A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: What is the most intriguing Bucs training camp battle?

Scott Reynolds: Trey Palmer vs. Jalen McMillan For WR3

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I’ve already gone on record in a recent Pewter Pulse video saying that the battle for the WR3 position between rookie Jalen McMillan and second-year pro Trey Palmer is the most intriguing Bucs training camp battle. I’ll stand by that claim. The No. 3 wide receiver role is incredibly important to the Bucs this year more than ever. Because new offensive coordinator Liam Coen will be running more 11 personnel (one back, one tight end, three receivers) this year than Dave Canales did last year, the WR3 is a legit starter.

Then throw in the fact that Palmer has a year’s worth of experience catching passes from Baker Mayfield and the fact that McMillan was a third-round pick and incredibly talented and this training camp battle will be one of the most competitive this August. Palmer was drawing praise for his offseason progress as a route runner and his improved hands. McMillan made a quick and easy adjustment from college ball at Washington to playing Z receiver (flanker) in Tampa Bay.

The battle at left guard may wind up being more important just because the winner will be protecting Mayfield. But in terms of competition level and sheer entertainment level, WR3 is awfully interesting. The guess here is that McMillan wins out – barely. But an improved Palmer will be the first receiver off the bench to fill in at flanker, split end or slot and there won’t be much drop off, either.

Matt Matera: It’s A Royal Rumble At Outside Linebacker

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: USA Today

Even with the plan in place to have Yaya Diaby starting on one side at outside linebacker, the Bucs have five to potentially six options to start on the other. Whoever emerges from that role will have earned it during training camp and should hopefully put Tampa Bay in a better spot when it comes to getting a pass rush without relying all the time on the blitz.

Those in the running to start are second-round draft picks Chris Braswell out of Alabama, veterans Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson, who each have starting experience, and second-year players Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez. Another possibility is veteran player Randy Gregory, but Gregory did not show up for mandatory mini-camp and it was an unexcused absence. It’s unknown if he’ll make the team out of training camp.

Eventually the idea for the Bucs is to have Braswell be the starter. But to begin the season is anyone’s guess. Braswell has a physical presence and plays with high energy. Having an influx of youth on the defensive line with Diaby and Braswell on the edge and Calijah Kancey at defensive tackle can set the Bucs up well for quite a while.

Tryon-Shoyinka is in a contract year and has yet to truly break out as a pass rusher, but he’s a good run defender setting the edge, and has shown flashes of capability to turn the corner. Over his career Nelson has been very “steady Eddie,” as Todd Bowles calls him.

Watts has a great deal of talent that was on display recording a big QB hit that led to an Antoine Winfield Jr. interception last year as the Bucs defeated the Titans. Ramirez was on the practice squad all of last season but the team is still high on him and he got in better shape this summer. The Bucs are going to have several options to find a starter outside linebacker, it just depends on who wants to seize the opportunity.

Bailey Adams: Sua Opeta vs. Ben Bredeson For Starting Left Guard Job

Bucs OL Ben Bredeson and RG Cody Mauch – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As far as I’m concerned, Sua Opeta vs. Ben Bredeson for the starting left guard job is the battle to watch when Bucs training camp gets underway. Of course, the competition won’t really take off until the pads come on, but when that happens, it’ll be the key competition to monitor.

The rest of Tampa Bay’s offensive line is set, with Tristan Wirfs at left tackle, rookie Graham Barton at center, Cody Mauch at right guard and Luke Goedeke at right tackle. Opeta and Bredeson were signed on cheap free agent deals this offseason to battle for that open left guard spot.

Bredeson is listed at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds while Opeta is slightly smaller at 6-foot-4, 305 pounds. Whoever wins the job will be tasked with helping the rest of the unit improve its run blocking, as the Bucs’ ground game needs to make a significant jump in 2024. That’s not to say that pass blocking won’t be important, as the team just signed Baker Mayfield to a three-year, $100 million deal and keeping him clean is paramount.

Watching Bredeson and Opeta when the pads come on and eventually when preseason begins will hopefully lead to a clear answer as to who the better option is. Both players have rotated in with the starters this summer, and both have drawn praise from head coach Todd Bowles to this point. But July and August will need to see one of them separate and claim that spot between Wirfs and Barton.

It’ll also be intriguing to see how long Tampa Bay lets the battle go. It seems like conventional wisdom that both Opeta and Bredeson will get reps with the first team throughout the duration of camp and the three preseason games. And that’ll likely be the case, but it’s worth watching what the Bucs coaches will do because last year, they set the starting five offensive linemen early and let them gel together throughout camp and the preseason.

But remember, it was Harold Goodwin and Joe Gilbert overseeing the composition of the O-line last year. They’ve gone to join former offensive coordinator and new Panthers head coach Dave Canales in Carolina, with Kevin Carberry in as the team’s new offensive line coach and Brian Picucci coming along to join the staff as well as the assistant offensive line coach. How they, along with Bowles and offensive coordinator Liam Coen, approach this competition will be a subplot to follow along with the actual competition itself.

Josh Queipo: ILB Has Multiple Possible Iterations

Bucs ILB KJ Britt – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If you look back to last week’s Pewter Report Roundtable, no less than three of us named an inside linebacker as a potential sleeper on the roster. What is really fun is my colleagues Matt Matera and Adam Slivon and I all picked different players from that same position group. There is but one thing that is settled as of right now when it comes to inside linebacker and that is 34-year old veteran Lavonte David is cemented at the top of the depth chart.

Most fans and media alike assume that K.J. Britt has the inside track to start alongside David following a strong performance at the end of last season when he supplanted former first-round pick Devin White as a starter. But I am not so sure that Britt has that starting gig all locked up. It would not surprise me one bit to see him and 2023 fifth-round pick SirVocea Dennis in a timeshare role similar to what Britt and White had going on in the latter part of the 2023 season.

Beyond whom will be ILB2, there is a fascinating battle at the back end of the position group between Dennis, J.J. Russell (who was my pick for sleeper last week), and undrafted free agent Kalen DeLoach, who was in the middle of an extremely formidable Florida State defense that won the ACC title last year. The multiple possibilities make for a fascinating watch as camp draws near.

Adam Slivon: Tykee Smith vs. Christian Izien Will Battle It Out To Be Starting Nickelback

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

When looking at this battle between both of these young defensive backs, it will truly be an instance where each of them brings the best out of the other as they compete for the chance to be a high-level contributor in the Bucs’ secondary. I recently wrote a story about Christan Izien and how he is being forgotten about in the picture.

The undrafted rookie had a solid season in 2023 in which he played all 17 games and held down the nickel position vacated by Antoine Winfield Jr. Still, Tampa Bay drafted Tykee Smith in the third round, and quickly, Smith has become the favorite to take over that spot.

But not without Izien putting up a fight. Last season, he performed well and finished the year with 65 total tackles while also having two interceptions and a forced fumble. Although he profiles best in the slot as he stands just 5-foot-8, he is valuable enough to where he will carve out a role in some capacity.

Smith is in the same boat. He comes from an NFL-ready Georgia Bulldogs defense where he was asked to be versatile and play in a variety of roles. After being taken by the Bucs, the plan was for him to cross-train at nickel and safety – both roles he played in college. With Winfield and Jordan Whitehead as the two starting safeties though, it will be hard for him to get consistent snaps there.

That brings it back to the battle these two will have over the next month. Both Izien and Smith are worthy candidates for the nickel position and each offers plenty of value. The question is, which one will emerge and gain more of head coach Todd Bowles’ trust?