Three practices into training camp, one thing has become clear: the Bucs’ young talent is driving much of the conversation.

Emeka Egbuka looks like Baker Mayfield’s favorite target. Rueben Bain Jr. is flashing his pass-rushing promise. Tez Johnson refuses to stop making plays.

Meanwhile, a handful of veterans have quietly slipped into the background.

Last week was all about previewing camp. This week, Slivon’s Slant will offer my biggest takeaways, including which players have seen their stock rise and fall and two aspects of game planning that are noteworthy and worth following.

Stock Up, Stock Down: Early Bucs Camp Winners And Losers

Winners:

WR Emeka Egbuka – Egbuka has not had the greatest training camp from a wide receiver standpoint (see Tez Johnson), but he has established himself as the top target for Baker Mayfield. One of the biggest highlights so far came during Friday’s practice when he caught a deep touchdown on a pristine Mayfield throw.

It was reminiscent of the first half of the 2025 season, when the gunslinger and rookie wideout’s connection helped spark a 6-2 start. Someone has to take over as the team’s No. 1 target, and while there are solid options in Chris Godwin Jr., Jalen McMillan, Ted Hurst, and Johnson, Egbuka appears to be “the guy.”

WR Tez Johnson – Johnson did not get off to the fastest start in camp, dropping two passes on the first day before redeeming himself late in practice by catching a deep pass from Jake Browning on Thursday. Browning himself has had an impressive few days, teaming up with Johnson and developing strong chemistry.

Bucs WR Tez Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That was highlighted on Thursday, when “Tezmania” took over and hauled in three touchdown catches and had his first backflip of the 2026 season. Johnson has an uphill climb to establish himself in the pecking order, but he continues creating separation, making it increasingly difficult to ignore his emergence as a legitimate deep threat.

OLB Rueben Bain Jr. – Bain entered the summer with high expectations, and those have only grown within the organization and from the national media. Tampa Bay’s first-round pick has gotten right to work so far and has flashed his upside going against right tackle Luke Goedeke, an above-average player at his position.

From the way Bain has showcased his low bend and power during individual drills to giving Goedeke and other offensive tackles fits during 11-on-11s, he has displayed glimpses of being a difference-maker.

Bucs OLB Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With Vita Vea and A’Shawn Robinson sidelined Friday, the defensive line largely failed to generate pressure. Instead, it has been Bain and Yaya Diaby leading the charge on the first-team defense, and his performance is among the best from all defensive players through the first week.

OLB David Walker – Next to Tez Johnson, Walker has easily been one of the team’s best backups out there. He has generated plenty of buzz despite never playing an NFL snap, consistently making life difficult for opposing offensive tackles. By my count, he has recorded a sack in each practice, and he is making a legitimate push to overtake Al-Quadin Muhammad as the team’s third outside linebacker.

Losers:

DT Calijah Kancey – Kancey has struggled to do much of anything in camp, with Vita Vea’s absence contributing to that. If Kancey needs Vea to be productive, that is concerning considering Vea’s contract situation. He works best with the big nose tackle taking attention and giving him one-on-one matchups.

Bucs DTs Calijah Kancey, Jayson Jones and A’Shawn Robinson – Photo by Cliff Welch P/R

Entering a pivotal fourth season, it is vital Kancey shows signs of staying healthy and putting together his best year. With it growing likely that Vea will not return in 2027, No. 94 must prove that he can be the future of the Bucs defensive line. Early on in camp, his name has barely been mentioned, and his presence has gone unnoticed.

CB Josh Hayes – On the flip side, Hayes is the cornerback I have noticed the most – and not for good reasons. Among the corners out there, he has been beaten the most in coverage. That has meant failing to contain Tez Johnson, who has repeatedly bested him. Quality coverage reps have been hard to find, and as guys like Damarion Williams and Ayden Garnes get more run, it could bump Hayes out of the picture. Based on his play, he is trending closer to the roster bubble.

