TAMPA — Edge rusher David Walker, a fifth-round pick who lost most of his 2025 rookie season to a knee injury, has emerged as the most dominant defender in Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp, drawing daily praise from coaches and teammates heading into the preseason.
Walker has been credited with getting to the quarterback on nearly every snap in camp, even under the no-contact rules that protect passers during practice. Teammate Rakeem Nuñez-Roches offered an emphatic endorsement after Sunday’s workout.
“I was about to say, D-Walker is something serious,” said Nuñez-Roches. “I feel like he has a 95 win-percentage ratio right now. Every time he’s going, he’s in the backfield, literally. I don’t care if it’s one, two, three in front of him, he’s definitely vicious.”
Walker had begun generating buzz almost immediately after being drafted in 2025 and continued to rise through the early days of last year’s camp before suffering a knee injury just before the pads went on. This year, he has been healthy and has shown he can dominate in full-pad work. Sunday’s practice was technically the final session of training camp, and the Bucs will relocate to New Jersey for joint practices with the Jets ahead of Friday night’s preseason opener — Walker’s first game action against an opponent outside the organization.
“Again, he’s got his speed and his athleticism back,” Head Coach Todd Bowles said. “He’s still progressing, and there are some things he has to see, but he’s getting better by the day. It’s early on, so this will be great to see him against other competition as well. He’s one of the guys I’m looking forward to seeing next week.”
Walker is not the only player seizing an opportunity in camp. Rookie wide receiver Dean Patterson, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, has stacked several strong practices in a row with fellow wideouts Jalen McMillan, Tez Johnson and David Sills all sidelined with minor injuries. The 6-2, 200-pound Patterson played his prep ball at Steinbrenner High School, roughly 12 miles from the Buccaneers’ training facility, where he set the school’s single-season records with 58 receptions and 847 receiving yards while hauling in 11 touchdowns as a senior. He spent four collegiate years at Florida International before transferring to Georgia Tech, where he had eight catches for 150 yards in 2025 and averaged 14.7 yards per reception across his college career.
“With a couple guys down, he’s getting an opportunity to play,” Bowles said of Patterson. “He studies, and that’s a big part of it. Grabbing it mentally is probably more demanding than grabbing it physically but if you can grab it mentally — which he’s doing right now — and plays and up on tape, that gets you seen a lot. We’ll look forward to seeing him in the preseason.”
The Bucs are also experimenting with a two-back “pony” package featuring Rachaad White and newcomer Kenny Gainwell under new Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson. Tampa Bay ran 52 offensive plays out of two-back sets in 2025, averaging 4.7 yards per play with a 35% success rate. Robinson’s 2025 Atlanta Falcons ran 101 plays out of 21 personnel — roughly 9.7% of their overall snaps — averaging 4.8 yards per play with a 44% success rate. Gainwell topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage last season and caught 73 passes, while Bucky Irving surpassed 1,500 yards from scrimmage as a rookie in 2024 before losing a chunk of his sophomore year to a shoulder injury.
“I think it’s a great thing getting both of us out there, and, you know, him being back balling — I’m super excited to see him back on the field,” Gainwell said. “I think it’s just great to see us both out there on the field at the same time — I love it.”
Bowles said the package creates schematic headaches for defenses. “They both can flex out and play in the slot, they both can do jet motion, and they both can touch the ball,” he said. “It makes it tough to figure out who’s doing what.”
The Bucs open preseason play Friday night against the Jets in New Jersey, where Walker, Patterson and the revamped backfield will face their first live test against an opposing roster.