The Bucs took a chance in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Calijah Kancey’s size profile was an extreme outlier in every sense of the word. His mockdraftable profile could work as a problem on a grade school geometry test.

There were two instances of similar sized interior defenders working out in recent memory. Aaron Donald became the best defensive player in football for several years. And Ed Oliver has averaged close to 50 pressures per season since entering the NFL in 2019. Tampa Bay was hoping Kancey would have a career trajectory somewhere between those two. And through the first two years of his career, he largely has met those expectations.

Kancey The Pass Rusher

The Bucs drafted Kancey primarily for his ability to get after the quarterback. And in this area, he has more than exceled. Among those interior defenders with at least 500 pass rush snaps since 2023, Kancey is in the 66th percentile in pressures, 62nd percentile in pressure rate, 80th percentile in sacks and 82nd percentile in sack rate.

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

Kancey’s skillset features an electric get-off and quick violent hands. Firing from a low leverage point he can get into the frame of offensive linemen driving them back like a sumo wrestler owning the space within his dohyo or shooting gaps or blowing past them like Usain Bolt versus, well, anybody. Keeping his eyes in the backfield, he modulates his speed while keeping his options open with two-way go’s. Kancey free’s himself from contact with multiple finishes including rips and swims and his motor helps him chase down bailing quarterbacks.

He has a fantastic cross chop and enough bend to win on the outside over tackles as a change-of-pace option for head coach Todd Bowles’ multiple look front.

Let’s hope we see more of this from Calijah Kancey in 2025!!! pic.twitter.com/rieosOT4Qf

— RealBucsTalk (@RealBucsTalk) June 4, 2025

Bucs went matchup hunting for Calijah Kancey in week six against the Saints.

Hope to see them do this more going forward. pic.twitter.com/HZ1lW1q6cH

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) November 17, 2024

After the Bucs bye week last year, Kancey was one of the best interior pass rushers in all of football. He was tied for 4th in pressures (23), 3rd in sacks (3), 19th in win rate (11.0%).

Kancey The Run Defender

The rap on Kancey is that for as good of a pass rusher he is, he also struggles to hold up against the run. That rap is a false flag of sorts. Let’s be clear. It’s not his calling card and it will never be a strength when considered on a consistent basis. But he holds up just well enough on a snap-to-snap basis to stay in the lineup on early downs. And he leverages those traits that make him a strong pass rusher to pop with high-end plays on a semi-regular basis. Plays like this.

Calijah Kancey with the penetration and the finish for the TFL. pic.twitter.com/aGYECZ5c8Q

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) July 1, 2025

This is reinforced by Kancey’s 10 tackles for loss since 2023, which is tied with Jalen Carter, Leonard Williams and Teair Tart for 8th-most among the position group. But I’m not making the case that Kancey is a plus run defender. Merely an opportunistic one. He struggles to hold the point of attack against double teams and when offensive linemen get their hands into his frame and lock out their arms, they win the length battle and can control him. For these reasons he in unlikely to ever become a strong run defender.

But the important thing to remember with Kancey is that he doesn’t play in isolation. Great team building requires the pairing of complimentary skill sets. Put him next to another undersized gap shooter and the Bucs would have serious structural issues with their front. But Tampa Bay plays him next to the best one-shade in the NFL. Vita Vea can hold the point of attack against double teams. Tampa Bay plays Kancey as a three-technique in their under front.

With Vea operating as the nose tackle, Kancey faces very few double teams. Occasionally an opposing offense will try to use motion to shift the Bucs’ front and reversing Kancey and Vea’s roles. While these efforts force Kancey into a disadvantageous position it also puts Vea into a one-on-one matchup where he often dominates as a one-man wrecking crew. Simply put, the two work well as a pair.

Calijah Kancey quick swim move and pressure to force the RB (Gainwell) back inside, Vea there to eat him up.

Going to be exciting to see how this duo continues to play off each other in 2024. pic.twitter.com/8UC0GsGBng

— Carter Donnick (@CDonnick1) July 23, 2024

These two have been a significant component in Tampa Bay’s successful run defense over the past two years. Since 2023, the Bucs are 1st in EPA/rush and 12th in rush success rate. The difference in those ranks shows the boom-or-bust nature of Kancey’s, and by extension, the entire defense’s style of play.

Bucs DTs Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Coming out of Pittsburgh, Kancey was oft compared to another former undersized interior defensive lineman. Comps can be a tricky thing. Putting anyone in the same conversation as Aaron Donald is unfair both to that player as well as Donald’s legacy. While there are stylistic and size similarities between the two, Donald was completely scheme versatile. His unique blend of strength and power allowed him to win against double, and sometimes even triple-teams.

Kancey is not as scheme versatile. He is a perfect complement to Vea. And as long as Bucs general manager Jason Licht ensures he is always playing next to a strong nose it will allow him to play to his strengths as an explosive gap-penetrator whose resume is littered with splash plays all over the backfield. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a superstar.