Let’s talk about Calijah Kancey, shall we?

The more exciting periods of the Bucs offseason are over with, as pre-draft scouting, free agency, the NFL Draft, OTAs and mini-camps are well in the past. What is exciting, though, is that this Bucs Storylines series began when training camp was still weeks and weeks away, and now we’re under one week from Tampa Bay reporting back to the AdventHealth Training Center to start camp and begin preparations for the 2024 season.

There’s still plenty of time to talk storylines for the upcoming season, though, as the regular season doesn’t kick off for another month-plus. So, with that in mind, this series rolls on as we narrow in on some of the Bucs’ biggest stars and go player-by-player to dive into the big storylines that are in store for the 2024 season.

After taking a look at six players on offense (quarterback Baker Mayfield, wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, running back Rachaad White, tight end Cade Otton and left tackle Tristan Wirfs), we flipped over to the defense with nose tackle Vita Vea. Today, we move forward with Vea’s partner in crime, defensive lineman Calijah Kancey.

Bucs Storylines: Calijah Kancey

Here are three big storylines surrounding Bucs defensive lineman Calijah Kancey in 2024:

Will 2024 Be A Breakout Season For Calijah Kancey?

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Kancey’s rookie season was extremely promising even at face value. The 2023 first-round pick totaled four sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 14 games, with those 10 TFLs near the top of the leaderboard for rookies. What was even more impressive is that there was no “rookie wall” in sight for the former Pitt Panther, as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo wrote about this week. 

In fact, Kancey’s two best pass-rushing performances from his rookie campaign (per Pro Football Focus) were the Bucs’ two playoff games. The win over Philadelphia was his second-best pass-rush grade (80.2), while the season-ending loss to Detroit was his best pass-rush grade of the season (81.1). The fact that he was peaking right as the year came to a close is a good sign for the 2024 season, as Kancey will have a chance to build on what he learned last year after having an offseason to get stronger.

And it’s worth circling back to the fact that, at face value, Kancey had a very good rookie season for Tampa Bay. But when you add in the layer of context that he suffered a calf injury in the first padded practice of training camp and that said injury cost him camp, preseason and the early part of the regular season? What he did once he got back in the lineup and to full health looks even more impressive. He was behind the proverbial eight ball and even said after his first full game in Week 6 that he felt like he was essentially still in his own preseason.

In that “preseason” debut (the Bucs’ Week 6 loss to the Lions), he notched his first career sack to go along with his six pressures in 28 pass rush snaps. That game was a sign of things to come and Kancey got better as the year went on, all the way down to putting together his best game in what turned out to be the final contest of the season. The trajectory he was on as the 2023 season ended makes it hard to bet against the 2024 campaign being a breakout one for the 23-year-old.

Can Calijah Kancey Take The Next Step As A Run Defender?

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: USA Today

When Kancey was drafted with the 19th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, it was clear that the pass rush upside was there for the undersized defensive lineman out of Pitt. He’s explosive and athletic, and he had the production to show for it at the collegiate level. But because he’s undersized, there were concerns about his ability as a run defender, with NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein even projecting him as a rotational run defender and full-time sub-package rusher.

But as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo has pointed out in the past (and will continue to point out), Kancey was not as bad of a run defender as his Pro Football Focus grades would lead you to believe he was as a rookie. Yes, PFF gave him a 29.5 run defense grade for the season and had him with a run defense grade of lower than 50 in seven games during his rookie year.

But these grades should always be taken with a grain of salt and looked at as ancillary evidence rather than THE evidence. The tape is THE evidence, and the tape will show that Kancey is rather adequate against the run. He is

Calijah Kancey is never going to be an elite run defender. But that doesn’t mean he is as bad as his grades might lead you to believe. pic.twitter.com/AbehXKBqGI

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 12, 2023

Calijah Kancey with the quick rip and the strong TFL finish. Shout out to Logan Hall catching the lean and slipping off it quickly as well. pic.twitter.com/3w73jGFj3Z

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) June 4, 2024

So no, Kancey isn’t as bad against the run as you might think. But yes, he can still improve as a run defender. Both statements can be true! And that’s what the real basis of this storyline is: Can year two lead to a leap in success against the run? As Queipo references, Kancey’s lack of length may keep him from ever developing into an elite run defender, but he proved plenty capable as a rookie even with the calf injury that cost him training camp, the preseason and the early part of the regular season.

So, with a full season of NFL experience under his belt and with a full offseason to get stronger, perhaps we’re set to see an even better and more complete Kancey in 2024 — a true threat against both the pass and the run.

Can Calijah Kancey Help Unlock Todd Bowles’ Four-Man Pass Rush — And Vita Vea?

Bucs DTs Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Part of the decline (for lack of a better word, as Tampa Bay hasn’t been bad bad) for the Bucs’ defense over the last couple of years has been the lack of a consistent four-man pass rush. Head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles loves to get creative with his blitz packages and that’s part of his identity as a defensive mastermind, sure, but he doesn’t want to be in a spot where he has to rely on his linebackers and defensive backs to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

So, while the Bucs figure out their best plan of attack with the expansive group of edge rushers that they have, might Kancey serve as the key to unlocking Bowles’ four-man pass rush? There were glimpses of that being the case in 2023 when Kancey was a rookie.

His play got better and better as the year went on, and because of how disruptive he was as a pass rusher late in the season, he started to see some double-teams. In fact, during the NFC Divisional Round loss to the Lions, it was the 2023 first-round pick — not Vea — getting the majority of double-teams from the Detroit offensive line. And Kancey still had five pressures and a sack in that game.

So, the value that Kancey can bring is two-fold. The disruption he causes on the interior of the defensive line can not only open things up on the outside but also create chances for Vea on the interior. Vea has been taking on double teams for most of his career, so having a quick and agile lineman like Kancey to eat some up on his own may just create some big opportunities for Vea to get after the quarterback and help Tampa Bay get the best out of its big man even as he nears the age of 30.

A full season of a healthy Calijah Kancey could work wonders for the Buccaneer pass rush, and that would greatly benefit Bowles by giving him some freedom when calling the defense. Because as much as he’s proven pretty capable of working around the lack of a four-man pass rush, he can really go deeper into his bag and get the most out of his side of the ball when his front is generating enough pressure on the quarterback without constant help.