Todd Bowles To Modify Usage Of Antoine Winfield Jr. In 2023

Since being selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Antoine Winfield Jr. has blossomed into one of the Bucs’ most important players – especially on the defensive side of the ball.

As a rookie, Winfield became an instant starter at free safety on Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl-winning defense. He excelled in that free safety role, totaling 94 tackles (64 solo), three sacks, an interception, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He started all 16 regular season games and had an impressive postseason run, coming up with an interception, two passes defensed and a key forced fumble.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In 2021, Winfield had his first Pro Bowl season, once again proving to be one of the top free safeties in football. He upped his interception total to two and forced three fumbles, plus he notched two sacks, four tackles for loss and six more passes defensed. Then, over two playoff games, he tallied a sack and a forced fumble. So, the arrow was pointing even further up after his second pro season.

Fast forward to now, and the former Minnesota standout is coming off of another solid season. But his third year in the NFL was much different than the first two, as Bucs head coach Todd Bowles used him differently within the defense.

Rather than playing the bulk of his snaps at free safety, Winfield split time between that spot and the nickel position in Tampa Bay’s defense. He turned in another strong season, too. Over 13 games, he finished with career highs in sacks (four), tackles for loss (seven) and quarterback hits (six) while posting 80 tackles (64 solo), an interception, three passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Now, how did Todd Bowles feel about his decision to move Antoine Winfield Jr. into this jack-of-all-trades role? Speaking with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Bowles had plenty of praise for Winfield while dropping a hint about a change in his plans for the soon-to-be fourth-year player.

“Since he was so young, he gets better mentally every year,” Bowles said. “His tackling is outstanding. His intensity is outstanding. What he does for the team is outstanding. I think he’s one of our top three defensive players. He can only get better with experience.

“I don’t want to move him around as much this coming year [like] I have this year. I’ll try to leave him at one spot as best I can and I think he’ll master that spot and get even better for us.”

Which Position Is Antoine Winfield Jr. Best Suited For?

Bucs CBs coach Kevin Ross and S Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Looking at 2022, Antoine Winfield Jr. actually played in the slot more than he did up top. Per Pro Football Focus, he totaled 445 snaps in the slot and 236 at free safety. This, of course, was a product of the Bucs spending a lot of time in nickel defense.

But what’s Winfield’s best role? If he’s going to stick to one position in 2023 and beyond, which one should it be? Todd Bowles didn’t get into specifics when speaking with the media in Indianapolis, but it’s not hard to nail down which role is right for Winfield.

On the whole, the 5-foot-9, 203-pounder had a solid season in both his safety and slot roles. Despite being pretty proficient across the board, though, the few bad moments and lapses in coverage that Winfield had seemed to come while working as the nickel corner.

It wasn’t always a natural fit for him, and he’s better suited for the free safety role he starred in during his first two NFL seasons. And while 2022 was a solid season overall, his PFF grade was a career-low 67.2. His coverage grade was even worse, coming in at 57.2.

Winfield’s natural ball skills would be put to better use at the safety position. Think back to the interception he brought in over the 6-foot-4 Michael Pittman Jr. in a November 2021 win over the Colts in Indianapolis. He high-pointed the ball and came down with it, out-leaping a receiver who has six inches of height on him. Plays like that were lacking for the Bucs last year, and they could certainly use more of them in 2023.

Plus, the Bucs don’t want to see injuries pile up for Winfield, their 2020 second-round pick. He was banged up for parts of the 2022 season, having dealt with a concussion in the middle of the season before having another scare later in the season. To that end, moving him back to more of a full-time safety role would seem to make sense.

Yes, Winfield proved in 2022 that he can handle the slot cornerback role. But the Bucs would be wise to find a player to fill that position (Alabama’s Brian Branch, anyone?) this offseason. Doing so would allow Winfield, a Pro Bowl-caliber player, to maximize his potential at the safety position. And with him up top and a true nickel corner filling that role, Todd Bowles can get the most out of his defense for the foreseeable future.