CB Benjamin Morrison – Morrison returned to practice on Friday, but he only participated in warmups and individual drills. It has been a slower ramp-up process for him than expected due to his recovery from a hamstring injury, which does not bode well for him winning the second outside cornerback job. For each day he does not practice, Jacob Parrish is only settling more and more into the role. Parrish had a very good week and has the support of Tykee Smith and the rest of the secondary. Morrison is already losing valuable ground in what was supposed to be one of the biggest camp competitions.

S JJ Roberts – Roberts impressed as an undrafted free agent last year, but he has yet to do much recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last August. Not being fully healthy prompted the Bucs to go out and sign veteran Ifeatu Melifonwu, who brings size and production to the room. Melifonwu has a real chance of sticking around as the third safety because of his experience, especially if Roberts cannot get up to speed – and quickly.

Two Early Scheme Trends Worth Watching

Three different Bucs offensive linemen have independently emphasized Zac Robinson’s commitment to building the offense around the wide-zone running game. After it was a staple of Robinson’s offense in Atlanta, it appears that will be the case in Tampa Bay, too.

First, it was Luke Goedeke who stated getting it down is one of the biggest things the offense is doing right now.

Then, Ben Bredeson chimed in about his impressions of the offense.

“I’m very impressed with it,” Bredeson said. “A little bit more of some wide zone stuff going in and it’s something that I feel can work and it’s obviously worked with Atlanta and his previous stops before that, so I’m excited for it.”

The most revealing statement came from Cody Mauch, who discussed how running wide zone will diversify the ground game and open things up for the passing attack to get going.

“I’m sure everyone’s said it when they talk about it, but we’re getting the wide zone game going a little bit more, and I think it [will] be good for us,” Mauch said. “I’d say we’re all pretty athletic up front; tight ends are athletic – so not only [is] the wide zone getting us moving, getting the running backs moving, but [it is] complementing the rest of our game as well.

“We’ll still get to our gap scheme, we’ll still run some duo and stuff, but just us being efficient at this wide zone to help us set up everything else – so, really excited about what we’re doing so far.”

Put it all together, and that is one of the most revealing insights from a game planning standpoint on either side of the football.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

At full strength, there is reason to be optimistic wide zone will work better than it did under Liam Coen in 2024. Coen deviated from it in favor of gap run concepts midway through the year, but the difference in 2026 is having a more experienced group. Mauch and Graham Barton will play a pivotal role in unlocking the potential of the run game.

On the defensive side of the football, things have been much more tight-lipped.

It was quite noticeable how much more Todd Bowles dialed up blitzes on Friday. I would expect more of the same with pads coming on and for Bowles to get creative in calling various looks. What has stood out in camp is how much the inside linebackers have been sent on blitzes up the middle. There were two other instances where Rueben Bain Jr. and Antoine Winfield Jr. lined up in a 3-3-5 look before each was sent on a delayed blitz.

After finishing with just 37 sacks last season, do not expect Bowles to become any less aggressive. If anything, camp suggests the opposite.

Closing Slant

Overall, it has been one of the more entertaining first weeks of Bucs training camp I have covered. Despite the contract drama surrounding the team, the football itself has been highly competitive. There was give-and-take on the first day, but the offense has the advantage after coming alive on the second day and generating plenty of highlights on the third and final practice session of the week.

The biggest surprise has been how competitive practices have been, a reflection of the improved depth built across the roster. Tampa Bay’s squad is far from a finished product, but the initial impressions are that the team has been revamped by new additions with several returning players showing improvement.

Three practices are only three practices. Pads have not even come on yet. But if the first week is any indication, it is that the Bucs’ young core is helping set the tone next to the veteran leaders the team will be relying on in 2026.

Follow Pewter Report’s Bucs Training Camp Coverage!

Get ready for plenty of entertaining Bucs practices and preseason games that Pewter Report will be on hand for over the next month. To follow our coverage, stay tuned to PewterReport.com and our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. If you are looking for our thoughts about Baker Mayfield, we covered it in-depth during our Thursday and Friday Pewter Report Podcasts below. Check them out!