The PewterReport.com Roundtable features the opinions of the PR staff as it tackles a topic related to the Tampa Bay Bucs each week.

This week’s topic: Which Bucs player will step up on defense?

Scott Reynolds: DE Carl Nassib
The Buccaneers have lost some good players on defense recently with defensive linemen Gerald McCoy (calf) and Vinny Curry (ankle) getting injured at Atlanta and then seeing middle linebacker Kwon Alexander go down with a torn ACL versus Cleveland. But Tampa Bay’s defense was able to step up and overcome those losses in an overtime win against the Browns as the pass coverage and the pass rush finally worked well together. So who will step up for the Bucs down the stretch?

I’m tempted to say defensive tackle Vita Vea, who will start again for at least one more week in place of McCoy at the three-technique defensive tackle spot. Vea played his best game as a pro thus far and helped defensive end Carl Nassib get his second sack of the game in overtime. But I’m going to go with Nassib instead. Nassib recorded his first multi-sack game against his former team on Sunday, and I think it can serve as a turning point for him in terms of confidence. I think Nassib is capable of having two or more sacks against any team – not just the Browns.

Bucs DE Carl Nassib – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Nassib has great size at 6-foot-7, 275 pounds, and can get decent bend despite being so tall and angular. While it’s looking more and more like the Bucs have unfortunately whiffed on second-round pick Noah Spence, Bucs general manager Jason Licht might have made a great save at the position by claiming Nassib, who was a former third-round pick in Cleveland, off waivers at the start of the season. At age 25, I don’t think we’ve seen the best Nassib has to offer yet. He already has two sacks and two pass breakups this year, and is capable of beating his career highs of three sacks and five pass breakups that he set with the Browns last year.

Curry has a high ankle sprain that will be keeping him out for at least another two weeks. That will insure that Nassib gets two more starts and plenty of reps to continue to learn this defense and develop chemistry with Vea, Beau Allen, Will Gholston, Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Jason Pierre-Paul. I think Sunday’s success against the Browns can be a real launching point for him this season.

Mark Cook: CB Carlton Davis
As improved as the Bucs defense was last week against the Browns, it was the Browns – with a rookie quarterback. Don’t look now, but here comes Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, and Round 2 with Matt Ryan and Drew Brees – just to name a few of the quarterbacks this Tampa Bay team will be facing over the next several weeks.

The secondary, obviously, has been this team’s Achilles heel. Three rookies in the secondary – Carlton Davis, MJ Stewart and Jordan Whitehead – isn’t a recipe for a successful playoff run. The Bucs need at least one of these guys to step up and play more like a veteran than a rookie. The most talented of the rookie group, at least through six games, has been Davis. While he has had his share of ups and downs, we’ve seen flashes of what the Bucs saw when they called his name last April in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Bucs CB Carlton Davis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Other than free safety Justin Evans, who I could have easily picked needing to step up as well, no one in the secondary has an interception through the first six games, which is really mind-boggling. How long does this lack of interception streak by a cornerbacks last? This team isn’t going to win very many more games if they don’t start generating some takeaways, particularly some interceptions.

Davis has the mindset – and the skill set – to break this streak of futility. And the Bucs will need him to do so starting Sunday in Cincinnati.

Trevor Sikkema: LB Kendell Beckwith
This pick is sort of out of the blue, but it’s the one that I think, when we look back on this year, will be correct.

Kwon Alexander going down sucks for this team in an emotional way. The team called him the “heart and soul” and his brothers around him will surely be bummed out knowing they have to go out onto the field without him. However, from a schematic standpoint, Alexander wasn’t playing a specific position or bringing a unique skill set that made him completely irreplaceable to this defense.

Bucs LB Kendell Beckwith – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

Beckwith, who is recovering from a broken ankle he suffered in the offseason, was being groomed to play all three linebacker positions during his rookie season, and though he struggled some, he learned on the fly and got better as the year went on. I expect him to step into the middle linebacker role when he returns, which could be in a week or two, and I expect him to play it pretty well.

Beckwith will likely need some time to adjust, as he hasn’t played football in over 10 months. But, as the year goes on, I expect him to be one of the best defensive players on the team by the time the regular season has run its course. Beckwith stepping up will make stomaching Alexander’s injury a bit easier.