilmore: Fearless

Gilmore is undersized at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, but you wouldn’t know it with the way he plays the game. He’s a man on a mission every time he’s on the field, flying all around and showing a certain fearlessness in the way he sticks his face in there to shed blockers and make tackles. He’s not afraid to lay down a big hit or get after the quarterback, either, and his toughness is off the charts. Fearlessness, toughness and physicality are all requirements if you’re going to make it as an undersized player, and the former Georgia State and Georgia tech nickel/safety has all three in spades.

DT Josiah Green: Intelligent

Green was a four-year member and three-year letter winner for the football program at Dartmouth and earned unanimous All-Ivy honors in 2024 before transferring to Duke in 2025. It goes without saying that it takes a great deal of smarts to graduate from Dartmouth, an Ivy League school, and then finish up your college experience at Duke, another prestigious university. But it’s not just classroom smarts that you get with Green, a 6-foot, 284-pound tackle. He spends a lot of time watching film and incorporating the opposition’s tendencies into his approach on gamedays.

Bucs’ 2026 Draft Class And UDFAs: Special Teams

Bucs P Aidan Laros – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Jordan Prather

P Aidan Laros: Well-Rounded

Laros did it all as a specialist in his collegiate career. He handled kickoff duties as a redshirt freshman at Charlotte in 2022, with opponents only returning 13 of his 51 kickoffs. In 2023, he served as UT-Martin’s field goal kicker, kickoff specialist and punter. He led all FCS punters with a 47.3 average and was 10-of-16 on field goals and 43-of-45 on extra points. Then, over 2024 and 2025, Laros handled punts and kickoffs for Kentucky. Oh and back in high school, he was a linebacker in addition to being a specialist.

LS Wesley Brown: Athleticism

No, really. Coaches rave about Brown as an athlete. Former NFL kicker Ryan Longwell, who coached Brown at Cal, said the long snapper stands out both on the field and in the weight room as an athlete. His head coach at San Mateo, Tim Tulloch, said he was “pound for pound, one of the most athletic guys” on their team, which is not a surprise considering Brown was also a wide receiver in junior college. Fresno State special teams coordinator John Baxter praised his “professional-level commitment to strength, mobility, and flexibility,” and all three showed up on the stat sheet in 2025 as the long snapper totaled two tackles and regularly contributed to the team’s coverage units.