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After two and a half weeks of training camp, it’s now time for the Bucs to get their three-game preseason underway Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium. They’re set to host the Tennessee Titans, who came to town for a joint practice earlier this week, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said after Thursday’s practice not to expect many starters to play for Tampa Bay in the exhibition against Tennessee, but there are still plenty of intriguing players to watch when the lights come on at Ray Jay for the first time since January. After taking a look at some of the top players to watch on the Buccaneer offense, we follow up here with some of the top Tampa Bay defenders to watch in the preseason opener.

Bucs To Watch In Saturday’s Preseason Opener: Defense

DT: Elijah Roberts – No. 95

Preseason is the perfect time for rookies to develop and adjust to life in the NFL, and in some cases, it’s a great time for a player to learn a new role. That’s what this preseason will be all about for Elijah Roberts, the Bucs’ fifth-round pick in 2025. Roberts was an edge rusher in college, splitting his career between Miami and SMU. He really burst onto the scene with 10 sacks for SMU in 2023, then he had another 7.5 in 2024.

Bucs DT Elijah Roberts – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But when Tampa Bay selected him with pick No. 157 in this year’s draft, it did so with the intention of kicking him inside to play on the interior of the defensive line. He was always a bigger-bodied edge defender, and he’s listed on the Bucs’ roster at 295 pounds, so he should have no problem holding up physically on the inside. He can play the 4i/5-technique role, which is the one that Will Gholston occupied for so many years and the one that Logan Hall plays now. Hall is in a contract year, but whether the plan is for Roberts to develop and eventually take over for him next year remains to be seen.

For now, the team will hope Roberts can be a key depth piece in 2025. The preseason will be key for him as he looks to adjust to the position as well as the NFL game itself. He’s likely to get an extended runout over the three exhibition games, and that should go a long way in helping his comfort level ahead of the start of the regular season. That starts Saturday in what will be his unofficial NFL debut.

OLB: Chris Braswell – No. 43

The Bucs were already needing a Year 2 leap for outside linebacker Chris Braswell, but after 2025 fourth-round pick David Walker suffered a torn ACL early in training camp, the need for Braswell to step it up in his second NFL season is even more significant. Tampa Bay has a very promising starting duo of Yaya Diaby and Haason Reddick, and Anthony Nelson is always steady enough off the bench. But Braswell turning into the type of player Tampa Bay believed he would be when it drafted him in the second round of last year’s draft would be a major boost to the team’s pass rush.

Diaby may play some in the preseason, but it’s hard to imagine Reddick will play much. As a veteran, Nelson may not even get a significant number of snaps. So, it would seem plausible that Braswell will get a whole lot of work in this preseason, and that’s a good thing for him. He looks a tick faster off the football thus far in training camp and Diaby recently praised the work he did on his body this offseason. Head coach Todd Bowles also said you can tell Braswell looks more comfortable and things are slowing down for him.

All of that leads to Saturday night, which is the jumping off point for Braswell’s second season in Tampa Bay. The former Alabama standout simply needs to put all of that together and he could legitimately turn into a force in the team’s pass rush rotation. That would not only help in 2025, but also in the future as Reddick is only on a one-year deal, Nelson is on a two-year deal and 2026 will be a contract year for Diaby.

ILB: SirVocea Dennis – No. 8

Tampa Bay is counting heavily on SirVocea Dennis staying healthy in 2025. He was arguably the team’s best linebacker over the first four games last year, but a shoulder injury cost him the rest of the season and the team badly missed him, especially when it came to defending the pass over the middle of the field. Dennis and the team believe the shoulder issues are firmly behind him after his surgery corrected what was a longstanding shoulder issue. Now, it’s time for the third-year linebacker to step into a starting role and be the player he has shown signs of being on the practice fields and early on last season.

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

Dennis may not play a whole lot in the preseason, but if and when he does get some snaps, look for him to make some plays. He’s quick on blitzes, and over the last couple of summers at the AdventHealth Training Center, he has shown a knack for picking off passes. That is, until this year’s training camp. The takeaways have dried up for Dennis over the first two and a half weeks of camp, and there’s a mix of reasons why.

