From 2019 to 2021 you would be hard pressed to find a better edge rusher in the NFL than the Bucs’ Shaq Barrett. Not that you couldn’t, but he was definitely in the conversation of Top 10 edge rushers in the NFL. He led the league in sacks during his breakout 2019 season with 19.5. He ranked fifth, first and seventh in pressures among edge rushers according to Pro Football Focus in each of those seasons as well.

But the NFL is a “What have you done for me lately?” business. And unfortunately for Barrett, lately he has been battling back from a challenging Achilles injury that ended his 2022 season abruptly in the middle. That injury, combined with a down performance to start the season, has left Barrett off of ESPN’s Top 10 edge rusher list following a survey of league insiders.

The Bucs’ star pass rusher makes the article just barely as a player who received some votes.

Bucs’ OLB Barely Misses Cut For Third Straight Season

Barrett has consistently been mentioned on these lists but has never been featured. He was listed in the “Honorable Mentions” portion of the article in each of the past two years before falling into the “Others Receiving Votes” section this year. The narrative on Barrett has been consistent during this time. Here is what was said about him in the 2021 article:

“He’s a pure pass-rusher and very talented but not sure he’s as complete a player as others on this list. The Bucs needed to wait and see on him with the franchise tag. But he was [great] in the playoffs and [is] a helluva player. But if we’re talking top 10, that’s a tough sell for me.” — AFC exec

And here is the comment provided in 2022:

“He reinvented his career in Tampa Bay with 37.5 sacks and two Pro Bowls in three years. ‘Really good but different than some other rushers — great athlete, a run-around guy, can counter off the speed, makes plays all over the field,’ an AFC defensive coach said. ‘Not a whole lot of power to his game, but he’s just dynamic.'”

Even before the injury Barrett had limitations to his game that kept him in the second tier of pass rushers. Although given his consistently high-pressure numbers one could reasonably argue that he leveraged the gifts he did have better than those with more gifts. Still, the league has debited his 2022 appropriately in dropping him a few notches due to the events of the past 12 months.

No Other Bucs Pass Rusher Considered

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs drafted Joe Tryon-Shoyinka with the final pick of the first round in 2021 to pair with Barrett as a dynamic duo. That hope has yet to come to fruition. Tryon-Shoyinka has improved in each of his first two years in the NFL and showed a good jump in the consistency of his play from year one to year two.

But a frustrating tendency of failing to finish led to a disappointing year in sack-production. This has left many wondering if the Bucs young outside linebacker may be the dreaded “B” word. But 2023 offers Tryon-Shoyinka an opportunity to shed that label and re-invent himself as a young ascending star of the NFL. That will require him to convert more pressures into sacks.

It may be telling that the Bucs decided to use not one, but two draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft on edge rushers, including a Top 100 pick on YaYa Diaby. They did this after investing $10 million on re-signing quality backup Anthony Nelson to a two-year deal.

Tryon-Shoyinka, Diaby, Nelson and sixth-round pick Jose Ramirez all comprise a young and athletic group of complimentary players. But none have established themselves as pass-rushing demons worthy of consideration on the ESPN list.

As for this time next year, both Tryon-Shoyinka and Diaby have the physical traits to potential bear some consideration. But with Barrett coming off of an injury that typically requires two-years to see a full recovery, Tryon-Shoyinka’s penchant for “close but no cigar,” and Diaby struggling to get enough repetitions to garner such a distinction, the odds are the Bucs will be left off this list for at least one more year.