Todd Bowles has plenty riding on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense, and the group’s makeover has put Yaya Diaby right in the middle of the conversation.
Diaby, heading into his fourth season in Tampa, didn’t leave much room for doubt about how he sees this unit. He called it the best defense he has been part of, and he was just as direct about the group’s upside, saying it has "a little bit of everything," and should push into top-10 territory after this season.
That confidence comes after a defense-heavy offseason and draft aimed at fixing a unit that was uneven last year and too often failed to get off the field when it mattered most. Tampa Bay’s hope is that the new pieces, combined with Diaby’s rise, can help restore the kind of dominant form that once carried the franchise to a championship.
Among the additions is veteran lineman Nacho, who began his career in Kansas City before spending 2018-2023 with the Buccaneers and helping them win Super Bowl LV in 2020. Over five seasons in Tampa, he played in 68 regular-season games, finished with 81 total tackles and two sacks, and was a steady rotational presence up front.
The Bucs also brought in Robinson from the division-rival Carolina Panthers, where he was coming off the best stretch of his career. In 2024, he set career highs with 80 tackles and 5.5 sacks in his first season in Carolina, then followed that with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 31 pressures and 658 snaps last year. Pro Football Focus gave him a 65.5 grade, which ranked 42nd among 134 interior defensive linemen.
Robinson’s reputation has already made an impression, with Christian Rozeboom describing him as " scary" and menacing. Tampa Bay is counting on that kind of presence to help Diaby and the rest of the front.
And Diaby has already shown he can thrive with more help around him. Last season, he was nearly impossible to block one-on-one, finishing sixth in the NFL with 51 total pressures. That number topped some of the league’s biggest contracts, including Jaelan Phillips, who had 49 after signing a four-year, $120 million deal with the Panthers in free agency.
Diaby also had the most pressures in a single game, matching Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons with 11 in Week 3, according to NextGenStats.
In Other News...
Bucs Preseason QB Plan Suddenly Looks A Lot Less Certain
A quiet preseason week got a little more complicated for Tampa Bay when backup quarterback Jake Browning went down during a joint practice with the Jets. Browning appeared to suffer a lower back injury, left the field and was replaced by second-year quarterback Connor Bazelak, a development that immediately put some uncertainty around how the Buccaneers will handle the position in their first preseason game.
The timing matters because Tampa Bay had been working through its quarterback plan for the opener, and Brownings availability could shape how those reps are divided. If he cannot go, the Bucs may need to lean on Bazelak and Jalon Daniels to cover more of the work, which would turn a simple preseason tune-up into a more fluid evaluation period for the staff. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Joint Practice Turned Ugly And Luke Goedeke Is Central
Joint practices are supposed to sharpen a team before the games start counting, but the Buccaneers and Jets managed to turn one into a full-on dustup. Tempers flared on the field between both sides during the session, with multiple scuffles breaking out as the two teams worked through camp reps and got a little too comfortable with the physical edge that often comes with August.
Luke Goedeke wound up right in the middle of the mess after a Jets interception by safety Jairus Monroe sparked a post-play confrontation, and another altercation later involving Jets defensive tackle Darrell Jackson and a Buccaneers offensive lineman pushed things far enough that the teams scrapped their second scheduled joint practice. For Tampa Bay, the episode leaves the usual training camp takeaway hanging over everything else: the line between competitive and chaotic got crossed quickly, and the details of how the Bucs handle the fallout will matter just as much as the next rep. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Depth Chart Just Sparked A Real Defensive Competition Debate
The Buccaneers first official depth chart ahead of their preseason opener against the Jets offered an early look at how the defense is being sorted out, and it came with a few eyebrow-raisers. First-round rookie Rueben Bain Jr. is the lone rookie listed with a starting spot, while Vita Vea remains penciled in as the starting nose tackle even after missing practices, a reminder that these early charts can say as much about expectations as they do about current availability.
SirVocea Dennis also shows up as the starting middle linebacker, a noteworthy call in a camp where Josiah Trotter has drawn attention with more splash plays. The secondary has its own intrigue, with Benjamin Morrison sitting as a second-string cornerback despite limited practice time because of injury, and J.J. Roberts listed behind the starters at safety even though he has not been on the field because of injury. The chart does not settle the competition, but it does make clear that several jobs remain very much in flux. [Read more 🡒]