Last season, in game-changing victories against the Packers and Falcons, Britt played 91% of the defensive snaps. His role models go back a few years.
K.J. Britt, a Bucs linebacker, enjoys silent films without dialogue. In the past, he would have been content with a grainy image and a projector.
“Like Mike Singletary says, ‘Every play is trying to tell you something, you’ve just got to see it,’ ” Britt said of the 1985 Bears’ Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker.
“So just watching him. Watching linebackers like (Larry) Foote, Lavonte (David). Everybody knows what’s going on. Everybody knows what you’re going to get and that’s going to put you a step faster. Just knowing what’s going on helped put me in position to make plays.”
Britt digs deep into the archives to study highlights of linebackers who haven’t played in the NFL since before the turn of the century.
“Harry Carson. Willie Lanier. Ray (Lewis),” said Britt, rattling of the stars of his football films. “Takeo (Spikes). All the great (middle) linebackers. Middle linebackers that came before me. That came before, years and years. You can just watch as you go back, it’s still the same game. It’s a team game. It ain’t golf. It’s a team game.
“Watching how those guys demanded a lot from their teammates. Sam Mills. The Dome Patrol. All those good linebackers. Rickey Jackson. Just watching all those teams and how they were good and what they did. The performances were still the same.”
Everything about Britt tells you he’s part linebacker, part throwbacker.
The Bucs decided not offer a contract extension to Pro Bowl linebacker Devin White, the team’s fifth overall pick in 2019, in large part due to Britt’s better performance.
White’s lower productivity contributed to his decision to negotiate a one-year, $4 million contract with the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent.
However, when Britt took over as starter at Green Bay on Dec. 17 after White refused to rotate with him and was inactive, the Bucs defense improved, allowing an average of 16 points and going 3-1 to finish the regular season.
Britt is primarily known as a downhill run stuffer. He had 19 tackles across his last four games. In comparison, he only recorded 13 total tackles in 2022.
“I just went out there and played ball,” Britt said of his first start. “I didn’t let the game get too big.”
What Britt lacks is speed. He only ran a 4.76 in the 40-yard dash. That doesn’t mean he can’t play fast. Film study helps him identify plays. But in this era of NFL teams spreading the field with four or five pass catchers, you need the ability to cover tight ends and running backs.
It’s unclear whether Britt is a three-down linebacker or whether the Bucs would rotate him with another player, such as SirVocea Dennis, on certain passing downs.
“Obviously, he can play all three downs,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We have so many packages and guys to move around — it’s a little early to determine who will be on what. … But he’s ready to play all three downs. I love his maturity. He’s grasping the mental part of the game and becoming the leader of that defense along with (David) and (Antoine Winfield Jr.) and Vita (Vea).”
Dennis only played 101 defensive snaps as a rookie last season, but he’s developed a strong bond with Britt.
“We’ve got an approach to the game that if we ain’t getting better, we’re wasting time,” Britt said. “It’s hot. It’s humid. If we ain’t getting better, what are we doing? We have accountability to each other and we just make sure we hold each other up because it’s ball at the end of the day.”
While Bowles has typically had both inside linebackers on the field for all three downs, his roster presents the opportunity to platoon Britt if he chooses.
David is unlikely to come off the field.
However, Bowles has discussed deploying “chess pieces,” players who can move wherever on the field, such as Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Winfield, and Jordan Whitehead. This might allow Bowles to remove an inside linebacker from the field in certain instances.
One thing is clear: Britt is prepared to take over for White. He has a throwback look about him, yet the film does not deceive.
“K.J. is real passionate about the game of football and I just love to see that,” David said. “He’s always willing to get better. He’s always picking my brain and coach’s brain. That’s something I love to see. He’s definitely ready to take on that challenge. Right now, he has the opportunity to take the (middle) linebacker’s spot and so far, so good.”