Lavonte David is gone. Retired. His name will go up on the Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium, and he may one day have a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Bucs didn’t just lose a linebacker. They lost the standard.
They display his silhouette in their draft room, next to the words “I AM THAT MAN” in all caps, a reminder of the presence, production and authority David brought to the middle of their defense.
His shadow will loom over everything they do.
“As a coach, he was my eyes and ears and heartbeat on and off the field,” Todd Bowles said. “It went from a coach/player relationship to more of a collaboration, because he’s very bright and he understood what I was trying to get done.”
It’s unfair to think you can simply replace a man who tied Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks as the all-time leading tackler in franchise history, but that’s the job now.
The Bucs must solve the riddle in the middle of their defense. Fortunately, general manager Jason Licht has been here before. Twice, he’s managed to find steady, dependable — if not spectacular — answers at inside linebacker when the defense needed stability most.
In 2015, Kwon Alexander was drafted in the fourth round out of LSU. He had 145 tackles, including a league-leading 108 solo stops, in his second season and made the Pro Bowl in his third.
In 2019, LSU’s Devin White was taken No. 5 overall, and he would be a big reason the Bucs won Super Bowl 55. But he overplayed his hand entering his fifth-year option and became a free agent the next season.
Last month, the Bucs signed two veterans, Detroit’s Alex Anzalone, 31, and the Panthers’ Christian Rozeboom, 29, in free agency.
Now, it’s time for them to find the inside linebacker who will eventually become their defensive play-caller for years to come.
With their first pick in the April 23-25 draft coming at No. 15, they’re in a perfect position to do so.
Most of the elite edge rushers will be gone early in the first round. But there could be several inside linebackers available worthy of that pick.
Georgia linebacker CJ Allen (01) speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
None may seem a more perfect fit than Georgia’s CJ Allen.
Start with the fact that Bowles loves Bulldogs defenders. His son, Troy, spent two seasons at Georgia as a linebacker before transferring to Michigan.
Bowles used his insider knowledge to select safety Tykee Smith in the third round in 2024. He should know plenty about Allen, but the tape is all he needs to watch.
Allen is a three-down linebacker who excels in the run game but also is good in coverage. In three seasons with the Bulldogs, he had 205 tackles, including 117 solo stops, 10 passes defensed, 4½ sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Allen had a formal interview with the Bucs at the NFL scouting combine in February and would welcome the chance to succeed David.
“It’s just the way he plays the game,” Allen said at the combine. “He embodies the linebacker position. The meeting definitely went great.”
The Bulldogs had a lot of trust in Allen and counted on him to relay the defensive play calls in the huddle.
“I take a lot of pride in that. I think — I don’t think, I know — that’s the quarterback of the defense,” Allen said. “There’s a lot of pride that goes into that, especially being an inside linebacker at the University of Georgia.”
Allen is only 21 years old. At a time when players are staying longer in college due to all the name, image and likeness money, he is forgoing his final year at Georgia to enter the NFL.
He wasn’t intimidated by being a starter as a freshman, and the game won’t be too big for him at the next level.
“I think I’m just proud of how I came into the game, into college,” Allen said. “I feel like I just came in with a hunger and aggression and kept that same hunger and aggression throughout my whole career. I think it was something instilled in me from when I was a kid.
“I think of when I stepped into the role my freshman year and I got the opportunity to start … I was prepared for that moment like I was starting the whole season. So when I got that opportunity, it wasn’t nothing.”
Not many off-ball linebackers are expected to go in the first round, but Allen isn’t the only one. Another likely candidate to go very high is Ohio State’s Sonny Styles.
Styles gave one of the best performances at the combine, with a 4.46-second time in the 40-yard dash, a 43.5-inch vertical jump and 11-foot, 2-inch broad jump.
The decision the Bucs will face is what to do if the elite edge rushers are gone by the time they pick at No. 15. How quickly may they pivot to the inside linebacker spot?
They’ve had success drafting that position before. Can they do it again? They may have to.
The Bucs’ other picks: 46th (second round), 77th (third round), 116th (fourth round), 155th (fifth round), 195th (sixth round), 229th (seventh round).