The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith with the 26th pick of the third round in the 2024 NFL Draft (89th overall) on Friday night, and they think he has the skills to be a difference maker in the team's secondary.
"We require a lot of our DBs here," said Assistant General Manager John Spytek. "I think a lot of NFL teams do. It's a really hard position to play. But in particular here, we stress them mentally, we stress them physically with the amount we blitz. They have to be resilient, and want to make plays on the ball when they have a chance, and from that aspect Tykee does all those things at a really high level."
The Buccaneers have a pair of starting safeties in Antoine Winfield Jr. and the newly-signed Jordan Whitehead, and 2023 undrafted free agent Christian Izian ably handled the slot corner job in 2023. However, the team always wants to foster competition at those important positions and Smith will get an immediate chance to fight for the nickel corner job.
View pictures of University of Georgia CB Tykee Smith, who Tampa Bay selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) drops back in coverage during an NCAA college football game against South Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 in Columbia, S.C. Georgia won 48-7. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr.)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith during an NCAA football game on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022 in Columbia, Mo.(AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) tackles Vanderbilt wide receiver Jayden McGowan (16) in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Brett Davis)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) sacks TCU quarterback Max Duggan (15) during the second half of the national championship NCAA College Football Playoff game, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) breaks up a pass intended for South Carolina tight end Trey Knox (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) intercepts a pass intended for South Carolina wide receiver Eddie Lewis (11) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) makes an interception against Vanderbilt wide receiver Junior Sherrill, right, in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) runs the ball after making an interception past Vanderbilt wide receiver Junior Sherrill, left, in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith (23) covers a play against Florida during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
"He played nickel at a really high level at Georgia," said Spytek. "He also played safety at a really high level at West Virginia, so we love the versatility of it. Obviously, with Antoine here and Jordan here, we'll probably see how he does at nickel first, but where he goes from there…is he a long-term safety? Maybe. He had a lot of picks at West Virginia. We love the versatility of him."
Spytek says the Bucs expect Smith to compete for a significant role on defense right away. Smith's experience on Georgia's smothering offense is a good launching point.
"That's a great program at Georgia," said Spytek. "When you sit down with those kids at Georgia, especially the defensive players, and you talk through coverages with them, blitzes, all that stuff, they are so well-drilled in school, you can see why they are so good at playing defense in the SEC. And then they happen to be really talented athletes, too.
"So I think from that standpoint, Tykee is way ahead of a lot of kids who would enter the NFL, and in a defense where we ask a lot of our secondary, they have to know a lot of things, they have to be versatile, they have to think really fast, think on the fly. To me, that's always the hurdle. These guys that you pick up Day One, Day Two, they're usually pretty good athletes; it's really the mental stuff that will slow them down. For Tykee, I think we would expect him to come in and compete for that nickel spot right away. Nothing's promised here, obviously. We'll see how it goes. We like a lot of what he did."
