In football, a slant route is built on timing and precision. The receiver does not waste motion – he breaks sharply across the field into open space before the defense can react. It is simple in design, but separation is created through execution.

That same approach defines my weekly Saturday Bucs column, Slivon’s Slant.

Each week from now until training camp, I will take a look inside a different Bucs position group. The goal is to cut through the surface to find the clearest path in evaluating this roster as it takes shape. Then, once the season begins, the column will continue offering different angles for breaking down and discussing the team. So far, I have offered in-depth profiles of the quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, and offensive line positions.

Now, it is time to cover the defense, beginning with the defensive linemen.

Inside The Bucs Defensive Line Room

Pocket-Collapsing Colossus: Vita Vea

The presence of Vita Vea has been felt in the middle of the Bucs’ defensive line for the past eight seasons. Vea has carved out a memorable tenure in Tampa Bay while earning the reputation of being one of the league’s best nose tackles. Among them, he is a unicorn in how he not only clogs run lanes as an immovable force but completely collapses pockets and brings down the quarterback at 6-foot-4 and 347 pounds. It is not often that players of his build lead the team in sacks, but he led the team in that category in 2022 and has consistently ranked near the top over the past several seasons.

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: IMAGN Images

There should be no denying the unique talent that Vea is. He deserves his flowers – and perhaps a place in the Bucs Ring of Honor someday. Under contract for this season before being a free agent, one does have to wonder if this is his “last dance” in Tampa Bay. Now 31 years old, there is concern about his longevity. It is not common that defensive tackles hold up and continue to play at a high level into their mid-30s.

Evading durability concerns and getting into great shape in recent years has served Vea well, but will he be able to hold up and be productive in 2026? After playing a career-high in snaps last season, there has to be more of a plan in place to keep him fresh. Given his track record of dominance and dedication to his craft, I expect at least one more high-quality, Pro Bowl-caliber year from Vea. With the upgrades made along the front seven and a (hopefully) healthy Calijah Kancey, things line up well for the veteran nose tackle to create for others as well as himself. That is all the Bucs can really ask for.

Disruptive Dynamo: Calijah Kancey

If the story for Vita Vea is whether he can hold up for another season, the Bucs just want to see Calijah Kancey hold up for a full season. I would push back at the notion that Kancey is just a guy or is someone that is overhyped. To that, I point to what he accomplished in 2024, when he led the team with 7.5 sacks in 12 games, including a stretch where he had five sacks in four games. The talent has never been in question. Staying on the field has. Considering how he affects games, especially paired next to a bigger nose tackle, he can still very well be a double-digit, disruptive defensive tackle.

Bucs DTs Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Kancey is not the biggest run defender, but his traits for the position are rare. Few defensive linemen are as nimble and explosive off the snap. That works to his advantage in the way he creates leverage, and his work up to this point is largely a testament to that. Given where the rest of the defensive line stands, the 2023 first-round pick is a perfect fit. If all he does is tally sacks and boost the pass rush, that is enough to make an impact and get the unit back to being respectable. Even though his fifth-year option was picked up, his fourth year has to be his best year yet.

Ass-Kicking Alpha: A’Shawn Robinson

Talk about making a memorable first impression. From the moment A’Shawn Robinson signed with the Bucs in free agency, the veteran defensive tackle has been just what the doctor ordered from an attitude standpoint. For a unit criticized for being “soft” at times and perhaps filled with too many “nice guys,” Robinson wants to kick ass and take names. That does not make him a jerk, but it makes him someone that is not to be messed with, and that personality has been sorely needed. I mean, this is the trenches we are talking about here. It is one thing if other positions lack that sort of edge, but the defensive tackles are the tone-setters.

Bucs DT A’Shawn Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

All of this should not understate the value Robinson brings on the football field. Tampa Bay did not just hand him a one-year, $10 million deal for his mean streak. He was relied upon heavily in Carolina the last two seasons, particularly in 2024 when star Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown missed the season. It was Robinson who stepped up to fill his void, recording career highs with 80 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Even in 2025, he posted 65 tackles and 2.5 sacks. For context, Logan Hall led the Bucs’ defensive tackles with just 39 tackles.

That reinforces just how stout the newcomer is wrapping up ballcarriers. He has seen a lot of action over the years, joining the team well-seasoned and battle-tested. While not the first name to come to mind about who the team should have brought in, Robinson is exactly what the team needed and projects to be the third starter while not completely limiting the backups from getting their share of playing time, too.

Developing Disruptor: Elijah Roberts

Looking back, the strides Elijah Roberts made last season should have been given more credit than they received. For a fifth-round pick, Roberts exceeded expectations and filled an important depth role with Calijah Kancey out for the season. The SMU product flashed exciting traits as an athletic, versatile pass rusher but also as a run defender. It came as no surprise when the Bucs did not want to pony up and pay Logan Hall and chose not to retain Greg Gaines. The addition of A’Shawn Robinson does limit Roberts’ ceiling, but it gives him more time to develop and refine his game entering his second season.

