INTRO: Today’s SR’s Fab 5 focuses on two things. First, Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby, who took to social media to declare that he is an elite pass rusher. But Diaby knows he must become an elite sack producer and that’s what he’s working on this offseason. I’ve got the story on how he’s going to do it.

Second, the Bucs need to improve the depth on their team with some experienced veterans in free agency and can’t rely on unproven rookies in 2025, especially undrafted free agents. That practice came back to bite the team, especially in the secondary and at wide receiver, last year. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Becoming The Yaya Diaby The Bucs Deserve

Yaya Diaby was hurt. He was crushed.

The sting of a 23-20 home loss to the Commanders just about brought Diaby to tears in the postgame locker room.

Diaby, who had 3.5 sacks in the Bucs’ last three games of the year, had a third down sack on the ever-elusive Jayden Daniels negated due to a penalty on Zyon McCollum in the first half. And with the game tied at 20-20 with just under five minutes remaining, Diaby and the Bucs defense couldn’t get off the field and couldn’t stop the Commanders from kicking a game-winning field goal as time expired.

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“It’s not good when they don’t punt,” a downtrodden Diaby told me after the game in an a near-whisper. “We’ve just got to finish.”

Diaby watched good friend and teammate Calijah Kancey nearly tackle Daniels for a loss on third down on the final drive, only to grab Daniels’ towel from around his waist as the mobile rookie quarterback dashed past him for a first down. That allowed the Commanders to run off more clock deep in Bucs territory to win the game with a field goal.

“We were getting to him, but he’s a helluva player,” Diaby said. “We have to find out what we need to do to finish.”

Diaby is exactly right and that’s exactly what he’s focused on doing this offseason.

It’s all about finishing.

Folks in the NFL analytics community have put quarterback pressures on such a pedestal that they’re seen on almost equal footing as sacks.

But they’re not.

Bucs legend Warren Sapp once told me that sacks get you drafted high, not pressures. Sacks, not pressures, get you to the Pro Bowl. And sacks, not pressures, get defensive linemen paid.

It’s possible for a defensive lineman to record a QB pressure on a throw for a first down or a touchdown. In that case, a pressure didn’t mean a damn thing.

And a pressure that forces an incompletion on third-and-4 situation from a team’s own 41-yard line, might result in the offense just going for it on fourth-and-4 from the 41 rather than punting or attempting a 58-yard field goal.

But a six-yard sack on third-and-4 would result in a fourth-and-10 from the 47-yard line near midfield and force a punt rather than a 64-yard field goal attempt.

Do you see the difference?

Bucs assistant GM John Spytek – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Sacks, especially on third downs, can be drive-killers. Sacks can force punts, which unfortunately, is something that Washington never did against Tampa Bay’s defense in the 23-20 win over the Bucs in the Wild Card game.

“It’s hard – it’s not what we wanted,” Diaby said. “The game just wasn’t going our way. We’ve got to be better come next year.”

Diaby showed a tremendous amount of growth from his rookie season. He recorded 65 pressures in 2024, which was up from 26 the year prior. Diaby’s 17.4% pass rush win rate, which ranked 11th among edge rushers with at least 200 pass rush snaps according to PFF, was more than double what it was a year ago as a rookie at just 7.5%.

His sacks were down from a team-leading 7.5 in 2023 to just 4.5 last year, and that’s going to be his focus this offseason – finishing.

“From year one to year two I feel like I’ve done a lot this year,” Diaby said. “You know this sack number might not say it all, but overall, if you look at all the other statistics, I’m top 10 in all of them. So I feel like, for me, I’ve improved a lot you know?

“And I still got more than improving [to do]. That’s what I’m going to look over this offseason and see what I have to do to be Yaya Diaby. That’s what I’m trying to give this team – the Yaya Diaby they deserve.”

Diaby is a man on a mission this offseason.

Next, I’m going to tell you what Diaby’s mission entails.

FAB 2. Yaya Diaby’s Offseason Focus: More Sacks

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: USA Today

Part of the reason why Yaya Diaby’s sack numbers were down in 2024 was because offensive coordinators were keying on him as Tampa Bay’s top edge rusher. He was seeing far more chips from running backs and tight ends than he did as a rookie. That resulted in more QB pressures but fewer sacks.

