In all my year (yes, that is singular on purpose) I have never enjoyed watching tape of a Bucs free-agent acquisition as much as I enjoyed watching Ryan Neal. I’ll just lead with that.

When I say Ryan Neal is a bad man, I mean it as the utmost confidence. Neal began 2022 operating in a reserve role behind two very good safeties in Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams in Seattle. Considering the assets the Seahawks had tied up in the pair, the only chance Neal had in terms of seeing extended playing time was in the event of injury.

Unfortunately for Adams, injury struck in Week 1. Following that injury, Neal continued to see limited snaps as a backup to Diggs and Josh Jones.

Bucs S Ryan Neal – Photo by: USA Today

But in Week 5 Seattle finally released the Kraken (no, not the hockey team – this is a football site, buddy). Neal started a bit slow, earning Pro Football Focus grades of 54.4 and 52.9 respectively in Weeks 5 and 6.

But in Week 7 Neal became a revelation that kept going through the end of the season. Against the Chargers in Week 7 Neal hit his high-water mark of 93.9 game grade and did not register another game grade below 68 for the rest of the season en route to the best PFF grade among all safeties with at least 580 snaps for the season.

Ryan Neal Is Fearless In The Run Game

Considering Ryan Neal will operate more as a box safety in a traditional strong safety role with the Bucs it makes sense to start there with his evaluation. Whether it be from a box position or operating from a two-high shell, Neal flies downhill to contribute to the run game. He shows little-to-no hesitation in closing and his football smarts show up early and often as he diagnoses plays quickly. This affords him the opportunity to shut down plays before they develop into bigger gains for the offense.

Against Arizona, you see Neal walking down to the box before the ball is snapped. Whether this was designed based on the play call or something Neal noticed pre-snap from film prep, I can’t say. It’s clear he makes the decision to enter the box based off of the motioning receiver. What I can say is he quickly recognizes the off tackle run and because of his walk down, he gives the Seahawks advantageous numbers with him ending up unblocked to take down James Conner for a 1-yard gain.

You see it again in this game when the Cardinals attempt a quarterback draw with the uber-athletic Kyler Murray.

He’s got tape like this for days. Defensive backs don’t always embrace an enforcer mentality. The Bucs previously had this type of player in Jordan Whitehead, but when they let him walk following the 2021 season his replacement, Mike Edwards, just didn’t bring the same pop in mentality or physicality.

The Coverage Skills Are Legit

Neal had very few plays in pass defense where he was caught out of position. This belies a smart player who understands both the coverage call and what the offense is attempting to accomplish. Add in his superior communication skills and you have a player who will give opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators alike fits.

What surprised me as I watched Neal throughout last season is he didn’t just show up as a zone defender. Don’t get me wrong. He definitely popped in those situations.

Your average defender gets looked off to the sideline. Not Neal. He doesn’t bite on Justin Herbert’s eye manipulation, stays in his hook zone and snatches the bullet pass over the middle for a big interception.  And he uses those smarts and willingness to play chicken with quarterbacks as a deep defender as well.

Playing the half-side of cover-six Neal is under the gun with both the perimeter and slot receivers running vertical. In a Pete Carroll defense, Neal trusts his outside corner to get enough depth on the perimeter receiver that Neal can concentrate on the slot receiver who has the advantage on the underneath linebacker. By sitting on the slot Neal is in perfect position to break up Herbert’s pass.

But as I said earlier. It’s not just his abilities in zone. He has legit cover-skills. Watch him pick up this slot-fade and stick his man to the sideline before ultimately breaking up the pass.

Football Smarts + Sound Tackler = Todd Bowles’ Dream

Todd Bowles runs an aggressive defense that puts a lot of pressure on his back end because he wants to bring 5+ on the rush as often as he can. In order to implement this kind of defense he has to be able to trust his secondary to diagnose plays quickly. Furthermore, with a lot of spot dropping he needs his coverage players to limit yards after catch to a minimum. That requires sound and consistent tackling. Neal is a fever dream for a coach looking for those skills.

This was close to becoming Leonard Fournette WFO, if not for the efforts of Neal to make the open field tackle. Similarly, he shut down this Rachaad White run before it became a real problem for Seattle.

And finally, you see the diagnosing skills with how quickly he reads the following screen by understanding every player’s goals. Neal reads the offensive line staying home and he pinches down quickly to reduce the lanes available to the running back.

Ryan Neal May Be The 2023 Version Of Shaq Barrett

In 2019, the Bucs took a flyer on a former undrafted free agent who had flashed in limited reps. That player, Shaq Barrett, signed a one-year, prove-it deal and ended up leading the NFL in sacks (19.5) and eventually earned a huge payday with the Bucs. Tampa Bay may be on the precipice of a similar situation with Neal. Nothing in his play last year shows a player who took advantage of unsustainable turnover luck to post an aberration of a season.

Neal was a sound coverage player who excelled in run defense while showing himself to be a solid tackler. That’s the makings of a defensive stalwart. And with the Bucs being in decent cap position for 2024, there is a path to Neal earning a decent payday a la Barrett. And if he plays to his 2022 form, combined with the established play of Antoine Winfield Jr., Carlton Davis III, and Jamel Dean – look out, NFC South offenses.