There are many reasons the 4-6 Bucs are struggling and mired in a four-game losing streak, but do not count defensive tackle Calijah Kancey as one of them. Since his delayed start to the season, he has picked up right where he left off last year.

Some of the supporting data may not agree with that assessment. His pressure rate this year is down to 7.59% from last year’s impressive 10.16%. His Pro Football Focus pass rush win rate is just 7.2% this year. That’s just 46th out of 68 interior defensive linemen with at least as many pass rushes as he has. Last year his 9.5% pass rush win rate was 20th overall.

Kancey’s pressure numbers may be down. But it’s not because his performance is lacking.

Calijah Kancey Is Still A 1-on-1 Monster

When given the opportunity to rush the passer in one-on-one situations this year Calijah Kancey is the best pass rusher the Bucs have. And his talents give him one of the highest ceilings in the league. Kancey already has four sacks in five games. He currently ranks second on the team in that area despite playing in just half Tampa Bay’s games.

.@Buccaneers @Ckancey8 causes this sack fumble and the ball is loose….its a race to the ball and it may decide the outcome. @JAUANJENN1NG5 makes his biggest play of the game. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/DxceucM7bM

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 11, 2024

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

Where he separates himself from other pass rushers on the team is the former first-round pick’s incredible hand usage. With a small frame and short arms, Kancey’s biggest enemy is when an opponent can get their hands on him. He prevents this from happening time and again with lightning quick hands. With swipes and slaps, paired with his quick launch off the line helps Kancey get to favorable angles quickly.

And where he really shines is getting the final move to free himself fully of contact from a blocker. This is what truly makes the difference between his pressures and those of teammate Yaya Diaby. While many, myself included, have touted pressure rate as a consistent measure of a pass rushers future potential and consistent ability to win, I want to point your attention to something a bit more impactful.

There are three types of pressures that are recorded.

Sacks are well-established. Quarterback hits are where a pass rusher is able to make contact with a quarterback through the course of his pass rush even if the hit does not result in a sack. Hurries are where a pass rush forces a quarterback to move off of his process or spot to get rid of the ball.

Eliminating hurries and looking at just how often pass rushers affect the quarterback through contact Kancey – or hits plus sacks – Kancey’s rate of success is 4.1% while Diaby is running at 3.1%.

Bucs Need To Find Create Opportunities For Calijah Kancey

As a three-technique Calijah Kancey is often having to parse through heavy loads of traffic on his way to the quarterback. It also makes it easier for offensive lines to run slides and throw additional resources his way. And while Kancey is not a true edge rusher, that hasn’t stopped him from having some truly impressive wins when getting to rush from the outside.

Bucs went matchup hunting for Calijah Kancey in week six against the Saints.

Hope to see them do this more going forward. pic.twitter.com/HZ1lW1q6cH

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) November 17, 2024

By getting Kancey out on the edge it is more difficult for offenses to push extra resources to Kancey without also taking an eligible out of the pass progression. The Lions were doing this effectively early in the year with their premier defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Detroit would line Hutchinson up solo on one side of the line by himself and push all other lineman to the other side of the line to help isolate him into one-on-one matchups with room to work both inside and outside.

The Aidan Hutchinson spin move has quickly become one of the better iterations of the move that we’ve seen over the last few years. Very similar to Everson Griffen’s version. pic.twitter.com/8ncFlhFwWC

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) January 10, 2024

Like the thought to isolate a pass rusher. Hope to see more of it but with more high-end talent than Anthony Nelson. pic.twitter.com/qfyghlVFPe

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) November 17, 2024

Leaning Into Calijah Kancey

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

Head coach Todd Bowles is known for, among other things, two major staples when constructing his defenses. He uses a lot of stunts/loops/games, and he blitzes a ton.

In doing so, he stresses the communication of offensive lines. At the same time, those games will often ask Calijah Kancey to play a role that springs opportunities for other players. And when those stunts aren’t properly paired with blitzes, Bowles’ pass rushers can often wind up blocking themselves.

Whether it is by design or poor execution, there have been multiple instances this year where Tampa Bay’s pass rushers wound up attacking the same gap. Some of those instances are schemed up to attract multiple blockers to a single point and open up other gaps for free runners. But often that isn’t the case. There is no free runner attempting to be sprung.

Coming out of this bye week, Bowles must bring the best ideas of his illustrious career to the table. He didn’t become dumb overnight. Bowles has been one of the best defensive minds in football for large stretches of the past 15-plus years. For someone as smart as Bowles he has to realize the one of the best paths to bringing his defense back from the brink is creating as many favorable matchups for his best pass rusher as possible while also reducing the number of times he negates pass rushers through multiple, non-layered, single-gap rushers.

The Bucs defense has talent and Kancey is one of the most talented players on that defense. Putting him in the best position to succeed should be one of the top priorities of the second half of the season.