Diaby is going to work on that aspect of his game this offseason.

“Watching guys like Myles Garrett, who goes through chipping, and how they overcome it,” Diaby said. “So I’m definitely going to do a lot of film study this offseason and just try to improve on that.”

Diaby still made an impact with some of his quarterback pressures. His hand in the face of Kirk Cousins in Tampa Bay’s 36-30 loss at Atlanta in Week 5 resulted in a fourth quarter interception by linebacker Lavonte David. And Diaby’s pressure also helped create an interception against Las Vegas in Week 14 when it looked like the Raiders were going to score.

“Against the Raiders with the Tykee [Smith] interception,” Diaby said. “I came free and almost got to the quarterback. He threw it off his back foot and – interception. It’s little stuff like that I look at, ‘Damn, I’m just right there,’ but it’s still helping the team out.”

During the season, I asked Diaby if him getting all of the QB pressures yet coming up empty with sacks was getting to him.

Panthers QB Bryce Young and Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: USA Today

“Earlier in the year I did let that get to me because I’m like, ‘Dang, I’m kind of doing everything right but it’s just not adding up,’” Diaby said. “I mean, I still got guys like Calijah [Kancey] and Vita [Vea] making plays off the pressure that I’m getting, so it’s not a total loss. But at the end of the day, like you said, sacks are what get you paid.”

Diaby saw Kancey level up from four sacks during his rookie season to a team-leading 7.5 sacks last year, and noticed how Kancey went to the Sack Summit pro football pass rush camp, which was hosted by Maxx Crosby, Von Miller and Cam Jordan last summer in Las Vegas. That’s something Diaby is looking to attend this summer.

And Diaby is going to double his workload this offseason by working with two pass rush coaches away from Tampa Bay.

“I feel like this year I’ve grown from last year but I still know I have a little nitpicking [to do],” Diaby said. “Working with guys, there’s this guy named [Brandon] “BT” Jordan and he’s really good. He can help you break down tackles and know when to counter and when to do such and such. He was with the Broncos, [helping to] lead them in quarterback pressures. He’s been working with them. He’s in Texas, so that’s where I’m definitely going to go this offseason.”

Jordan runs Trench Performance and a few of his Bucs clients include Will Gholston and Logan Hall, who had a breakout season with 5.5 sacks in year three in Tampa Bay. Jordan also helped Denver defensive end Zach Allen become one of the league’s best pass rushers.

“There’s another guy in Miami named “Tank” (Aaron Wallace) that I also go to, so I’m going to go to those two guys and really polish myself as a pass rusher,” Diaby said. “I know what I’ve done this year, but I know I can add more to my toolbox.”

Diaby has already shown he can stuff the run, set the edge and pressure the quarterback. If can add more sacks to his stats sheet in 2025, that will result in more drives killed by Tampa Bay’s defense and hopefully a few more wins for the team.

And as Diaby knows entering his third season in the NFL, more sacks will also get you paid more.

FAB 3. Jason Licht, Todd Bowles Can’t Fall In Love With Potential On Their Roster

I’ve covered the Bucs for 30 years now, and one of the first lessons I learned about the NFL came early in my career. Former Bucs player personnel director Jerry Angelo told me back in the 1990s that the most dangerous word in the NFL was “potential.”

Throughout my three decades reporting on this team, I’ve seen the Bucs draft plenty of players with potential who never panned out, especially with early-round draft picks. Every general manager I’ve covered in Tampa Bay has made those mistakes.

Ex-Bucs QB Josh Freeman – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Rich McKay drafted the likes of defensive linemen Eric Curry (1993), Regan Upshaw (1996) and Marcus Jones (1996), wide receiver Reidel Anthony (1997) and offensive tackle Kenyatta Walker (2001) in the first round. None of those players sniffed a Pro Bowl nor lived up to their athletic potential.

Bruce Allen only drafted one Pro Bowl Buccaneer – guard Davin Joseph (2006) – in his five years as general manager from 2004-08, which was awful. His top picks like wide receiver Michael Clayton (2004) and defensive end Gaines Adams (2007) were busts, as was second-round receiver Dexter Jackson (2008) – just to name a few.

