Gholston - He does what he does and he is only 26 years old. He is on pace to have as many total tackles as his 2015 campaign. Worth every penny with that extension.
Baker - Bucs have one of the best run defenses. Problem? Bucs have one of the worst pass defenses. It is hard to gauge how good the run defense is. I would like to see more disruption from Baker though. I am undecided yet regarding Baker, but I am warming up to him as I watch him more often. I started off as a skeptic but he is slowly winning me over, but I am not there yet. I want to see the disruption that he is capable of and it feels like he isn't there yet.
McCOy - Having the finest season so far and I think he can be even better when fully healed. I like how he is playing with a determined focus now.
Ayers - Very streaky player as he showed last year and right now I am struggling to see when he will catch on. Don't count on him yet, but you can't count on him out. Mystery indeed.
Spence - Injury is slowing him down but he is relentless and I will give him an A for effort.
McDonald - Extremely underrated and I want to see him more on the field. This is where Baker has to show up because McDonald is breathing down his neck.
Russell - Has flashed at times but I want him to pull it together.
The rest are jags but honestly the Bucs need to play with more unit cohesion. Right now McDonald, Gholston and McCoy are matching intensity. Ayers and Baker need to show up to the party and Russell needs to accelerate his learning curve.
It will also be interesting to see where these defensive linemen are at at the midway point to revisit.