A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. This week’s prompt: Which Bucs player do you want to see step up in training camp?

Scott Reynolds: Jamel Dean Needs To Make More Plays On The Ball

So far so good for veteran cornerback Jamel Dean, who enters a make-or-break training camp in his seventh season in Tampa Bay. Dean has stayed healthy and hasn’t gotten beat or given up too many plays down the field in coverage. He even had a nice pass breakup on a deep out to tight end Payne Durham in zone coverage where Dean punched the ball out before Durham could make the catch. That’s what the Bucs coaches want to see more often from Dean in training camp and during the regular season.

Dean had a penchant for playing too far off in coverage last year and giving up too much cushion to opposing wide receivers. As a result, he only had seven pass breakups, which the second-fewest in his six-year Bucs career, and only one interception. Head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles wants to see Dean make more plays on the ball – specifically get more interceptions. The former third-round pick only has eight interceptions in six seasons in Tampa Bay, including just one in the last 42 games Dean has played in, including four playoff games.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bowles wanted more ballhawks this year in the secondary, and he and general manager Jason Licht selected a pair of cornerbacks in Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish on Day 2. Morrison had nine interceptions in his first two seasons at Notre Dame and Parrish had five interceptions in his last two years at Kansas State. Parrish already has an interception in camp and new veteran cornerback Kindle Vildor has two.

Dean’s primary competition is Morrison, and if the rookie cornerback proves to be competent in coverage and catches fire with a few interceptions Bowles may want to move in that direction. For Dean to keep his job, staying healthy and being in good in coverage may not be good enough. He’ll need to (finally) show he’s capable of being a playmaker in the secondary. Tampa Bay only had seven interceptions last year on defense, including six in the secondary. Dean needs to step up in camp and starting getting his hands on the football more often.

Matt Matera: Jalen McMillan Must Factor In For Bucs

The more practices that go by, the more obvious it is that wide receiver Chris Godwin isn’t going to be playing the first game of the regular season and it could be even longer. While Mike Evans has been fantastic and Emeka Egbuka looks like an immediate plug-and-play type of receiver that can fill in for Godwin, Jalen McMillan will be important to getting the best out of Tampa Bay’s offense.

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

A lot of the media attention has gone to Egbuka and fellow rookie receiver Tez Johnson, while not much has been said about McMillan so far in training camp. The one day McMillan was talked about it was for having two drops during Friday’s practice. McMillan’s ability to be a quality NFL receiver is there for sure and it’s not time to panic, but we haven’t necessarily seen the flashes that made us enamored with how he finished out his rookie campaign.

We’ve come to learn that it can be a gradual process for McMillan based on his slow start in the regular season turning into a rampant burst-onto-the-scene finish late last year. It appears this will be the case for training camp this season while other wide receivers pitch in.

McMillan did have a nice play on a deep ball in Sunday’s practice that hopefully can get him going. We’ll see how he looks in the coming weeks as practices continue. He’s certainly capable of turning it on and getting hot at any time as he proved during the second half of his rookie season.

Bailey Adams: Bucs Badly Need A Big Leap From Chris Braswell

The Bucs were already hoping for and expecting a big step forward from 2024 second-round pick Chris Braswell as he gets into year two in 2025. They made some additions to the outside linebacker room to round it out more, but the feeling was that an improved Braswell would make the group even deeper and give the defense more firepower off the edge than it had a year ago.

But now, with the season-ending injury to rookie outside linebacker David Walker, the need for Braswell to elevate his game in 2025 gets even more pressing. Tampa Bay does have Yaya Diaby and Haason Reddick leading the way, with a steady veteran in Anthony Nelson behind them. And while Braswell came into camp as the presumed OLB4 ahead of Walker, the trajectory the rookie was on made it feel like he might supplant Braswell sooner rather than later. Braswell wasn’t in any danger of missing the team or anything, but he very well could’ve been on the outskirts of the depth chart.

