The Bucs are set to wrap up their three-game preseason slate Friday night, returning home to Raymond James Stadium to host the Miami Dolphins after the two teams met for a joint practice on Wednesday.

The majority of Tampa Bay’s starters will get their first action of the exhibition season against Miami, though head coach Todd Bowles said he doesn’t have a set number of plays or a defined amount of time that he wants the first team out there. In last year’s preseason finale, he had the starters play the first half.

With many of the starters taking the field for the first time this preseason in preparation for the Bucs’ regular season opener on Sept. 8 against the Commanders, there’s a high level of intrigue with this Friday’s contest at Ray Jay. After taking a look at one player to watch at each offensive position earlier, now let’s look at one player to watch at each defensive position.

Bucs To Watch vs. Dolphins: Defense

DL Calijah Kancey

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s easy to forget that, assuming he plays, Friday night will mark Calijah Kancey’s preseason debut… in the second year of his career. Last year, he sustained a calf injury during the first padded practice of training camp. That injury cost him the rest of camp and all of the preseason, which was a tough break for him as he missed valuable development time as a rookie. As a result, he said he felt like he was still in his preseason as he made his full return to action in Week 6. Nonetheless, he improved drastically with each passing week.

This year, Kancey has had the benefit of having (mostly) a full training camp. He did miss some time in recent weeks, but he has largely been a participant in practice for the most part and will now get the benefit of knocking some of the game rust off in his first-ever NFL preseason game. Kancey proved to be a handful for opposing offensive lines last year, and with an offseason to work on his body and learn to build out his game even more, he should be ready to make an even bigger impact in 2024.

OLB Markees Watts

One week doesn’t make or break the final 53-man roster or depth chart, but it feels like momentum is on the side of Jose Ramirez in the outside linebacker room after last week’s three-sack game. Markees Watts did have a sack of his own and still feels like a near-lock to make the final 53, but right now he could be at risk of being the final outside linebacker on the depth chart. Yaya Diaby, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson and Chris Braswell are likely the Bucs’ first four, while Ramirez could currently be No. 5 with Watts falling in at No. 6.

But Watts has gotten better as camp has gone on and still has a chance to make an impact for Tampa Bay this year. Ending the preseason with a strong performance could go a long way for the second-year pass rusher, who actually led the team in pass rush win rate last year as a rookie – albeit in limited snaps. There’s a lot to like about Watts’ game and demeanor, and he’ll be looking to get after it in the preseason finale on Friday night to solidify his spot and keep himself firmly in the mix for playing time as the regular season begins.

ILB Kalen DeLoach

Bucs ILB Kalen DeLoach – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Following the draft and throughout the summer, former Florida State linebacker Kalen DeLoach felt like one of the sleepers on the Bucs defense. The undrafted free agent appeared to be a good candidate to take the final spot on the inside linebacker depth chart with a good training camp and preseason, potentially beating out the more veteran J.J. Russell to round out a room that is led by a top three of Lavonte David, K.J. Britt and SirVocea Dennis. But so far, it doesn’t feel like DeLoach has done enough to supplant Russell. At this point, he would likely be more of a practice squad candidate.

In the preseason opener against Cincinnati, DeLoach played 15 snaps and finished with the third-worst Pro Football Focus grade on the Bucs defense. Last weekend in Jacksonville, he played 26 snaps and graded out better, with a particularly high mark for tackling (79.0). Even with the ever-present reminder to not take PFF grades as pure gospel, it hasn’t looked overly impressive for the former FSU standout so far in his initial NFL action. He may need a big-time effort on Friday night against the Dolphins in order to give the Bucs something to think about when it’s time to decide on the final 53.

CB Zyon McCollum

Another core member of the 2024 Bucs defense who will be seeing his first taste of action this preseason is new No. 2 cornerback Zyon McCollum. After the trade of Carlton Davis III this offseason, Jamel Dean slid up into Tampa Bay’s top corner spot, with McCollum bumping up to No. 2. Tampa Bay did bring in veteran cornerback Bryce Hall as its new No. 3, but the team is showing a lot of confidence in McCollum heading into 2024. He needs to take a big step forward in his third NFL season, and he looks on track to do so thus far.

It’s largely been a strong training camp for McCollum, who has sometimes been tasked with holding down future Hall of Famer and fellow Galveston product Mike Evans. The former Sam Houston star, who was the Bucs’ fifth-round pick in 2022, has gotten his hands on a few passes this month as well, with the latest of his interceptions coming against Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa in Wednesday’s joint practice. A good showing in Friday’s exhibition on top of that interception of Tagovailoa could have McCollum’s confidence in a great place come Sept. 8.

DB Tykee Smith

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

Rookie defensive back Tykee Smith has remained one of the Bucs to watch throughout the preseason. On Friday night, he’s set for his final tune-up before his NFL regular season debut in two weeks against the Commanders. And while Smith has picked up Todd Bowles’ defense impressively quickly, everyone is still waiting for him to make some sort of splash play. Not only that, but he’ll be looking to rebound from a joint practice on Wednesday that saw him beaten deep by Miami’s Braxton Berrios.

So far this preseason, the former Georgia Bulldog has played 36 of his 38 snaps in the slot, with the other two coming in the box. He’s expected to be the Bucs’ starting nickel corner, but he’s received some cross-training at safety as well. With Tampa Bay having some injuries at safety, might the preseason finale be a chance to get the rookie some game time at the position? In any case, Smith will look to keep trending upward. He posted a 60.7 PFF grade in his debut two weeks ago before topping it with a 64.8 last week. It would be great to see him take another step forward Friday night.

We see you, @TykSmith 💪

📺: #TBvsJAX on WFLA pic.twitter.com/lASGA8VBIJ

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 17, 2024

DB Tavierre Thomas

Like McCollum, veteran defensive back Tavierre Thomas has gotten his hands on quite a few passes during training camp. The former Houston Texan was brought in to compete for the starting nickel job, but has also been cross-training at safety and is likely to see plenty of time there on Friday night with Jordan Whitehead, Kaevon Merriweather and Christian Izien all missing practice with injuries this week. Thomas’ versatility is going to earn him a lot of trust from Bucs head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles, especially if he excels when given safety reps in the preseason finale.

Thomas graded out poorly over his 62 snaps last week in Jacksonville, but had a better showing the week before in Cincinnati. A lot is likely to be asked of him against the Dolphins, as Tampa Bay’s starting secondary is unlikely to play a significant chunk of the game. Seeing the veteran succeed in a variety of roles, whether it’s free safety, strong safety or inside at nickel would be great to see as the team’s secondary depth remains something of a question mark as the regular season approaches.