On the eve of Bucs training camp, players are reporting for the long haul of the summer with the hopes that the work they put in now will pay off in the winter time with a Super Bowl championship. There’s been many well-documented changes to the Bucs roster, but as far as starting positions go, most of them have been decided – at least on paper – until someone outperforms and surprises everyone.

Outside of the quarterback competition between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask that’ll keep Bucs fans captivated until a winner is declared, the only other spots that remain undecided is kicker and nickelback – or slot corner. The Bucs view the nickelback as another starting position, so it’s a position they take very seriously. Antoine Winfield Jr. was the nickel last year, but is moving back to his traditional position of free safety this season. This opens up a great opportunity for others.

Bucs’ Crowded Room In Competition At Slot Cornerback

Bucs DB Dee Delaney – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Who is in the running for the nickelback spot? The Bucs have many young players with little-to-no experience at the NFL level, ranging from a second-year player to undrafted free agents. Only Dee Delaney and Anthony Chesley have been in the league for more than one season. Right now it’s an open competition with Delaney in the lead just due to his experience.

“All of them right now,” head coach Todd Bowles said of who’s in contention. “We haven’t ruled anybody out of the nickel spot. We don’t have a starting nickel at this point in time. We think we have one in-house, and if we do not, we’ll go out and get one. But right now I think there are about four or five guys that are battling for that spot, whether it’s Zyon (McCollum) or (Dee) Delaney or (Chris) Izien or (Josh) Hayes or (Anthony) Chelsey. We got a bunch of guys that can play that position.”

Delaney and Chelsey are the elder statesmen of the group, having entered the NFL in 2018 and 2019, respectively. McCollum is up next, going into his second NFL season. Hayes and Izien have a lot to prove, but one of them is going to have to make the roster first.

Todd Bowles Likes The Depth In Bucs Secondary

Bucs CB Keenan Isaac – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The slot corner may go to a corner or a safety, which means the Bucs are going to need depth at both positions. Tampa Bay has nothing but former or current undrafted free agents at safety outside of Antoine Winfield Jr., as well as young talent at cornerback after the initial starters of Cartlon Davis III and Jamel Dean, and McCollum, who was a Day 3 pick last year.

Bowles commented on some of the top talents the Bucs have this year.

“I think Zyon had a great spring,” Bowles said. “We’re looking for him to play a bigger role this year. Obviously Winfield, Carlton and Dean have played together for a while now. And Ryan Neal coming in, he has great communication. He brings great leadership, so we’re really looking for the top guys to be in-sync as far as camp goes on.

“Obviously, knock on wood for injuries, but the depth from it, behind it, I think Nolan Turner will be a lot better going into his second year. (Kaevon) Merriweather’s a guy we really like that we’re going to look at. Obviously Hayes and Izien, (Keenan) Isaac, the kid from Alabama State. Really excited to see him. He had a very good spring and he’s a very heady football player so we’ll see how he progresses. It’s going to be interesting to see, but it’s going to be exciting at the same time.”