The Bucs are blessed with many talented players. And many of those players are receiving national recognition and praise during this wonderful time of year known as “rankings season.” Pro Football Focus has been leading the charge ranking the top players at each position group ahead of the 2024 NFL season. So far, several Bucs have made appearances including Baker Mayfield, Rachaad White, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, Lavonte David, Jamel Dean and Antoine Winfield Jr.

Add Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea to the list.

Bucs DT One Of The Best

PFF lists Vea 21st among their top interior defensive linemen rankings. Author Sam Monson notes, “Vea would have arguably the best highlight reel of any defensive tackle in the NFL. His wins can be absolutely absurd. At 350 pounds, he has the power to ragdoll 300-pound offensive linemen and the explosiveness to take advantage of it. He just doesn’t make that impact as consistently as he should.

Bucs NT Vita Vea and Eagles C Jason Kelce – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Last season, he totaled 39 quarterback pressures and 30 defensive stops to go along with an 80.0 PFF overall grade. All are good marks, but none correspond to the physical dominance he can display at times.”

Interestingly, Monson notes Vea’s weight which helps aid his play strength. But many around the Advent Health Training Center have spoken about Vea committing himself to losing weight this year and general manager Jason Licht recently claimed during a guest appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast that Vea is now closer to 300 pounds than he is to 300. It remains to be seen how that may affect Vea’s impact on the field. A slimmed down Vea could mean a positive for the Bucs allowing him to stay better conditioned so he can play more snaps per game/season. It could add an element of speed and quickness that he previously could not tap into.

But to Monson’s point, a slimmer Vea could also be one who is less physically imposing and reduce the number of times he can win on his patented “I’m going to walk this center/guard back into the quarterback’s lap and there’s nothing he can do about it” bull rush.

Former First Rounder Omitted

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and Panthers QB Bryce Young – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Another name who could have made a case for being included towards the bottom of the list is 2023 first-round pick Calijah Kancey. He had a promising rookie campaign with four sacks and 34 quarterback pressures despite missing three games early in the season was left off of Monson’s rankings.

Two of Kancey’s 2023 draft-mates did make the list in Jalen Carter of the Eagles and Kobie Turner of the Rams. Kancey likely didn’t merit consideration due to a poor PFF grade, one that was largely a byproduct of how they graded his run defense. As an analyst I wholeheartedly disagree with their classification of Kancey as one of the worst run defending interior linemen in the NFL last year.

2025 Could See Bucs Better Placed On List

If Vea’s physical transformation does spell additional snaps and overall better conditioning, there is a good chance he could have a career year in 2024. Add to that a likely jump in play from Kancey as he gains additional experience in the NFL, and it is not a far-flung notion that both could be on this list come June of 2025. An improvement from these two would also likely mean an improved Bucs pass rush that may help unlock a new level for the defense this upcoming year.