The Buccaneers have solid starting safeties, Keith Tandy and whether you like it or not, Chris Conte, they also have a lot of young depth as well. So, where does that leave the veteran safety J.J. Wilcox? It seems Tampa is testing the fifth-year vet, at Nickel DB.
In a recent Interview with Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, Wilcox said that it is definitely a new position for him, that Dallas had him as third string Nickel, but Tampa wanted to broaden his horizons and give him a shot at earning the starting Nickel spot. It seems that it may pay off.
Wilcox knows that you have to be able to match yourself up with big tight ends and fast enough to cover the slot receiver. His 4:4/ 4:5 40 times should allow him to do that.
The reason for this is because it seems that Tampa is splitting the Nickel in order to have a sperate third corner back position. With Robert McClain, Javien Elliot, and “Hey Jude” all capable of playing the lone Nickel Position, this split makes for an interesting twisted to a Mike Smith plot.
