To say the Bucks’ 2024 season has been a roller coaster thus far would be a perfectly fair assessment. And they are just five games into the campaign. So far, only one game seems to have gone “as planned.” Tampa Bay’s Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders didn’t rock the football world.
Since then, the Bucks have experienced highs and lows week after week, enough to warrant an EKG on a tachycardia patient. He had a surprising win against Detroit and then had a solid performance against Denver. Tampa Bay then capped off its current 3-2 schedule with a big win against the Eagles, but fell apart late against the Falcons.
The inconsistent nature of the team’s game-to-game results and the relative shortness of the season thus far have led to a lot of confusion about what’s right and what’s wrong with regard to not only the current team composition, but also the short-term and long-term composition of the team. It can cause you to overreact about what is going on. – Future outlook for each position group. So, with 30% of the regular season remaining, we look at each position group from both a short-term and long-term perspective while the Bucks try to get healthy with a mini-bye after getting emotional. I wanted to see it. thursday night football game.
After watching the Bucks skill position player and trench player On offense, we now turn our attention to the grooves on the defensive side of the ball.
Bucs defensive tackle
Vita Vea is playing the best ball of her career. His defensive stop rate is a career high, albeit in a small sample size, and his pressure rate is returning to double digits. Bear focused on improving his conditioning in the offseason. And while every team has a “in the best shape of their life” story every season, Bear’s early play seems to really apply to him this year. Tampa Bay’s defensive stalwart has long been the centerpiece of their defensive front and is exactly the player they were built around.
Bucks DT Vita Vea and Falcons RB Bijan Robinson – Photo courtesy of USA Today
The Bucks have struggled to get pressure from four-man fronts in the past, but Vea hasn’t been an issue. There are few Interior defenders who generate pressure as quickly as he does, and even fewer pair his passing rushing ability with a strong run defense that requires double teams as often as Veer.
He’s not an elite pass-rushing defensive tackle, but he’s still a top 10-15 player at the position. The Bucs struggled to put pressure on rookie Bo Nix in Week 3 against the Broncos and got a glimpse of life without Bear. The following week against Philadelphia, Baer helped disrupt the Eagles’ passing game.
Vea is under contract for two more seasons after this year. His salaries in 2025 and 2026 are reasonable at $17 million and $18 million, respectively, with a salary cap hit of just over $22 million each season. After last season, I was skeptical that Bear would make it to the end of this deal, as the Bucks could maintain significant cap savings after this season if they choose to release him from his contract. Probably. But with his renewed energy and sustained level of play, it’s becoming more of a 50-50 proposition these days.
Kariya Kanshi is scheduled to make his season debut Sunday against the Saints. He’s a wild card on the defensive end whose pass rush has improved year by year. Cuncey ranked 23rd among Interior Defensive Linemen in pressures last year. If he can take a step forward, paired with a rejuvenated Baer and an on-the-rise Yaya Diaby, the Bucks might have something of a foundation to build off of. Kancey doesn’t have the strength and core of Aaron Donald, so he’s undersized and could end up plateauing. But he has already proven in his rookie season that he can be an effective pass rusher, adding another element to the Bucs’ defense.
Bucs DT Kariya Kansi and Panthers QB Bryce Young – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Logan Hall is coming off a career game in which he recorded seven pressures and two sacks. His wins didn’t come cheap, and his quarterback takedowns were clean, but this isn’t necessarily a season-long trend for him. If he truly reaches a new level this year, he will have one more year left on his rookie contract, adding even more depth to an increasingly important position group. But I’m more skeptical than optimistic at this point.
Greg Gaines, like Will Golston, is a skilled player. Gaines does much of the unprecedented dirty work to keep the defense going, giving Via the rest he needs so he doesn’t gas out. His efforts probably won’t earn him a multi-year deal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucks sign him to another year in 2025.
In the short term, Cuncey’s return upgrades this unit from functional to promising, pushing Gaines and Hall into roles that reduce snap counts to levels commensurate with their talent level. Kanshi can serve as a power multiplier for Vere and Diaby.
outside linebacker
Yaya Diaby was a true revelation. Last year, he regularly threw his body recklessly at opposing offensive tackles in hopes of making his way to quarterback. This year, he aims to consistently win with inside rushes, using both hands to keep opponents away from the frame and aiming for speed-to-power rushes on the inside shoulder.
Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Diaby has 24 high-pressure games this season, tied for seventh in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Additionally, his pass rush win rate in true pass set situations is an astonishing 33.3%, third in the NFL.
If Diaby can maintain this level of havoc and start converting pressures into sacks at a rate roughly in line with league average in the absence of mobile quarterbacks, he’ll be the guy defenses have been searching for since the days of Shaq Barrett. It has the potential to become a cutting-edge military force. Before Achilles tendon injury.
Diaby’s development is already having a positive impact on the Bucks’ defense. He was pressured at a slightly higher rate last year, from 34.2% to 33.8%, but the team is reducing blitz pressures by 10%, opting for more sim pressures and covering more defenders.
Joe Tryon-Soyinka, while useful, has plateaued as a rotational edge rusher. He does a lot of things well. In a league that increasingly asks edge rushers to participate in coverage, he’s one of the best at that. He is also an excellent run defender who can consistently establish dominance in the wide zone, penetrate the backfield behind blocks, and provide strong backside chases on plays away from his own side.
However, he never developed the inside spin that would be so useful, which prevented him from becoming the consistent pass rusher needed to be a good starting edge at the NFL level. His high-effort play has allowed him to maintain a starting role where he is not a net negative, but he is not impactful enough to count as a net positive at this point in his career.
With limited options behind him, JTS will likely continue to serve as a starter opposite Diaby for the time being. And there could be a world in which the Bucks offer him back in the offseason. He is a highly athletic player who does a lot of the ancillary things well. The offer is not a long-term or big-ticket contract, and instead values him as a third edge in the rotation as the team continues to look for a better option as a second starter.
Bucs OLBs YaYa Diaby and Anthony Nelson – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Anthony Nelson is playing the best ball of his career. His 12 pressures this season already represent 70% of his total for all of last year, and almost 50% of his 2021 career-high total of 25, according to NextGenStats. That could create an argument for Nelson to earn a starting spot over Tryon-Soyinka.
Personally, I like the current combination of JTS and Diaby, Nelson and Braswell. This is because there is a good balance between the inside bangers of Diaby and Nelson and the players with more speed/arc in JTS/Braswell. Diaby and Logan Hall are credited with contributing to the Bucs’ pass rush this year, but Nelson also deserves praise.
Nelson is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason. There’s a good chance the Bucks don’t bring back both him and JTS, which would likely leave them with just one of the two. Tryon Soyinka is three years Nelson’s junior, but the team is adamant about his praise. If they choose to re-sign a more veteran pass rusher to a one-year deal rather than offering young Tryon Soyinka the two- or three-year deal he would have preferred. I wouldn’t be surprised at all either.
Chris Braswell has been under pressure six times this season, but none of them have resulted in quality one-on-one wins so far. Like Diaby last year, this athletic pass rusher has a lot of potential but has yet to understand the nuances of being a pass rusher at the NFL level. Moreover, he does not yet have a reliable technique for building a repertoire. However, his “Houston Hop” against the Eagles caught my eye.
Chris Braswell (#43) attempts the “Houston Hop” (after James Houston of the Lions) on Fred Johnson in Week 4. pic.twitter.com/tLfN67hiTo
— Joshua Quaipo (@josh_queipo) October 12, 2024
Bucs OLB Chris Braswell and DT Logan Hall – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Braswell is a high-energy rusher who should be able to score a few quarterback takedowns with just his motor. The Bucks expect him to follow a similar development path to Diaby’s rookie year.
Defensive line coach and run game coordinator Casey Rogers said this week about Braswell’s development. [to breaking out]. When I look back on last year like when I was with Yaya, [Diaby] It started to break out around the middle of the season. It’s for young players who are adjusting to the NFL and the important thing is that we see flashes and we just have to continue to put it together with him. ”
For the rest of this year, the team is hoping he makes a similar jump from Year 1 to Year 2 as Diaby, and it’s safe to assume he’ll continue to play around 30-40% of the defensive snaps. is. As with Diaby last season, the team may avoid pursuing another high-profile pass rusher next year if they are satisfied with his promotion.
Jason Licht’s actions in March and April will be very telling about where Braswell feels the team is in his development.
With Vita Vea nearing 30 and Tryon Soyinka and Nelson both having years left on their contracts, this group could look very different in 2026 than it does now. However, the building blocks for the group’s next iteration are already being prepared by Kanshi and Diaby.
