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Last year, the Bucs hit a new low mark under Todd Bowles when they totaled just 37 sacks as a team. Yes, 37 sacks over 17 games. That’s bad. But are things already looking up with the 2026 regular season opener just three weeks away? No one would blame you for saying yes.

While the team has played only two preseason games in 2026 – with only one of them featuring the starters, and in a very minor way at that – you can already see the signs of something special for this pass rush. What a difference an offseason makes.

Yaya Diaby, last year’s leading sacker with seven, needed some help heading into the offseason. And the Bucs went out and got him that help. They signed Al-Quadin Muhammad fresh off an 11-sack season with the Lions. They got 2025 fourth-round pick David Walker back from the training camp injury that cost him his rookie the season. And then, perhaps thanks to a stroke of good fortune, they landed Rueben Bain Jr. with the No. 15 overall pick in the NFL Draft. That trio – added to Diaby and veteran Anthony Nelson – makes this group look a lot different.

Bucs OLB Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

You could see the signs early on in training camp, as Bain and Walker have been stars since the start while Diaby has had his moments, too. Tampa Bay may still be waiting for Muhammad to fully round into form, but camp was already beginning to tell a different story for this Buccaneer pass rush, especially off the edge.

And then the preseason came along. Walker had a pressure in the preseason-opening win over the Jets, but it wasn’t until Saturday night’s game against the Chiefs that everyone got to see the full picture. Diaby and Bain were the Bucs’ starters on the edge, and they made their presence felt in the limited action they saw.

Over three pass rush snaps, Diaby had a 100% win rate, per Pro Football Focus. He was officially credited with one pressure – a quarterback hit – though he affected the quarterback on back-to-back third downs as the Bucs defense forced the Chiefs into back-to-back three-and-outs to start the game.

As for Bain, he had two pass rush snaps and came up with a decisive win on one of them, meeting Diaby at the quarterback on third down to force a three-and-out.

It wasn’t just the starting edge rushers doing damage against the Chiefs Saturday night. When Diaby and Bain exited, there was little-to-no dropoff once Walker and Nelson came into the game.

Walker hit a sick spin move on one rep, and overall on the night, he officially had two pressures.

Nelson actually had the biggest night of the bunch, totaling 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble while posting an 88.7 pass rush grade to lead the team. And this is the guy who is currently slotted as the Bucs’ No. 5 in the outside linebacker room.

Add in Mo Kamara, who had a half-sack and two pressures on the night as a likely practice squad candidate, and you’re already seeing how deep this Buccaneer pass rush can be only two games into the preseason.

Don’t Forget About The Bucs’ Interior Pass Rush, Either

We’re seeing the Bucs put this pass rushing prowess together on the outside as it is, and we’ve really yet to see the team’s stacked interior getting in on the fun. Think about what the edge rushers are doing right now, and then consider what Tampa Bay will be getting from its defensive tackles once everyone is back in the lineup and up to speed.

The addition of A’Shawn Robinson helps. A healthy Calijah Kancey can really take everything to a new level. Even the depth pieces like second-year tackles Elijah Roberts and Jayson Jones and rookie DeMonte Capehart can add a dimension to the pass rush, too.

And then there’s Vita Vea, of course. Inking the veteran nose tackle to an extension, squaring away that contract hold-in situation and getting him on track for Week 1 was massive for the ceiling of this Buccaneer defense.

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Because with Vea, it’s not just about the run stuffing. He’s rounded into quite the pass rusher up the middle himself over the years, and his presence will only further unlock the potential of Kancey, much less the outside linebackers.

There’s still a long way to go, of course. There’s another preseason game, roster cutdowns and then two more weeks until Week 1. Then comes the in-season growth that the group can develop.

It’s all extremely fun to think about, isn’t it? After a year in which Tampa Bay showed little to nothing in the way of pass rush, the potential of this group in 2026 is off the charts. What does the sack total look like? You’d imagine the Bucs will blow right by that 37-sack mark from a year ago – and quickly.

With the overall upside combined with the depth, could this pass rush be up there with the group that helped Bowles’ defense win Super Bowl LV?

At the very least, this group has the makings of being something very special.