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The Bucs hosted their first preseason game of the 2026 season, dueling with the Chiefs to a 16-15 victory. The second preseason game is always the most interesting because it affords evaluations of starters, who are held out of the first and third preseason games, as well as the depth guys fighting for a spot on the roster.

That also means we get an eclectic group of players for the Most Impressive list. And here they are!

Bucs’ Edge Rush Top To Bottom

Rueben Bain Jr. made his NFL debut. It took him less than six snaps to make his impact felt.

Bain with a sick hump move. Sheesh! pic.twitter.com/err5hv3PH2

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 22, 2026

That inside move showed everything that makes Bain excellent. He can threaten the outside, which is what the right tackle had to prepare for first and foremost. But the ability to cross face and use his strength to just throw a very large human off of him gives him an arsenal that is as wide as it is deep.

But Bain wasn’t alone in getting pressure on quarterback Justin Fields. Opposite the first-round rookie was fourth-year pass rusher Yaya Diaby, who has improved each year he has been in the league. In the back of that shot, you can see him winning high side around the corner. The pairing of these two could be a top ten starting duo in the NFL.

It didn’t end with the starters. David Walker had multiple wins including a nasty inside spin.

The spin move from David Walker 🌪️

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/GdLWv6KzUB

— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2026

Anthony Nelson reminded myself and everyone else why he’s entering year eight with no real threat of not making the team. He added two tackles, 1.5 sacks and forced fumble. Al-Quadin Muhammad was around the ball several times. And Mo Kamara got 0.5 sacks while winning a couple of other pass rushes.

Bucs OLB Mo Kamara – Photo by IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Top to bottom, the Bucs’ pass rush from the edge was elite, leading to eight pressures and two sacks on the night.

ILB Caden Fordham

With both Christian Rozeboom and SirVocea Dennis out of the game, Fordham got plenty of run in the game. And he was everywhere, racking up six tackles and two defensive stops in just 27 snaps. Fordham read his keys, played with intent and decisiveness, and importantly did not miss a tackle like many of his teammates. He also added a special teams tackle which is critical to him potentially making the team.

QB Jalon Daniels

For the second week in a row, Daniels entered the game to ignite a previously lackluster Bucs offense. Taking over with Tampa Bay down 9-0, he led the Bucs on a seven-play, 49-yard drive, capping it off with a 2-yard touchdown toss to Ko Kieft. Daniels was 5-of-5 for 39 yards while adding two carries for 13 yards on the drive.

Daniels leveraged his mobility to get to the edge and make plays on the move, including an 11-yard zone read as well as avoiding disaster by turning in a muffed snap into a two-yard gain.

Bucs QB Jalon Daniels – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

He continued to electrify the crowd at Raymond James Stadium with a few dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodges of pass rushers, slipping a would-be sack early in the fourth quarter in the red zone, scrambling to the Kansas City 2-yard line. On the next play, he would hand the ball off to Sean Tucker for a go-ahead touchdown.

Daniels finished the day 9-of-14 for 71 yards and a touchdown and added another three carries for 15 yards before the end of game kneel downs. But critically it was the 3-for-3 on scoring drives before leading the eventual kneel downs to end the game that was most impressive.

Post-snap, he played fast and accurate. There are still opportunities for him to improve. His pre-snap processing and communication was slower than the team might like, and the center-QB exchanges were not consistently clean, but the gap between him and Jake Browning is closing fast.

Bucs’ Special Teams Units

Riley Dixon had a clean night, with five punts for 235 yards, averaging 47 yards per boot and critically landed two inside the 20-yard line. The coverage units on those punts were excellent. Similarly, the kick coverage units were effective on both of B.T. Potter’s kickoffs, forcing returns that did not reach the 30-yard line.

Kam Johnson added an impressive 23-yard punt return down the right sideline, pushing the ball from inside the Bucs’ 5-yard line to the 27. He followed that up with a solid kick return to the Bucs’ 30-yard line later in the game.

It was a clean game for the entire unit. That’s what special teams coordinator Danny Smith wants to see.

Bucs Running Backs

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “Bucky Irving breaks the tackle…” That’s what happened on Irving’s second carry of the night. 12 of Irving’s 14 yards came after contact and he forced a missed tackle on 33% of his carries. It’s a small sample size, but it was vintage 2024 Irving.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Josh Williams, not Sean Tucker, was the second primary back to enter the game. And he picked up where Irving left off. Two carries for nine yards. But it was how he contributed to the passing game that stood out. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson leaned into Williams’ soft hands and catch-to-runner transition skills to hit a few pass plays on screens.

Williams did a great job of not overrunning his blockers and timing up his acceleration to get the most out of the opportunities. Add in his pass pro pickups, which were all clean, and it was a great night for the LSU product.

Sean Tucker followed up Williams and reminded everyone why he was the FedEx Ground Player of the Week in 2024 when he started in New Orleans. Tucker ran aggressively downhill with a rare explosive acceleration gear that snuck up and overwhelmed Kansas City defenders. He put up five carries for 23 yards and a touchdown.

CB Roman Parodie

Parodie came up clutch, corralling a tipped pass for an interception at the Chiefs’ 37-yard line and returning it 15 yards to set up a Bucs go-ahead touchdown. That interception was quite the redemption for the cornerback, who was called for defensive pass interference that cost the defense 28 yards and set Kansas City up in the red zone for an eventual touchdown that put Tampa Bay down 15-7.

WR/Returner Kam Johnson

Johnson added to his returns with four catches for 56 yards while averaging over two yards per route run. His route stems were sharp, and he added plenty after the catch in the short passing game. The most impressive of which was the 22-yard explosive he grabbed from Jake Browning early in the third quarter. He also had a key 12-yard catch from Jalon Daniels on the game-sealing drive. Johnson’s explosive burst is a weapon the Bucs can deploy in multiple facets of the game and is what likely keeps him on the roster post cutdowns.