Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Markees Watts Giving Offensive Line 'Fits' in Practice

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Markees Watts is making a name for himself, and coach Todd Bowles is taking notice.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a roller-coaster season with some highs and lows including the euphoria of getting a win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 10.

In that game, Buccaneers outside linebacker Markees Watts made his NFL debut and turned in one tackle and one quarterback hit.

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Not a great stat line, but given that his 11 defensive snaps on Sunday were the first of his career, it's quite the milestone for Watts in his time with Tampa Bay.

And those snaps came as a result of his work on the practice field, where coach Todd Bowles says he's been challenging the team's starting offensive linemen this season.

"He's gone against Luke [Goedeke] and Tristan [Wirfs] every day," Bowles said about Watts' practice performance. "We give them the best pass rusher of the week, so he can give those guys work because he works hard nonstop. He's been giving them fits. Because he's been giving them fits and they've been blocking well in ballgames, a lot of that is a credit to him. We said he deserved a shot, let's see what he does on Sunday. He went out and did the same thing. We really like where he's at right now and he's coming along [well]."

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) gets hit by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Markees Watts (58) in the second half at Raymond James Stadium / Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Watts also turned in three special teams snaps against the Titans.

In his debut, Pro Football Focus gave Watts a 71.2 defensive grade with a 72.3 pass-rush grade individually.

His 16.7 percent pass rush win rate on Sunday is the top percentage among all linebackers and edge rushers on the Buccaneers' roster. Even with 245 fewer pass-rush snaps this season than second-best Shaquil Barrett, that limited performance by Watts is encouraging.

And it's going to earn him more time according to Bowles. 

Additionally, he's adding to a young group of defenders the Bucs hope to help usher in the next era of defensive football for the franchise. 

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"[They are] still developing, but we really like all three of them," Bowles said about Watts, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, and outside linebacker YaYa Diaby. "We like where they are [and] the way they're developing. Obviously, they've got to continue to be healthy and do all the right things to play -- they're heading in that direction. We're very happy about that."

Watts is surely going to be happy to hear his coach have such high praise for him, and Tampa Bay fans should enjoy seeing the young defender continue to perform and grow along with his teammates as they look to turn a corner this weekend against the San Francisco 49ers.

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