Bucs Free Agent Target: ILB Alex Anzalone

Injury History

• Right shoulder injuries, including a torn labrum in college (2013, 2015)
• Broken arm (2016)
• 2018 shoulder injury
• 2019 knee injury
• 2019 shoulder sprain
• 2021 ankle sprain
• 2023 hand
• 2024 fractured forearm
• 2024 fractured ribs
• 2025 hamstring
• 2025 concussion

Physical Measurements

via Mockdraftables.com

Height: 6’3′

Weight: 241 pounds

Arm length: 32.125″

40-yard dash: 4.63 seconds

Vertical jump: 30.5″

Broad jump: 116″

3-Cone: 6.88 seconds

20-yard shuttle: 4.25 seconds

Summary/Role Projection For The Bucs

Anzalone is a smart and assignment-sound linebacker who profiles best as the chase-and-tackle weakside ‘backer in a defense that asks him to sift and find/attack from the second level. He isn’t going to add much mass or threaten as an extra man on the line, but in strategic spots, he can mug and attack or mug and drop to add variation to a defensive scheme.

He can also be trusted in short zones to position himself to make tackles and limit yards after catch, with the occasional play on the ball. In man coverage, he can cover up specific players but can’t hang with the league’s best athletes at tight end and running back.

This could work in a Todd Bowles Bucs defense, although he would be a more limited option than what Lavonte David had previously brought to the position.

Fitting The Run

Anzalone works best as a backside ‘backer flowing to the ball as opposed to a head-up middle linebacker who will have to bang in the middle. His best trait is that he’s light on his feet and can bounce around blockers. That’s how he survives in block deconstruction. He will rarely roll through a blocker or toss a guy.

His eyes are his biggest asset, as he can decipher ball carrier paths and move around would-be blockers. Even tight ends can erase him if they can latch – in part because he can allow his pad level to get too high at the point of contact which weakens him. This is why his agility is such an important part of his game.

Back to his ability to flow to the play – he is effortless in moving laterally as the run develops and he does a good job of sifting through traffic to get to the back. His ankle flexibility is a plus and helps him move laterally as plays stretch in multiple directions. He is assignment sound for the most part but will occasionally try to backdoor runs, which can lead to big gains for the offense through his assigned gap.

He is a technically sound tackler with a low missed tackle rate. He comes to balance well and rarely overruns the play, but he lacks pop or sting in his hits. He’s not going to deliver the big blow that fires up teammates or fans.

Coverage

The Lions have trusted him on third downs to stay on the field in both man and zone concepts. In man coverage, he is reliant on keeping his hands on tight ends to feel for route breaks. He doesn’t have a natural recognition and needs the physical contact to break on time. He can hang with the average in-line tight end, but loses the athleticism battle one-on-one with athletic move pieces or backs who are used as a part of the route concept. Those players can shake him easily on whip/return routes.

In zone coverage, he is quick to close on underneath passes from hooks, which is where he is best utilized. He can pattern match to the flats as well, but he wasn’t asked to get vertical very often, and I think he would struggle if that became a regular assignment of his. Because of this, he won’t close middle of the field windows very often against deeper breaking digs or crosses.

Anzalone does show smooth hips, and half-turn drops from mugged-up alignments and gets to consistent, albeit limited, depths. This allows for some variation in his usage.

Pass Rushing

Anzalone is an effective part of a pass rush plan and he will sell out to help a teammate get home. He commits to engaging offensive linemen to help loopers round him to get home. When he is the schemed-up man, or he finds a lane to exploit, he gets stoned by backs more than you would like. This goes back to his lack of pop. He just doesn’t dictate contact well enough. That prevents him from being a real 1v1 threat.

He can rush from a mugged-up position effectively enough that a defensive coordinator can make those calls when he is on the field, but he isn’t effective as a fifth man on the line to change the structure of the front. He is much more effective as a second-wave rusher, timing the snap, or spiking the A-gap from a mugged-up position.

Contract Projection

I have a two-year, $15 million projection for Anzalone, with $12 million guaranteed. This would be about half of what Nakobe Dean is likely to get and a discount on Devin Bush. It would also represent a shorter commitment in line with Anzalone’s age.