Summer is here, and it is everyone’s favorite time of the year, scouting time. Every year, we do Summer Scouting to preview college football for Bucs fans and give them names to follow and watch in the fall as needs pop up for Tampa Bay.
Are we going to write about quarterbacks? Offensive tackles? Edge rushers? You know it, but why? Because other NFL teams will draft them, just as they will draft every other position. It all matters whether these players end up on the Bucs, the Bears, or the Steelers. We write these to keep Bucs fans as informed as possible.
So if you are still with us, enjoy our latest Summer Scouting report as we prepare you for the Fall.
Background Information
Notable Career Stats Heading Into 2026
Notable Numbers From PFF Heading Into 2026
Strengths
Weaknesses
Player Summary
Kip Lewis enters the 2026 season as one of the more experienced linebackers in the SEC. After leading Oklahoma in tackles during the 2025 campaign, Lewis returns as the centerpiece of the Sooners’ linebacker room and a player who consistently found ways to impact games both against the run and as a pressure defender.
Lewis’ best trait is his football intelligence. He quickly diagnoses run concepts, identifies developing lanes, and attacks downhill with confidence. Oklahoma frequently aligned him in multiple roles, including traditional linebacker alignments, overhang positions, and pressure packages near the line of scrimmage. That versatility allowed him to become a productive run defender while also generating 21 pressures and six sacks during the 2025 season.
In coverage, Lewis displayed better instincts than his raw grades might initially suggest. He routinely maintained vision on the quarterback while dropping into zone assignments and showed awareness of route combinations developing around him. While he can become stationary after reaching his landmarks and occasionally gets flat-footed, his overall understanding of spacing and route concepts is encouraging.
The biggest concern heading into 2026 is play strength. Lewis does not shy away from contact, but larger offensive linemen can displace him when they gain positioning. He can also become overly aggressive, flowing toward outside runs, occasionally opening backside cutback opportunities. Those issues limit his ceiling somewhat, but they do not erase the value of an instinctive, versatile linebacker who consistently finds himself around the football.
Another productive season could push Lewis into the middle rounds of the 2027 NFL Draft. At a minimum, his intelligence, versatility, and special-teams projection give him a realistic path to an NFL roster.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: 2027 NFL Draft Summer Scouting Report: Kip Lewis, LB, OU
Reporting by Mason Riney, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mason Riney, Buccaneers Wire | USA TODAY Network
