Table of Contents
About the Author: Bailey Adams
Latest Bucs Headlines
Good luck getting in the way of the Bucs’ big defensive line this season.
Seriously, is there a bigger defensive line anywhere else in the NFL? Tampa Bay’s group features Vita Vea (6-foot-4, 347 pounds), Akiem Hicks (6-foot-5, 324 pounds), Logan Hall (6-foot-6, 283 pounds) and Will Gholston (6-foot-6, 317 pounds). Add in Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka rushing from the outside and you start to wonder just how much potential the Bucs’ pass rush has in 2022.
“It’s the same potential it’s got to be every single year. You have to go into the year trying to be a record-breaking sack team,” Gholston said Tuesday. “It’s just like with our rush defense – we have a certain goal, a certain standard – we want to get to that, that’s the goal every single time. We want to be the best in sacks, the best in the run and every category.”
“It’s like trying to stop a – how can I put it? – a large motorhome in motion, and one of us trying to stop it. That’s what it’s like every day,” Goodwin said after Sunday’s practice. Vita, Hicks, Will, Logan, all those guys, probably one of the best D-Line units in the National Football League.”
Gholston: “I Feel Like A Regular-Sized Dude”
Bucs DE Will Gholston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The size of Vea and Gholston is obviously nothing new for Tampa Bay, as the two have been teammates since 2018. But adding Hicks and Hall this offseason – albeit while losing 6-foot-3, 313-pound Ndamukong Suh – only elevates the Tampa Bay defensive front.
“I’m excited about it because that’s a heavy load, [Hicks] and Vita for sure. I know they have to double them, and if they don’t double them, it’s going to be crazy,” Gholston said. “It’s going to be magic – [we’re] going to make some magic out there. [Those] guys are huge, and I love it. It helps you bring a bit of tenaciousness to your game – add a little bit – because you see how physically dominating those guys are, so you want to do the same thing. I see it down the line now and so does everybody in that room.”
Even Gholston, a 10th-year veteran who stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 317 pounds, finds himself in awe of guys like Vea and Hicks.
“I feel like I’m big myself, but when I’m standing next to them, I don’t really feel that big,” Gholston said. “I feel like a regular-sized dude. Those are big fellas.”
Bucs WRs Could Face Tough Test Against Dolphins
Bucs Veteran WR Injured During Practice With Dolphins
