3 Buccaneers poised to breakout as stars in 2025

Since being drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Calijah Kancey has been anything but a slouch. In fact, he's been extremely productive when he's in the lineup. The only factor holding Kancey back from really exploding as one of the league's premier interior pass rushers is his availability. Kancey has missed a total of eight games over his first two seasons in the league due to injury.

Kancey's talent is obvious. Despite playing in just 12 games last season, he still managed to lead the entire team in sacks with 7.5. Kancey is a very unique player. His elite quickness and low center of gravity makes him extremely tough for interior offensive linemen to deal with, especially when he's rushing beside a player like Vita Vea, whose presence alone commands double teams on a consistent basis.

Kancey has aspirations to lead the NFL in sacks in 2025. Although it's fair to question whether that is a realistic possibility for the third year pro out of Pittsburgh, there's no question he has the physical ability, desire and opportunity to really blossom into a star within Todd Bowles' defense this year.

Graham Barton

Last year, the Bucs drafted Graham Barton with the 26th overall pick out of Duke. Despite excelling at left tackle for the bulk of his collegiate career for the Blue Devils, it was widely expected that Barton would transition to play center in the NFL, which is exactly what he did for the Bucs. Changing positions is hard enough on its own. Having to do so as a rookie at a new position — not to mention one that is considered to be one of the hardest to adjust to in the NFL — is no easy task. Still, Barton was extremely reliable in his first season as a pro and he continued to look more comfortable as the season went along.

Barton offers supreme athleticism at the center position, even by NFL standards.

Coming off a season where so much of his time and energy was spent learning blocking scheme, cadences and how to properly identify blitzes, it's fair to assume Barton will feel much more at ease heading into Year 2, which should allow him to really show off his physical ability.

Not only does Graham Barton have a relatively safe floor, which we saw during his rookie season, but he's also got an extremely high ceiling based on the unique athleticism he brings to the position. Just ask former Buccaneers Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden, who recently said in an interview on WDAE that he thinks Graham Barton is going to be the best center in the league.

Yaya Diaby

Yaya Diaby is a physical specimen at 6'4", 270 pounds. Not only that, but he's also got a relentless motor to go with his impressive stature and strength. In hindsight, it's a little surprising Diaby slipped all the way to the back end of the third round in the 2023 NFL Draft. But the rest of the league's loss is the Buccaneers' gain, as they believe Diaby has the potential to blossom into a star for Tampa Bay.

Diaby's tools and motor resulted in an impressive 7.5 sacks during his rookie season. Although his sack total took a slight dip last year (4.5), he proved to be one of the league's most consistent pressure producers, finishing top-20 in that category with 57 on the season. The key for Diaby to reach his pass-rushing potential will revolve around his ability to diversify his arsenal of pass-rush moves, and just as importantly, his ability to diagnose plays quicker.

Diaby has been diligent in his self-evaluation, and recently, he reflected on what he believes needs to happen for more of those pressures to translate into sacks.

"Really, my get off has never been the problem," said Diaby. "I believe I've got a great get-off – it's just play recognition. Just seeing if I know whether it could be play-action, or if I know it could be certain things."

Another challenge Diaby has faced that likely isn't talked about enough is the fact that he's been tasked with generating production as an edge rusher without a bona fide performer bookending the other side of the defensive line. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was not much of a force as a pass rusher, which resulted in Diaby being the focus of opposing blocking schemes. With a proven sack producer like Haason Reddick now occupying that role opposite Diaby, teams will not be able to send additional pass protection efforts exclusively in Diaby's direction. The presence of Reddick is significant for the Buccaneers' defense, and if he can provide the value his new team expects from him in 2025, no one stands to benefit from his presence more than Diaby.

The Bucs have a number of talented younger players on the roster beyond those mentioned. Players like OLB Chris Braswell, LB SirVocea Dennis and DB Tykee Smith could all have breakout seasons. That said, Calijah Kancey, Graham Barton and Yaya Diaby stand out as the players with the best chance to blossom into bona fide stars for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.