It was an unprecedented year for the Bucs in the terms of how much production they got from their rookie class both drafted and undrafted. When it was all said and done, the Bucs received contributions from roughly eight to nine rookies that played in a role in the Bucs winning the NFC South and reaching the second round of the playoffs.

As important as they were to Tampa Bay,  it unfortunately didn’t correlate to getting accolades from around the league. The Pro Football Writers of America had its All-Rookie Team come out this week and no Bucs were on it. In fact, as Fox Sports NFC South reporter Greg Auman points out, the only rookie that represents the entire NFC South is running back Bijan Robinson of the Falcons.

The Bucs have a lot of promising talent with rookies such as nickel cornerback Christian Izien and wide receiver Trey Palmer. Yet it’s doubtful to think Bucs fans will be bringing out their pitchforks and torches because they didn’t make this list.

However, Bucs fans do have a legitimate gripe over some of their other rookies that don’t appear on this, which also to be Tampa Bay’s first three draft picks. Those of course would be defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, the team’s first-round pick, right guard Cody Mauch, a second-rounder, and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, who was drafted in the third round.

Did These Bucs Rookies Get Snubbed?

Bucs RG Cody Mauch – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Let’s start with the offense. Debating accolades for offensive linemen at times can get murky due to a lack of quantifiable statistics. There is much more context that requires watching the tape to determine how good or bad a season was.

Cody Mauch started all 20 games for the Bucs this season, going wire-to-wire and improving as the season went on. He’s a hard-nosed player that should be even better next season. Mauch did receive a lower grade from Pro Football Focus than Steve Avila and O’Cyrus Torrence, but PFF isn’t the end all be all. Just ask J.J. Watt.

With that said, it’s difficult to say that Mauch absolutely should have made the list over the other two guards. Though it would be fair to say he should be in the discussion.

But, when it comes to the two defensive players in Calijah Kancey and YaYa Diaby, there’s much more of a case to be made.

It’s admirable to see what Kancey was able to do after missing all of the preseason with a calf injury and even what he did after re-injuring himself when he returned for the first game of the season, missing the following three games. His ability to rush the passer from the interior was a needed addition to Tampa Bay’s front four.

Kancey ended up with four sacks, 26 tackles and 13 pressures in 14 games. That behind Rams nose tackle Kobie Turner, who led all rookies with nine sacks, 57 tackles and 20 pressures in 17 games. There’s also highly publicized defensive tackle Jalen Carter, a Top 10 pick, who managed six sacks in 16 games with 33 tackles and and 18 pressures. Not all the numbers match up in Kancey’s favor, but if you look at what he overcame in terms of an early season calf injury, and how he’s utilized in this defense, he deserves to be noticed.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch P/R

How Did YaYa Diaby Not Make It?

Yet the biggest issue is with YaYa Diaby failing to make the All-Rookie Team. Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. is understandably going to get the spotlight as the third overall pick, and he played quite well with seven sacks on the year. But who had more sacks than him as an edge rusher? Diaby with 7.5 sacks – and he only started seven games.

Chargers outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu claimed the other edge rusher spot over Diaby, which was a travesty. No disrespect to Tuipulotu, but how does he get in over Diaby?

Tuipulotu had just 4.5 sacks to compared to Diaby’s 7.5 in a dumpster fire of a Chargers defense. He wound up with more tackles and pressures than Diaby had, but he also had more playing time as a full-time starter.

Diaby was a big reason the Bucs were able to turn around their season, win their division and win a playoff game. Can Tuipoltu say the same?

We’ve seen the Bucs get overlooked through the years. It happens annually to Lavonte David, and even Antoine Winfield Jr. was snubbed for the Pro Bowl this year despite making first-team All-Pro. Tampa Bay’s promising rookies can now say the same thing, unfortunately.

Despite being left off the All-Rookie Team, at least the Bucs’ top rookies contributed to Tampa Bay’s NFC South championship and Wild Card win over the Eagles.