After a 2-1 start to the season, the Bucs have fallen from grace in part due to a pass rush that does not feature an edge defender that can consistently win in traditional rush opportunities. A 2-6 slide since then have left the Bucs more likely to pick in the Top 10 of the 2024 NFL Draft than make the playoffs.

Understanding that reality it would be irresponsible to not at least start to look to next year. The Bucs have a talented roster, plenty of cap space upcoming and potentially a favorable draft positioning. Believe it or not, Bucs fans, but there is a lot to be excited for in terms of this team’s future.

But a talented roster does not necessarily mean a perfect one. If Tampa Bay is to jump back into the driver’s seat of the NFC South, it will need to make some upgrades. Between now and April there will be a lot of talk about the holes on the Bucs roster. Safety, tight end, left guard and quarterback will all be heavy topics of conversation.

But free agency is where teams should fill holes with capable players who won’t sink the ship. The top of the draft is where good teams find force multipliers.

Bucs DT Vita Vea and Saints QB Derek Carr – Photo by: USA Today

Force multipliers are players who make everyone around them better because it forces other teams to prepare for just them and give advantageous matchups to their teammates. Aaron Donald is the perfect example of a force multiplier.

Many a mid-edge rusher have been paid due to Donald’s planet-like gravity. Vita Vea has a little force-multiplier in him. Lavonte David has been a force multiplier in his career. Mike Evans is one. Tristan Wirfs is another.

If the Bucs are picking in the top half of the first round, they need to target a force multiplier. In the roster construction game, there are certain position groups where a force multiplier has an even more outsized effect.

One of those positions is edge defender. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the Raiders defense and give me any explanation other than Maxx Crosby as to how that unit is not bottom tier.

The Case For An Edge In The First

The Bucs have a talented group of edge rushers. Shaq Barrett has become a productive contributor following his return from a torn Achilles – yet he needs to be more impactful to justify his $17 million per year salary.

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: USA Today

YaYa Diaby has ascended to the starting lineup after stringing together a few games of high floor-plus-upside play.

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka continues to play well despite a lack of box score statistics.

Anthony Nelson is a reliable depth piece, while Markees Watts has flashed some high-end traits in the smallest of sample sizes.

But at this point in each of their careers none of them are force-multipliers. At age 31, Barrett is declining. JTS is unlikely to ever come close to his substantial athletic ceiling. Diaby is making the most of some great traits, but his linear movements lack the bend that most elite edges possess. In all likelihood Watts may have the best chance of the bunch, but it is still a very remote possibility he can become THAT guy, especially entering the league as an undrafted free agent.

But if Tampa Bay can find a force-multiplier at edge it unlocks so much potential with the defense. It gives Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea more room to disrupt up the middle. It increases the opportunities for that talented edge group to do more damage. It takes additional pressure off the back seven. It lifts the defense as a whole.

Current Top Edge Rushers In The 2024 NFL Draft

The two names who currently lead the pack for edge rushers in the 2024 NFL Draft are Laiatu Latu from UCLA and Chop Robinson from Penn State.

NFL Draft Preview: UCLA’s Laiatu Latu

UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu – Photo by: USA Today

Latu’s statistical production over the past two years has been incredible. With 23.5 sacks and 34 tackles for loss in just 25 games Latu has shown he is a disruptor who lives in opposing offenses backfields. This year, Latu has added a new splash play to his stat line with two interceptions. The statistical resume is impressive.

Latu came by this production by using his large, 6-foot-5, 265-pound frame to set up tackles thinking he is going to bully them with strength and power. But from what I have watched of Latu he rarely executes power techniques. No, he is far more likely to try and win the edge with bend or a euro step.

Latu has speed and strong hands. He isn’t afraid to violently swat away an opposing lineman’s hands while blowing past with long strides while cornering hard. He will then use his extremely long arms to drag down quarterbacks. And while his outside wins are impressive, he isn’t immune from going to the inside. Latu has flashed a spin move as well as an inside shoulder dip after using one of his hand swipes to access the quarterback quickly to the inside.

All of this has helped Latu rank second in the nation in pressures this season with 64. Latu has been an extremely efficient rusher as well as Pro Football Focus has him leading the nation with a 23.3% pass rush win rate on all pass rushes while leveraging that number to 37.6% in true pass rush sets.

Latu’s tape is impressive, no doubt. But he still may not be the first edge taken as his last two years at UCLA followed a year off for a medical retirement for a neck injury. His pre-draft medicals will be especially scrutinized by teams like the Bucs to ensure they are comfortable with him being a part of their organization for the next five years.

NFL Draft Preview: Penn State’s Chop Robinson

Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson – Photo by: USA Today

I have never seen anyone convert speed to power as well as the Tasmanian Devil. But boy, does Chop Robinson come in a close second. And it may even be the most fitting comp for the pass rusher from Penn State.

His rush arsenal is not as diverse as Latu, but his one elite trait may be better than any single trait Latu possesses. Robinson’s burst off the line is incredible. He launches forward as if he is Liam Neeson in “Taken” and he happened to be in the room when his daughter was abducted. Robinson is able to launch and simultaneously reduce space between him and the opposing tackle while creating enough space for himself to find the perfect pass rush angle and lane to accomplish his goals.

Robinson’s hand usage is quick and violent, and he is phenomenal at cornering. He has a smaller frame at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it shortens all of his movements into explosive shots that leave opponents in the dust.

And Robinson understands how to use some of his natural leverage to execute dips and rips from underneath taller tackles. The entire package has helped him record 17.5 tackles for loss in the last two years. But his overall college production isn’t as robust as Latu’s, with just 11.5 career sacks he barely clears the bar of 10 collegiate sacks that is a good corollary for minimum requisite production to give pass rushers a chance to be successful at the NFL level. Danielle Hunter is really the only successful NFL edge rusher to come in under that marker.

Still his performance is impressive if not quite as good as Latu’s. He has 26 pressures (albeit on far less pass rush snaps), and a pass rush win rate of 20.8% while improving that number to 26.7% on true pass rush sets.

Bucs Would Be Wise To Explore These Edge Rushers

Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson – Photo by: USA Today

Both Laitau Latu and Chop Robinson have an ability to win outside with bend, which is a trait none of the Bucs’ current stable of edge rushers boast as a consistent strength. If the team hits on one of these players as their first-round pick, the force-multiplier effect would allow the defense to be less-reliant on blitzing, allowing them to win with four more often.

This would allow the defense to drop more players into coverage, clogging additional pass lanes and preventing offenses from gaining so many yards after catch. It also puts more defenders in position to create turnovers and reduce explosive plays while simultaneously boosting the effectiveness and giving better opportunities to the other pass rushers. It improves everything on that side of the ball.

And in case you haven’t noticed … the defense has suddenly become the more troubling side of the ball for the Bucs over the last month.