Todd Bowles said there’s an element of quarterbacks staying away from Dennis, which stands to reason as he’s the defense’s best coverage linebacker. But Dennis himself said that he had conversations with Bowles where the head coach told him he can make mistakes and get sloppy out there when he’s chasing interceptions. So, he’s focusing on playing cleaner, assignment-sound football. Look for him to do more of that on Saturday night and as the preseason goes on. But don’t be surprised if he’s in position for a takeaway at some point, too.

ILB: Nick Jackson – No. 53

With Lavonte David in Year 14 at the age of 35, there’s no reason for him to play in the preseason. Meanwhile, Anthony Walker Jr. remains on the non-football injury list as the preseason opener arrives. So, outside of SirVocea Dennis and 30-year-old veteran Deion Jones, there aren’t a lot of bodies at the inside linebacker position right now. That means plenty of preseason action ahead for a couple of undrafted free agents, with Nick Jackson being one of them.

Jackson spent six years in college, with the first four at Virginia and the final two at Iowa. Overall, he racked up some gaudy numbers, totaling 555 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, 19 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception. The 6-foot, 235-pounder was timed at 4.65 in the 40-yard dash at Iowa’s Pro Day and was ultimately signed by the Bucs after initially being a tryout player for the team’s rookie mini-camp.

While the inside linebacker position generally feels set, a good preseason could see Jackson sneak onto the final 53-man roster. At the very least, he could prove valuable off the practice squad given David and Jones’ age, Walker’s NFI status and Dennis’ injury history. We’ll see how he fares in his first taste of NFL action, but there’s reason to be intrigued by a player who posted that much production throughout his college years.

ILB: John Bullock – No. 57

Another inside linebacker who will look to take advantage of the general lack of bodies at the position in the preseason is John Bullock, an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska. At 6-foot, 230 pounds, Bullock is a bit undersized at the position, though you don’t have to look far to see an example of a former Nebraska linebacker who has put together a Hall of Fame-worthy career at 6-foot-1, 233 pounds. That, of course, is Buccaneer great Lavonte David, a fellow Cornhusker to Bullock.

Bucs ILB John Bullock – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bullock doesn’t have elite speed, but he’s strong and plays with good instincts. He’s not going to overly wow you with his play, but he’s a solid player who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s proven to be good in coverage, which is partly a result of his background as a safety. In fact, he only just moved to linebacker from safety two years ago, and he looked much more comfortable at his new position last year at Nebraska. Now, it’s time to translate that comfort to the pros.

The key for Bullock in the preseason is to prove that he has the athleticism and overall ability to keep up as an NFL linebacker. There’s reason to believe he can do exactly that and, like Nick Jackson, he could have a chance to sneak onto the final 53-man roster depending on how many inside linebackers the Bucs keep. Regardless, for the same reasons mentioned under Jackson’s name, Bullock could prove to be a valuable practice squad piece down the road.

CB: Bryce Hall – No. 34

One of the more underrated stories of Bucs training camp thus far has been the way that veteran cornerback Bryce Hall has returned to form after he missed all of last season. The former New York Jet dislocated his ankle and fractured his fibula in the team’s Week 1 win last September, and that led to a long road to recovery. But he re-signed with Tampa Bay this offseason and has been a bright spot in camp thus far.

Hall is tied for the team lead so far in training camp with two interceptions, and he’s been in position for one or two more. It’s been awesome to see him bounce back from such a gruesome injury, and it’s bound to be emotional for the 27-year-old as he returns to game action on Saturday night for the first time in almost a year. But beyond the emotion, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound corner has a great chance to solidify his spot as a key depth piece off the bench for the Buccaneer defense.

One of the big differences for the Bucs this season compared to last is the depth they believe they have at cornerback. Not only did the team draft Benjamin Morrison in the second round and Jacob Parrish in the third round, but it also signed Kindle Vildor and re-signed Hall, which gives them more depth behind Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean. The lack of depth last year led to a reliance on Josh Hayes and rookie Tyrek Funderburk in the playoffs last season, so the group being deeper this year could prove huge. And for Hall to be part of that after missing out on making an impact in his first year with the Bucs? That could be quite the redemption story.

