![\"Georgia](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TOS-Z-BUCS-ILB-DRAFT-0412.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\nLavonte David\u00a0is gone.\u00a0Retired.\u00a0His name will go up on the Ring of Honor at\u00a0Raymond James Stadium, and he\u00a0may one day have a bust in the\u00a0Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Bucs didn\u2019t just lose a linebacker. They lost the standard.<\/p>\n
They display his silhouette in their draft room, next to the words \u201cI AM THAT MAN\u201d in all caps, a reminder of the presence, production and authority David brought to the middle of their defense.<\/p>\n
His shadow will loom over everything they do.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a coach, he was my eyes and ears and heartbeat on and off the field,\u201d\u00a0Todd Bowles\u00a0said. \u201cIt went from a coach\/player relationship to more of a collaboration, because he\u2019s very bright and he understood what I was trying to get done.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unfair to think you can simply replace a man who tied Hall of Famer\u00a0Derrick Brooks\u00a0as the all-time leading tackler in franchise history, but that\u2019s the job now.<\/p>\n
The Bucs must solve the riddle in the middle of their defense. Fortunately, general manager\u00a0Jason Licht\u00a0has been here before. Twice, he\u2019s managed to find steady, dependable \u2014 if not spectacular \u2014 answers at inside linebacker when the defense needed stability most.<\/p>\n
In 2015,\u00a0Kwon Alexander\u00a0was 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.<\/p>\n
In 2019, LSU\u2019s\u00a0Devin White\u00a0was taken No. 5 overall, and he would be a big reason the Bucs won\u00a0Super Bowl\u00a055. But he overplayed his hand entering his fifth-year option and became a free agent the next season.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Bucs signed two veterans, Detroit\u2019s\u00a0Alex Anzalone, 31, and the Panthers\u2019\u00a0Christian Rozeboom, 29, in free agency.<\/p>\n
Now, it\u2019s time for them to find the inside linebacker who will eventually become their defensive play-caller for years to come.<\/p>\n
With their first pick in the April 23-25 draft coming at No. 15, they\u2019re in a perfect position to do so.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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)<\/p>\n
None may seem a more perfect fit than Georgia\u2019s CJ Allen.<\/p>\n
Start with the fact that Bowles loves Bulldogs defenders. His son, Troy, spent two seasons at Georgia as a linebacker before transferring to Michigan.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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, 4\u00bd sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.<\/p>\n
Allen had a formal interview with the Bucs at the\u00a0NFL\u00a0scouting combine in February and would welcome the chance to succeed David.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the way he plays the game,\u201d Allen said at the combine. \u201cHe embodies the linebacker position. The meeting definitely went great.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs had a lot of trust in\u00a0Allen\u00a0and counted on him to relay the defensive play calls in the huddle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take a lot of pride in that. I think \u2014 I don\u2019t think, I know \u2014 that\u2019s the quarterback of the defense,\u201d Allen said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pride that goes into that, especially being an inside linebacker at the\u00a0University of Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u00a0NFL.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t intimidated by being a starter as a freshman, and the game won\u2019t be too big for him at the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m just proud of how I came into the game, into college,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think of when I stepped into the role my freshman year and I got the opportunity to start \u2026 I was prepared for that moment like I was starting the whole season. So when I got that opportunity, it wasn\u2019t nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not many off-ball linebackers are expected to go in the first round, but Allen isn\u2019t the only one. Another likely candidate to go very high is Ohio State\u2019s\u00a0Sonny Styles.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve had success drafting that position before. Can they do it again? They may have to.<\/p>\n
The Bucs\u2019 other picks: 46th (second round), 77th (third round), 116th (fourth round), 155th (fifth round), 195th (sixth round), 229th (seventh round).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lavonte David\u00a0is gone.\u00a0Retired.\u00a0His name will go up on the Ring of Honor at\u00a0Raymond James Stadium, and he\u00a0may one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,76046,110,135,2964,137,136],"class_list":["post-227095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-nfl","tag-social-sports","tag-sports","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}