Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles Talks NFL Draft, Baker, Mike Evans & More with Rich

Todd Bowles came on The Rich Eisen Show in his comfortable 2024 hoodie and proceeded to admit he is deeply, almost charmingly superstitious. A Nestlé Crunch or a Kit Kat before every game, courtesy of his assistant Sarah. Chips Ahoy the night before. The right side, first seat of the team bus, every time, unless an owner is on board. If a coach changes his routine and the Bucs lose, Bowles will blame him. The Glazers can sit anywhere they want. Sarah cannot forget the candy bar.

The draft itself produced a haul Bowles did not see coming. Tampa Bay never had Miami edge rusher Ruben Bain falling to fifteen in their mocks. They had a name they would take if he got there. Bain got there. Bowles compared the conversation about Bain's arm length to a familiar Buc. Mike Tyson has short arms and fared out pretty good. Shaq Barrett rushed inside Bowles defense without prototypical length and was dominant. Bain has the same hands, possibly more violent. Bowles loved the demeanor. Bain looked annoyed sitting in the green room as long as he did. Not at the Bucs. Just ready to work.

The Jeremiah Trotter pick had personal weight. Bowles met Trotter the elder years ago, then crossed paths with Josiah at a Clemson workout five years ago when both their sons were juniors in high school. Football has a way. Now the Trotter kid is on his roster. Bowles described Josiah as thick, physical, fast and underrated as a coverage linebacker. He highlighted Tedarrell Slaton from Georgia State and Jacob Parrish, the secondary swiss army knife who can play nickel, corner, safety or linebacker.

The quarterback is settled. Baker Mayfield is the guy. What Bowles has learned about him over the last two seasons is the leadership he brings to the defense, not just the offense. Mayfield runs sprints with the linebackers, sits with them in the cafeteria, trash talks, helps. He reads a room. Bowles did not know that before they got him. Rich brought up the eleven-year-old kid he met at St. Jude in Memphis during his run, an Oklahoma kid in a Mayfield Bucs jersey. The reach is real.

The Mike Evans loss to San Francisco still stings. Bowles called it a huge blow. Evans holds the team's offensive records. The presence on and off the field was massive. But Evans put himself in position to make that decision and the team had to respect it. Lavonte David's retirement compounds the leadership void. Bowles named the players already filling it on defense. Akiem Robinson and Rakeem Nunez-Roches have stepped up speaking. Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey, YaYa Diaby, Antoine Winfield and Tykee Smith too. On offense Mayfield, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, Graham Barton and Bucky Irving. Different leadership, but leadership all the same.

Bowles also walked through the third-year Buccaneers Coaching Academy, a Glazer family initiative that brings in coaches from high school, Pop Warner, the UFL, college and overseas. Twenty-five during mini camp, narrowed to five for training camp.