DB: Jacob Parrish – No. 25

Speaking of Jacob Parrish, he’s yet another player on this list who will be making his unofficial NFL debut in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Titans. It’s easy to imagine how ready Parrish is to compete in an actual game setting, as he’s been competing hard since the moment he stepped foot on the practice field in Tampa. He shined with a couple of interceptions in rookie mini-camp, and he’s continued to be a bright spot throughout the summer and into training camp.

Bucs CB Jacob Parrish – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Parrish has drawn praise from head coach Todd Bowles for his professionalism and overall readiness, as he’s looked like a player who is wise and polished beyond his years. Bowles said that it can sometimes be easy to forget he’s a rookie, as he’s always doing the right thing, doesn’t make the same mistake twice and is rarely having his name called to be corrected. He’s very Tykee Smith-like in that regard, and it’s helped him hit the ground running in his first professional training camp.

Beyond the fact that it’ll be exciting to watch Parrish get his first game action under his belt, it’ll be even more interesting to get some insight into how Bowles uses the versatile defensive back. The head coach and defensive play-caller has maintained since April that they see him as an outside cornerback first, but given his size, the feeling has always been that his fit will be at nickel. So, where he is deployed will be one point of intrigue, and the other will be how often he’s sent in on blitzes. He’s been flying in after the quarterback with regularity throughout camp, and he said last week that he’s excited to blitz more in Bowles’ defense after not doing it as often at Kansas State.

DB: J.J. Roberts – No. 36

Yet another rookie on this list, J.J. Roberts has been one of the emerging stars on the Bucs defense throughout training camp thus far. He has been all over the field making plays, with one interception, several pass breakups and plenty of would-be sack on blitzes. The undrafted free agent out of Marshall was one of the highest-priced undrafted rookies in Tampa Bay’s class, and he’s shown why up to this point.

The Bucs love Roberts’ versatility, as he’s a safety but can also factor in at nickel cornerback. Todd Bowles is a huge fan of his defensive backs having some versatility to them, as it gives him more options with his coverages. Roberts is looking to be the next in a long line of versatile defensive backs in Tampa Bay under Bowles, following/joining the likes of Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith and Christian Izien, among others.

Like Jacob Parrish, Roberts could see time at different positions in the secondary on Saturday night. He’s a factor in the competition for the starting nickel cornerback job, but he also exceled at safety for Marshall, where he had 167 tackles (89 solo), six tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions, 15 passes defensed and two forced fumbles over the last two years. Roberts has the inside track to a spot on the Bucs’ final 53-man roster, but he’ll have to carry his strong camp over into the preseason to solidify that spot.

S: Shilo Sanders – No. 28

If Shilo Sanders is going to make an impression and try to sneak onto the Bucs’ final 53-man roster and not just the practice squad, it’ll have to start under the lights on Saturday night. It’s not that Sanders is having a bad camp, as he’s made a couple of plays on the ball to rack up a few pass breakups. But he hasn’t done enough thus far to outshine fellow undrafted rookie J.J. Roberts. Granted, Sanders is a heavy hitter on the back end of the defense, and that’s harder to break out on the practice fields.

Bucs DB Shilo Sanders – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So, Sanders is going to have to shine in a game setting. Some big hits could help, but of course the key is for him to be in the right positions and playing assignment-sound football. To this point, he’s done an admirable job balancing his popularity with the fans/social media and putting his head down, working, learning and adjusting to the NFL and Tampa Bay’s defense. But there aren’t a lot of open spots on this team’s roster, so it will probably take a huge preseason for Sanders to crack the final 53.

Still, there’s plenty to play for over the next three weeks as Sanders looks to solidify at least a spot on the practice squad. Not to mention, as much as the Bucs might’ve wanted to bring him in and give him a chance as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado, he very well could use these next three weeks to put some good tape out there and potentially put himself in a spot where a team wants to sign him to its active roster before Tampa Bay has a chance to retain him on the practice squad. Whatever the case may be, expect a lot of attention on Shilo Sanders Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium.