To say the 2024 Bucs season has been a roller coaster thus far would be quite the fair assessment. And they are only five games into the campaign. To date only one game has seemingly gone “to plan.” Tampa Bay’s Week 1 victory over the Washington Commanders did not rock the football world.

Since then, the Bucs have experienced highs and lows on a week-in, week-out basis that would give an EKG for a patient with tachycardia a run for it’s money. A surprising win in Detroit, followed by a flat performance against Denver. Then Tampa Bay rounded out their current 3-2 schedule with a resounding win over the Eagles before collapsing late against the Falcons.

The inconsistent nature of the team’s game-by-game results paired with the relative brevity of the season so far can lead to overreactions in terms of what is right, and wrong, with the current composition of the team as well as the near and long-term outlooks of each position group. So, with 30% of the regular season in the books I wanted to take a look at each position group through both a short and long-term lens while the Bucs try to get healthy on their mini bye following an emotional Thursday Night Football game.

After taking a look at the Bucs skill position players and trench players on offense, we now turn to trenches on the defensive side of the ball.

Bucs Defensive Tackles

Vita Vea is playing some of the best ball of his career. His defensive stop rate is at a career high, albeit in a small sample size, and his pressure rate is ticking back into double digits. Vea committed himself to improving his conditioning in the offseason. And while every team has a “best shape of his life” storyline each season, Vea’s early play looks like that may actually be true with him this year. The defensive stalwart for Tampa Bay has long been the center of their defensive front a truly a player they have built around.

Bucs DT Vita Vea and Falcons RB Bijan Robinson – Photo by: USA Today

While the Bucs have had trouble in the past with getting pressure from a four-man front, Vea has not been an issue. Few interior defenders generate pressure at a rate as high as he does and even fewer pair that pass rush ability with strong run defense that requires double teams as often as Vea does.

He’s not an elite pass rushing defensive tackle, but he is still a Top 10-15 player at the position. The Bucs got a glimpse of life without Vea in week three against the Broncos when they struggled to pressure rookie Bo Nix. The following week against Philadelphia Vea was instrumental in disrupting the Eagles passing game.

Vea is under contract for two more seasons after this year. His salaries in 2025 and 2026 are reasonable at $17 and $18 million, respectively, with salary cap hits for just over $22 million in each season. After last season I would have been skeptical of Vea making it to the end of this contract as the Bucs can retain significant cap savings after this season if they choose to move on from him. But with his newfound energy and sustained level of play it’s becoming more of a 50/50 proposition these days.

Calijah Kancey is set to make his season debut on Sunday against the Saints. He is a wild card for a defense that has seen its pass rush level up year over year. Kancey was 23rd among all interior defensive linemen in pressures last year. If he can take a step forward, paired with a revitalized Vea and an ascending Yaya Diaby, and the Bucs may have something of a foundation to build from. Kancey’s small size may cap his eventual ceiling as he doesn’t have the strength and core of Aaron Donald. But he has already proven in his rookie season that he can be an effective pass rusher who adds a different element to the Bucs defense.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and Panthers QB Bryce Young – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Logan Hall is coming off of a career game where he recorded seven pressures and two sacks. His wins weren’t cheap, and his quarterback takedowns were clean, but this has not necessarily a season-long trend for him. If he truly has reached a new level this year, then it only adds more depth to an increasingly important position group with another year left on his rookie contract. But I am more skeptical than optimistic at this point.

Greg Gaines is a workman-like player in the same vein as Will Gholston. Gaines gives Vea much-needed respites to keep him from gassing out and does a lot of the unheralded dirty work that keeps a defense running. His efforts probably will not net him a multi-year contract, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucs signed up for another year of him in 2025.

In the short-term, Kancey’s return upgrades this unit from functional to promising, pushing Gaines and Hall into roles that will reduce their snap counts to levels more commiserate with their talent levels. Kancey can act as a force multiplier for Vea and Diaby.

Outside Linebackers

Yaya Diaby has been a true revelation. Last year he regularly threw his body into opposing offensive tackles with reckless abandon in a hope that he could just power his way to the quarterback. This year he is using his hands to keep opponents off his frame, aiming his speed-to-power rushes on at inside shoulders and winning on inside rushes with consistency.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: USA Today

Per Pro Football Focus, Diaby is tied for seventh in the NFL in pressures this season with 24. And his pass rush win rate in true pass set situations is third in the NFL at an astounding 33.3%.

If Diaby can maintain this level of disruption and start to convert pressures into sacks at a rate more in-line with league average as he faces fewer mobile quarterbacks, he may become the edge force the defense has been looking for since the days of Shaq Barrett pre-Achilles injury.

Diaby’s development has already had a positive effect on the Bucs’ defense. They are getting pressure at a slightly higher rate, 34.2% to 33.8% last year, but the team is blitzing 10% less, opting for more sim pressures and trying to get more defenders in coverage.

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka has plateaued as a useful but limited rotational edge rusher. He does plenty of things well. In a league that is increasingly asking edge rushers to drop into coverage he is one of the best at it. He is also a good run defender who can regularly set the edge on wide zone, backside a block to get penetration into the backfield, and provide strong backside pursuit on plays headed away from his side.

But because he has failed to develop what could have been a very useful inside spin, he has never become the consistent pass rusher needed to be a good starting edge at the NFL level. His high effort play has helped him keep a starting role where he is not a net negative, but he isn’t impactful enough to be counted on as a net positive at this point in his career.

With limited options behind him, JTS will continue to operate as the starter opposite Diaby for the foreseeable future. And there may be a world where the Bucs make him an offer in the offseason to return. He’s a high-motor player who does a lot of ancillary things well. The offer would not be a long-term or expensive contract, valuing him as a rotational third edge as the team continues to find better options for the second starter.

Bucs OLBs YaYa Diaby and Anthony Nelson – Photo by: USA Today

Anthony Nelson is playing the best ball of his career. His 12 pressures season to date is already 70% of his total from all of last year and almost 50% of his career high total of 25 in 2021, per NextGenStats. That might create an argument for Nelson to earn a starting role over Tryon-Shoyinka.

Personally, I like the current pairings of JTS with Diaby and Nelson with Braswell as it keeps a good balance between inside bangers – Diaby and Nelson – paired with more speed/arc players – JTS/Braswell. As much as Diaby and Logan Hall have been credited with the lift in the Bucs pass rush this year, Nelson deserves a shout out as well.

Nelson is set to be a free agent this upcoming offseason. There is a good chance that the Bucs will not bring back both he and JTS, likely keeping just one of the two. Tryon-Shoyinka is three years Nelson’s junior, but the team has been steadfast in their praise of Nelson. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they elect to re-up with the more veteran pass rusher on a one-year pact rather than offer the younger Tryon-Shoyinka the two- or three-year contract he may be seeking.

Chris Braswell has six pressures on the season and as of yet, none have been a high-quality one-on-one win. While the athletic pass rusher has plenty of potential, much like Diaby last year, he just doesn’t understand the nuance of pass rushing at the NFL level yet. Additionally, he still does not possess a go-to technique to build a repertoire off of. Although he did flash a “Houston Hop” against the Eagles that caught my eye.

Chris Braswell (#43) attempting the “Houston Hop” (after James Houston of the Lions) against Fred Johnson in week four. pic.twitter.com/tLfN67hiTo

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) October 12, 2024

Bucs OLB Chris Braswell and DT Logan Hall – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Braswell is a high-energy rusher who should rack up a few quarterback takedowns due to motor alone. The Bucs are hoping that he follows a similar development path to Diaby’s rookie year.

Defensive line coach and run-game coordinator Kacy Rodgers discussed Braswell’s development this week saying, “He’s really close [to breaking out]. If you look back at last year like when Yaya [Diaby] kind of broke through around midseason, you know. It’s just for these young players adjusting to the NFL, the thing is you see the flashes, you just have to keep putting it together with him.”

For the rest of this year, it is safe to assume he will continue to play about 30-40% of the defense’s snaps with the team hoping he can make a similar jump as Diaby from year one to year two. If they feel comfortable with that ascension next year as they were with Diaby this past season the team may eschew pursuing a high-profile pass rusher once again.

Jason Licht’s actions in March April will be very telling of where the team feels Braswell is in his development.

With Vita Vea approaching 30 and Tryon-Shoyinka and Nelson both in contract years this group may look very different in 2026 than it does at this moment. But the building blocks for the next iteration of the group is already in place with Kancey and Diaby.