Mark Dominik spent first-round picks on quarterback Josh Freeman (2009), defensive end Adrian Clayborn (2011) and safety Mark Barron. Mediocre players at best and none received a second contract in Tampa Bay. And second-round picks like defensive tackle Brian Price (2010), wide receiver Arrelious Benn (2010) and defensive end Da’Quan Bowers (2011) didn’t hit, either.

Jason Licht has had some dynamite drafts, especially recently, but he has also had some misses as well in the first round. Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III (2016), tight end O.J. Howard (2017) and outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (2021) come to mind.

And Licht’s second-rounders like tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins (2014), defensive end Noah Spence (2016), kicker Roberto Aguayo (2016), running back Ronald Jones II (2018) and cornerback M.J. Stewart (2018) also never lived up to their draft status.

Yet Licht was quicker to learn the lesson to not hang on to draft mistakes, and deserves credit for that. He cut Aguayo after just one season.

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And when Tryon-Shoyinka didn’t show signs of being the replacement for Jason Pierre-Paul after two seasons, Licht spent a third-round pick on his eventual replacement, Yaya Diaby, in 2023. After just a year when defensive tackle Logan Hall, the team’s top pick in 2022, didn’t look like starter material as a rookie, Licht drafted another defensive tackle, Calijah Kancey, in the first round in 2023 to essentially replace Hall.

Licht and head coach Todd Bowles need to use that same approach on the bottom of the roster with the Bucs’ backups that they do when it comes to upgrading the starters on the team. They can’t fall in love with young backups who have potential.

Guys like cornerbacks Josh Hayes and Tyrek Funderburk, safeties Kaevon Merriweather, Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks, outside linebackers Markees Watts and Jose Ramirez, defensive tackles Mike Greene, C.J. Brewer and Eric Banks. All are replaceable until they show otherwise, and must be considered as such.

On offense, it’s players like wide receivers Trey Palmer, Rakim Jarrett, Ryan Miller, Kameron Johnson, Marquez Callaway and Tanner Knue, tight ends like Ko Kieft and Tanner Taula for example. None of these players have shown the ability to become starters and none should be sacred cows in 2025. All are replaceable.

Bucs CB Tyrek Funderburk and Falcons WR Darnell Mooney – Photo by: USA Today

My friend and colleague at the Tampa Bay Times, Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud, is famous for saying, “greatness shows up early.”

And he’s right.

If any of these players were great and they were going to develop into starters, we would’ve seen it by now in practice, in training camp, in the preseason and in the games they’ve played in.

Now I’m not saying that any of those players should be cut tomorrow. Sometimes players need some time to develop. Third-string running back Sean Tucker is a prime example of that, but even Tucker showed flashes of speed and having a gear that no other Tampa Bay runner had during his rookie season in 2023.

But for a cornerback position that was extremely weak last year, especially when starters Bryce Hall and Jamel Dean were injured, the Bucs can’t put themselves in that position again in 2025.

Funderburk had no business being on the field as an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State. And Hayes, a sixth-round pick in 2023, is a special teams gunner who has no business starting at cornerback.

It was the same at safety and wide receiver, too. The Bucs barely got by in the secondary and wide receiver in some games, but lost a few others because of tremendous talent drop off. That needs to be fixed this offseason with better backups and a focus on building the roster from the back end up.

FAB 4. Bucs Must Return To The Practice Of Acquiring More Veteran Reserves

Bucs G.M. Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles must focus on finding better backups in 2025 in addition to more quality starters, especially on defense. I saw this approach play out in Tampa Bay during the 2002 season when the franchise won its first Super Bowl.

The Bucs team that lost in the Wild Card round of the playoffs in Philadelphia in 2001, 31-9, had defensive tackle Warren Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks, cornerbacks Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly, safety John Lynch, defensive end Simeon Rice, fullback Mike Alstott, quarterback Brad Johnson and wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. That’s plenty of star power, right?

Former Bucs LB Shelton Quarles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But the Bucs’ roster in 2001 was full of “A” players and also full of “C” players. And teams like the Eagles picked on – and exploited – those “C” players all day.

