The Bucs defense was the strength of the team last year. And this year figures to be more of the same. When you think of the best players on the team more will fall on the defensive side of the ball than on the offensive side of it. Two of those players are linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White. Both were recently named as two of the top 32 linebackers in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David

Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Lavonte David ranked in tier one of the linebacker list, ranking second overall. The veteran was only outranked by 49ers superstar Fred Warner. Tier one included Demario Davis as well. Here is what former Pewter Reporter Trevor Sikkema had to say regarding the trio in the article:

“These three off-ball linebackers represent the best of the best. First and foremost, they bring great awareness and playmaking ability in coverage. They are what teams seek out of the modern-day linebacker at the second level for how they can anticipate and react to plays against the run and pass. These three also have longevity on their side with multiple years of high-end play.”

He continued specifically about David: “For David, it was his sixth straight season with overall grades and coverage grades above 70.0. His 88.0 coverage grade in 2022 was the second-highest mark of his long career.”

Lavonte David Is Still In His Prime With The Bucs

David’s ranking here should not come as a surprise, as his play has remained consistently high for the entirety of his career. Even at an advanced age for the NFL and his position specifically (32), David did not show any drop off in play last year. He has compensated for a fall off in speed with an advanced feel for the game and amazing instincts.

Given his premium positioning on this list it bears repeating that in a market where Tremaine Edmunds signed for $18 million/year and Bobby Okereke signed for $10 million/year, the Bucs were able to re-sign their future Ring of Honor linebacker for just $4.5 million. This signing has to be considered one of, if not the steal of the offseason.

Bucs ILB Devin White

Bucs LB Devin White and Panthers QB Sam Darnold – Photo by: USA Today

Devin White makes the list several tiers below, showing up in the final tier of Sikkema’s writeup along with Patrick Queen of the Ravens and Willie Gay Jr. of the Chiefs. Sikkema referred to this tier as the “all-athlete tier.” White comes in at 25th overall. All three players share common traits of excellent speed and athleticism with big question marks regarding how well they perform in coverage.

When writing about White specifically Sikkema states, “White’s 44.9 coverage grade in 2022 was one of the lower marks of any off-ball linebacker in that category. He does have a cumulative 76.7 pass-rush grade over the past three seasons, signaling that his best work is done when focusing on the line of scrimmage and backfield.”

Devin White, Bucs Are At An Impasse Regarding His Value

White views himself as one of the best linebackers in the NFL and is currently holding out for a contract commiserate with that opinion of himself. He has said going back to his draft season that he would be looking for $100 million total value on his second NFL contract and there seems to be no evidence he has come off of that goal. White requested to be traded this offseason when Tampa Bay did not extend his contract with a hefty raise.

So far, Bucs general manager Jason Licht has not acquiesced and seems intent on having White play out 2023 on his $11,706,000 fifth-year option. That option raised the average annual value of his rookie contract to $7,328,954, which ranks 13th in the league at the off-ball linebacker position.

Regardless of whether White succeeds in parlaying a new contract before the beginning of the regular season or not, one thing is for sure. The Bucs sport one of the better linebacker duos in the NFL. Based on these PFF rankings the two teams that may have better pairings are the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears. The 49ers have Warner ranking first and Dre Greenlaw ranking eighth, while the Bears have Edmunds ranked ninth and T.J. Edwards ranked tenth.

With both David and White in contract years the Bucs could have linebackers in wildly different positions next year so enjoy these two while you can Bucs fans.