It can be very interesting to see what NFL personnel think of Bucs players. Among the public there are generally accepted tiers despite the debates that rage on day-after-day on twitter, YouTube and the comments section of this site. That’s what makes ESPN’s annual anonymous survey of coaches, scouts, players and executives such an interesting experiment.

When given the cloak of anonymity what do league personnel really think of different players. As author Jeremy Fowler recently published his defensive tackle rankings from his survey it turns out that the league thinks Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea is great, but maybe not elite.

Bucs’ Vita Vea Gets Honorable Mention Nod

Vita Vea did not make it into the Top 10 on Jeremy Fowler’s list, but he did receive an honorable mention. This presumably means he received enough votes to finish just outside the top-10 and garnered significant support in the exercise. Here is what Fowler wrote about Vea.

Vea had 31 tackles and 6.5 sacks. “He’s a great player, but he’s a nose [tackle] so he can disappear a bit,” an NFC executive said. “It’s hard to affect the run and the pass every down, which makes him hard to put above some of these others. But he’s a great disruptor.”

Bucs DT Vita Vea – Photo by: USA Today

The NFC executive is right in that Vea has traditionally played nose tackle. And it is difficult to be considered a premier tackle when your primary job is to eat up double teams and create opportunities for other players. Of the 11 players listed ahead of Vea on the ESPN list only Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants had more snaps as a nose tackle over the last two years (603 to Vea’s 346), with Washington’s Daron Payne coming in one snap shy of the Bucs’ big man.

But that executive isn’t entirely right in that Vea has done that exclusively. In 2022 head coach Todd Bowles had Vea line up in the “B” gap over 2.5 times more than he had Vea play in the “A” gap. This meant Vea was playing more three-technique than nose. And while last year was the greatest spread between the two, Vea has played more three-technique or 4i than he has nose consistently throughout his career.

By giving Vea the opportunity to line up at the three-technique, the Bucs are leveraging his massive frame, strength and get-off. This combination has allowed Vea to become one of the premier pass rushing “big men” (nose tackles) in the NFL. Since entering the league in 2018 Vea has amassed 175 quarterback pressures per Pro Football Focus. That number ranks Top 10 among interior defensive linemen. He is also coming off of a team-leading (and unusually high for a nose tackle) 6.5-sack season.

Vea placed seventh on this list last year and ninth the year prior, so this honorable mention represents a drop-off for the Bucs nose tackle.

No Other Bucs Garner Support

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Veteran Greg Gaines, second-year player Logan Hall and rookie Calijah Kancey all failed to receive any votes. Hall and Kancey were due to a lack of opportunity to establish themselves given their limited (or non-existent in the case of Kancey) playing time. Gaines, while a solid complimentary piece, has never been confused with a premier pass rusher.

Kancey is the Bucs’ best hope to join Vea as a candidate for the ESPN list in the future. His 99th percentile outcome would be the second coming of Aaron Donald who he is constantly compared to due to their similar size and speed, as well as their shared University of Pittsburgh roots.

A more reasonable comparison for Kancey would be that of Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver. Oliver is a good player, but nowhere near the talent Donald is. If Kancey performed similarly to Oliver it would justify his draft position even if it means he likely would not make this list.