Bucs DT Elijah Roberts – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Roberts appeared on the Pewter Report Podcast recently, and it was surprising to hear him share he is up to 305 pounds after playing last year between 275-290 pounds. Another year to work and strictly focus on his game within Tampa Bay’s defensive system provides a sense of encouragement he will make bigger strides and be more comfortable playing faster. Through that lens, one can sense he is only scratching the surface of his potential.

It is intriguing just how polished he looked over his last two years in college as a pass rusher, which head coach Todd Bowles should aim to deploy on passing downs. With how much defensive tackles rotate in and out, he should not see a ton of drop off from the 49% of defensive snaps he played last season. It works to his benefit that he is not under a ton of pressure to perform, but at the same time, a substantial platform lies ahead to force his way into more playing time and stake a claim for a starting spot in 2027.

Athletic Anomaly: DeMonte Capehart

In selecting DeMonte Capehart, the Bucs showed they were not afraid to beef up the defensive line further. Even if Capehart spends his first season largely developing behind the scenes, he has an intriguing blend of tantalizing traits. It starts with the fact he is 6-foot-5, 313 pounds and ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash. That rare athletic profile is paired with the power he displayed at Clemson. He did not have the chance to fully unlock his intangibles into production, but it says something that he received quite an endorsement from his well-respected college head coach, Dabo Swinney.

Bucs DT DeMonte Capehart – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“He’s got rare ability for a guy his size to be able to manipulate other people against their will,” Swinney said. I mean, he’s really gifted, especially when it comes to stopping the run… They are getting someone who I think is a first-round talent.”

His plus athleticism also comes with positional flexibility to play multiple spots along the defensive line without missing a beat. Given his aptitude for run defense, it is likely he gets rotated in, even if for just 15-25 snaps a game as a rookie. His pass-rushing profile is not to the level of the rest of the room and requires NFL coaching to unlock. It was not surprising to see Tampa Bay bet on him, but just how much they can cash in will be a multi-year investment.

Nasty Nacho: Rakeem Nuñez-Roches

During my first season covering the Bucs in 2022, there is one quote from Rakeem Nuñez-Roches that perfectly encapsulates who he is.

“We need to talk about why my jersey ain’t in the [team] store,” Nuñez-Roches said then. “If we ain’t talking about that, we ain’t talking. I need some royalties. They got to make a jersey.”

Nuñez-Roches, or more affectionately nicknamed “Nacho,” is back for a second stint in Tampa Bay after spending the last two seasons with the Giants. Ask anyone about him, and the immediate reaction is the high-energy and juice he provides to the defensive line room as well as the locker room. He plays every snap like his last. Turning 33 years old in less than a month, he is winding down his career, and this lines up to be a final pit stop.

Bucs DL coach Marcus West and DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

A 2015 sixth-round pick by the Chiefs, it is impressive he has survived so long. While a depth piece for most of his time in the league, he logged a lot of playing time in New York. During the past two seasons, he logged 75 tackles and five sacks across 24 games (20 starts). 

While the metrics do not paint Nuñez-Roches as anything more than a replacement-level player, there is no replacing the heart he plays with. That is a welcome addition, even if he is on a last stand of sorts to make the 53-man roster. If the team elects to keep five defensive linemen, he is the odd man out. Still, stashing “Nacho” on the practice squad makes sense to keep him (and his personality) in the building.

Gap-Gobbling Giant: Jayson Jones

Last year was a huge “what could have been” moment for Jayson Jones. Set to be elevated to the active roster and start in place of the injured Logan Hall in the Week 4 game against Philadelphia, Jones tore his bicep. It was a season-ending setback, but he has another chance to make a name for himself. He is a large, imposing figure at 6-foot-6, 340 pounds. He is far from being the most athletic defensive tackle, but at his size, he fits a very specific niche — being a gap-gobbling giant.

Bucs DT Jayson Jones – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That specialization, along with the fact he has impressed early on this offseason, makes him one of the organization’s more intriguing developmental defensive linemen. Making the 53-man roster will be much more difficult, given just how competitive the bottom of the defensive tackle depth chart is. Should Vita Vea ever miss time, Jones is the perfect fill-in to eat up space and open things up for others. Players like him do not grow on trees, so keeping him around and on standby is the logical move.

Closing Slant

The Bucs defensive tackle room is one of the team’s deepest position groups entering this season. It may also be one of the most important. The pieces are in place from a talent and personality standpoint that can turn things around. That requires all the “what if’s” falling into place, such as Vita Vea remaining productive, Calijah Kancey being available, A’Shawn Robinson providing more than nastiness, and younger players like Elijah Roberts, DeMonte Capehart, and even Jayson Jones taking the next step.

The extent to which each of those happens will determine not only how successful the defensive line is, but it will also affect the outside pass rush getting home and making life easier for the secondary. My slant on this group? The Bucs have assembled one of the deepest defensive tackle rooms they have had in years. Now comes the hard part — turning potential into production. If they can, it makes the entire defense harder to block, harder to throw against, and harder to beat.