A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday during the Buccaneers offseason and regular season. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: Which Bucs player will be the biggest surprise in 2024?

Scott Reynolds: Markees Watts Is Ready To Break Out

Last year I identified Markees Watts as a training camp sleeper heading into the 2023 season. The 6-foot-1, 246-pound outside linebacker wound up making the team as a longshot undrafted free agent out of Charlotte, and won a roster spot over Jose Ramirez, who was a sixth-round pick. The Bucs loved both players and put Ramirez on the practice squad for his rookie year, while Watts saw action in seven games. Watts finished with four tackles and a sack, and he had a QB hit on Tennessee’s Will Levis that resulted in an interception by Antoine Winfield Jr.

Entering his second season in Tampa Bay, Watts has the chance to go from occasional use role player into a potential starter in 2024. I’m not predicting that he is going to beat out veteran newcomer Randy Gregory, second-round pick Chris Braswell or holdovers Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson, who are both in contract years with all the motivation in the world to have a big season. But Watts has the speed-to-power, the bend and the high motor that could make him a real threat to replace Shaq Barrett opposite YaYa Diaby in the starting lineup.

Don’t just take my word for it.

Bucs offensive tackles Luke Goedeke and Tristan Wirfs have raved about Watts giving them fits in practice. General manager Jason Licht even said on a recent Pewter Report Podcast episode that Watts, who is now over 250 pounds, was one of the players to watch heading into training camp when the pads come on. “Markees is a one to keep an eye on,” Licht said. “He’s put on some really good weight, looks bigger and stronger, but still just cat-like quickness coming off the corner. And his bend and how low he plays to the ground is phenomenal.”

Matt Matera: Don’t Sleep On Bucs WR3 Trey Palmer

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: USA Today

All of the excitement over the new three-receiver sets in the Bucs offense has many thinking about how great that will be for Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and rookie Jalen McMillan, a third-round pick. But don’t forget about Trey Palmer, who heads into his second season. While Palmer certainly has a lot to clean up and improve on in year two, he has the speed and route-running ability to play an important role for Tampa Bay.

It felt like Palmer was starting to figure things out towards the end of the season. He’s never going to be the number one option with Evans and Godwin on this team, but in Week 16 Palmer had a career-high 84 receiving yards, which led the Bucs that day. Palmer had three touchdowns in his rookie year and tacked on another in the playoffs with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a score against Philadelphia, proving he has some big-play ability.

Palmer may also see his contributions to the Bucs come in the return game. After the Bucs waived Deven Thompkins, there’s an opening for the kick and punt return role that he has an opportunity to win. Palmer is well-liked by the receiver room and has a great chance to grow. Though he may split time with McMillan in the WR3 role this year, an improved Palmer will shine in 2024.

Bailey Adams: It’s Time To Get Lit, K.J. Britt

Bucs ILB K.J. Britt – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It won’t be completely out of nowhere given his solid play down the stretch in 2023, but I think linebacker K.J. Britt will be one of the surprises of the Bucs’ 2024 season. Tampa Bay was fine to let Devin White walk away via free agency, and outside of re-signing Lavonte David and adding undrafted free agent Kalen DeLoach, the team didn’t touch the linebacker room this offseason. That felt both circumstantial and like a vote of confidence for the room as it is — and particularly Britt, who will be in his fourth season in Todd Bowles’ defense.

Britt posted PFF grades of 69.9, 79.5 and 76.6 between Weeks 13 and 15 and while his grades dipped after that, they didn’t fall far. He posted a 60.8 in Week 16, a 65.5 in Week 17 and a 66.4 in the Wild Card Round, showing that he can be a sure tackler and assignment sound. The former Auburn Tiger gets off blocks well and fills his gaps, doing so better than White did over the last couple of years in Tampa Bay.

Britt told the media last week that he’s spent this offseason working on his vision, which will help him improve in coverage. It’s his struggles in coverage that, to this point, have kept him from being a three-down linebacker.

Whether he blossoms into a three-down guy or not, I really believe Britt will emerge as a reliable force next to Lavonte David. He knows the defense well, has great maturity and is growing into his new leadership role. So if and when the Bucs defense is improved in 2024, I think Britt’s steady play will be a big reason why.

Josh Queipo: Another Young Safety Emerges Under Todd Bowles

Bucs DB Tykee Smith – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Four years ago, the Bucs selected a safety on Day 2 of the draft. He would go on to finish in the Top 5 in voting for Defensive Rookie of the Year, earn a Pro Bowl and an All-Pro nod while recording 122 tackles, intercepting three passes, recording six sacks and forcing six fumbles and recovering four of them. Antoine Winfield Jr. played so well last year that he is now the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL.

This year the Bucs selected Georgia’s Tykee Smith in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. And while I’m not predicting Smith will rise to the lofty level of Winfield I do think he will hit several milestones this year. After winning the starting nickel cornerback job I think Smith’s spatial awareness and football IQ will shine through as he creates turnovers and sacks that will have him in the conversation for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Smith has the potential to be a real difference-maker who can help elevate Tampa Bay’s defensive backfield’s level of play into a Top 12 unit in the NFL. Smith’s presence near the line of scrimmage combined with his field vision and hard-hitting style of play has a chance to make him a breakout star in 2024.

Adam Slivon: Zyon McCollum Is Ready To Put It All Together As Starting NFL CB

Fresh off his appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast, Zyon McCollum spoke extensively about his development and how he is looking to get better this season. After stepping in last year when Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean were injured, McCollum is now looking to step up and fill the void left by Davis on the outside.

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

He made significant strides last season in his tackling ability and coverage. He paced Tampa Bay’s cornerback room with 68 total tackles, a notable increase from the 24 he had as a rookie. In coverage, McCollum still has room to grow, but it was evident that the game started to slow down for him and he was able to keep up with his matchups.

Still, the 2022 fifth-round pick has yet to start a full season’s worth of games, and this year will be critical in determining his ceiling. To get to it, that will mean recording his first NFL interception and producing. There is no doubt that he has the itch to go out there and ball out.

“Having been thrown in the fire as much as I was last year and kind of knowing what to expect and what I have to do to play at a super great form, it’s just exciting for me,” McCollum said earlier this offseason. “Each and every day I carry a chip on my shoulder [for] what I got to go get.”

Zyon McCollum has all of the physical tools to succeed, from his 6-2, 199-pound frame to his 4.33 speed. He laid the foundation for becoming a key contributor last season by playing more and learning various roles in head coach Todd Bowles’ defense. Now, McCollum looks primed to put it all together and have a big year in 2024 as a full-time starter.