The Buccaneers' secondary was, IMHO, a bigger issue than the edge play.
Its an interesting question. Did the secondary struggle because of a poor pass rush or was the secondary (and LBs) a reason for the poor sack numbers?
For the last two season the way to beat the Bucs has been the quick, short passing game. League worst stat against RB and TEs, maybe worst YAC number, etc.
Until they turn that around the defense is not getting any better.
LA Times team reporter mock has Stroud taking:
“The Bucs can’t afford to ignore their highest need for a pass rusher. Sure, Mesidor will be 25, but the mistake they’ve made in the past at this position with picks like Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Chris Braswell is choosing potential over production. The Bucs are back in win-now mode and Mesidor had 12.5 sacks and a 21.3% win rate while forcing four fumbles. They haven’t had anyone with 10 sacks since Shaquil Barrett in 2021.”
I do not think they see edge that big of a problem based on their half hearted effort. They probably see the problem at boundary CB and ILB just as big of a problem along with the lack of size on the DL.
I'm so confused by this cornerback "need".
We spent premium capital on two corners last year. We have McCollum wrapped up for 2 more years and he's relatively young. We have Smith who can slide into the slot. We have one of the highest paid safeties.
How can secondary be prioritized over front 7? Why is it even being considered a need outside of picks 4-7?
Most pundits are looking at the 27th ranked pass defense and Dean leaving via FA. It's not a horrible conclusion to draw. If the BPA is a CB in any given round, do it.
The 2025 Bucs defense was one of the better defense against deep passing (10+AY), but completely struggled against shorter passing (YAC ) and I think were worst in the league when it came to 1st down passing percentage (ie teams threw against them for 1st downs). So again, underneath passing.
Use the Lions game as an example. The Lions top receivers were ASB (WR), Gibbs (RB), Wright(TE) and Montgomery (RB) and ASB is often catching stuff short and getting YAC (46 of 86 yds are YAC).
The horrific Falcons loss the top receivers are Pitts and Robinson. The Eagles loss, Goedert and Barkley are top 2 receivers.
This is one reason for the low sack totals and the obvious reason they think ILB is a big need. They couldn't stop the short passing game.