Bucs OLB Chris Braswell – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That changes now, as Braswell firmly remains OLB4 for the Bucs and badly needs to improve in his second season. He finished with 1.5 sacks over 17 games as a rookie last year, and this offseason was key for him. The good news is that we’ve already begun to see the former Alabama standout get off to a fast start in camp – literally.

Diaby said Sunday that you can tell Braswell took care of his body and improved it this offseason, and it’s showing with how quick he’s getting off the ball. He had a couple of would-be sacks in Sunday’s practice, and the game appears to be slowing down for him as he enters his second NFL season. Early returns over the past week or so have been positive, but there’s more work to be done.

I’d love to see Braswell not only tighten his grip on that OLB4 role but break through and challenge Nelson for the OLB3 role. Putting everything together in year two and breaking out with 5-6 sacks off the bench would be huge for Tampa Bay, and the road to achieving that breakout starts on the practice fields at One Buc Place in the coming weeks.

Josh Queipo: Graham Barton Has To Build On Rookie Year

Graham Barton had a promising rookie season, but it is critical for him to build upon that promise. The Bucs sank significant draft capital into Barton, taking him in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Centers aren’t usually draft priorities for teams. But Bucs general manager Jason Licht has bucked that trend, and the overall valuation of the position in recent years.

Where other teams tend to try to find mid-to-late round gems and not pay much for the pivot, Licht has not only spent a premium draft pick on Barton, but he also twice made Ryan Jensen the highest paid center in the NFL. Because of that investment, Barton needs to make a jump from year one to year two. If he can, the Bucs can go from having one of the most dominant offensive lines in the league, to having the most dominant line.

Bucs C Graham Barton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Barton has the physical traits, pure athleticism, requisite play strength and the smarts to be the best in the league at the position. But he still needs to learn the intricacies of the position and improve his snap-to-movement timing. The good news is all of these things were trending in the right direction as last season wore on.

So much so that offensive line guru Brandon Thorn ranked Barton sixth overall at center in his recent offensive line rankings. He features or mentions all five of the Bucs’ starting OL in his rankings so be sure to subscribe to find out what he has to say. If Barton can ascend further this year, it adds yet another dimension to the Bucs’ high-powered offense, which is the leading indicator of sustained success in the NFL. After a somewhat rough first practice in pads on Monday, Barton needs to rise to the occasion in camp.

Adam Slivon: SirVocea Dennis Needs To Become A Playmaker

There are several positions where it is hard to shine early in camp without pads on. In particular, it’s hard to gauge the offensive and defensive lines and their level of physicality. Inside linebackers are not too far behind the trenches. They cannot make tackles, nor truly showcase their ability to close on ball carriers. With intensity ramping up this week at Bucs training camp, it is time for third-year inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis to come alive.

Everyone knows that Dennis enters this season looking to play the most pivotal role of his young career. In line to start at inside linebacker next to Lavonte David, the 2023 fifth-round pick needs to prove that he can play a full season to solidify his Tampa Bay future but also produce and make impact plays when on the field. After a lingering college shoulder injury required surgery and ended his season in Week 4 last year, Dennis is back in the fold and seeing a lot of first-team reps in camp with newcomer Anthony Walker Jr. not practicing.

Bucs ILB SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs are high on Dennis’ ability, which is why they chose not to use any draft picks at the position. Possessing plus instincts and range as a coverage linebacker, he showcased his abilities earlier this offseason during OTAs. He has become adept at picking off passes in practices in past training camps and mini-camps. Now that a full week has gone by this year, let’s see Dennis get back to his intercepting ways – and then have that translate to the field on Sundays.

Playing against the offensive starters during full camp practices, it is time for Dennis to rise to the occasion once again. Among the younger players on the roster, he has some of the highest expectations this season. Entering a make-or-break year to be the long-term answer at inside linebacker, he must step up and prove that he can become a true playmaker.