So when Jon Gruden came to town in 2002, he demanded that general manager Rich McKay upgrade the roster. Gruden identified that the Bucs needed to replace a lot of “C” players with “B” players and they hit free agency hard that offseason.

Wide receivers Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green, former first- and second-round picks by McKay, were replaced by Keenan McCardell and Joe Jurevicius. Tight ends Dave Moore and Todd Yoder were replaced in the starting lineup by Ken Dilger and Rickey Dudley. All were free agent upgrades.

Left guard Randall McDaniel, a fading future Hall of Famer who was 36, was replaced by tough guy Kerry Jenkins in free agency. Newly signed veteran left tackle Roman Oben replaced Kenyatta Walker who was moved to right tackle to replace Jerry Wunsch.

Defensive end Marcus Jones, a former first-rounder by McKay, was replaced by free agent Greg Spires to play opposite Rice. Jamie Duncan was replaced at middle linebacker by Shelton Quarles, who had a Pro Bowl season in 2002 after moving over from strongside linebacker.

As a result, the Bucs went from being 9-7 to 12-4 and won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2002. None of those new starters were signed to massive deals, either. Oben and McCardell cost the most, but neither broke the bank.

Former Bucs WR Antonio Brown – Photo by: USA Today

Licht has operated in this manner before. During the Super Bowl season in 2020, he bolstered the depth by adding proven veterans even after free agency was over with the likes of wide receiver Antonio Brown, running back Leonard Fournette, and center A.Q. Shipley and trading for defensive tackle Steve McLendon.

The Bucs’ depth needs to include more of these types of players in 2025 rather than depend on players like Tyrek Funderburk, Josh Hayes, Kaevon Merriweather, Ryan Miller, Rakim Jarrett, Mike Greene and other “C” caliber players.

For roster management and salary cap purposes, it’s important to have some young players playing on cheap, rookie deals. But Licht needs to be savvy in free agency and find more experienced and more talented backups who can help bolster the roster.

Fans are going to want the Bucs to make big, splash free agent signings in the 2025 offseason. Guys like Philadelphia’s All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun, right? Well, Baun was signed to a one-year, prove-it deal worth $3.5 million last year with the Eagles. He’ll cost triple that in free agency this offseason, but Licht needs to be on the lookout for the next Baun-type player this March.

And veteran linebacker Oren Burks, who filled in down the stretch for the Eagles and helped win Super Bowl LIX when starter Nakobe Dean was out, was signed to a one-year deal worth $1.125 million. Even cheaper than Baun. He wasn’t as dynamic of a playmaker, but Burks had a much better year than either K.J. Britt or J.J. Russell did in Tampa Bay. The Bucs need to find the next Burks-type player.

Those are the kind of players – and deals – the Bucs will need this offseason to not only find a few starters but also acquire better quality depth. There is no reason Tampa Bay should be playing any undrafted free agents at any position on offense or defense this season – even due to injury.

FAB 5. Bucs Free Agency + Draft Coverage In Full Swing At Pewter Report

Pewter Report’s 2025 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft 2.0 was just released on Thursday afternoon followed by an hour-and-a-half Pewter Report Mock Draft Show on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel presented by Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux on Thursday night, hosted by yours truly and Josh Queipo. We discussed making the trade for Cincinnati Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson and the thought process that went behind it, as well as analyzing all of the other selections in Pewter Report’s second mock draft of the season and answering questions from fans.

Our next 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft comes out in about a month following the start of NFL free agency, which begins with the negotiating period on March 10 and officially opens on March 12.

Speaking of free agency, Pewter Report will take a look at the big positions of need on defense all next week on the Pewter Report Podcasts, which go live at 4:00 p.m. ET Monday – Thursday in the offseason. All four shows next week will be dedicated to free agency, as the next week the Pewter Report staff will be in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine, where our attention and focus will turn to the 2025 NFL Draft for that week.

Here is the schedule for next week’s Pewter Report Podcast episodes:

Monday, February 17 – Bucs Free Agent Options: Safeties
Tuesday, February 18 – Bucs Free Agent Options: Cornerbacks
Wednesday, February 19 – Bucs Free Agent Options: Linebackers
Thursday, February 20 – Bucs Free Agent Options: Edge Rushers