Where Each Bucs Player Can Improve In 2024: OLBs

Diaby led the Bucs with 7.5 sacks last year as a rookie, but only earned a Pro Football Focus pass rush grade of 56. Why was that? Because he only had a 6.7% pass rush win rate. To put that number in perspective, Shaq Barrett led all Tampa Bay edge rushers with an 82.6 pass rush grade with 30 pass rush snaps or more. Barrett had a 15% pass rush win rate. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, whom Diaby unseated as a starter over the second half of the season, had a 10.8% pass rush win rate.

So how can Diaby improve his pass rush win rate and perhaps become a double-digit sacker this season? He needs to develop a more sophisticated pass rush plan. This involves a better understanding of his opponents and knowing which pass rush moves will work the best and when to use them. It also involves setting up certain counter pass rush moves, such as a ghost step and working inside on third down after setting up an offensive tackle with two hard charges outside with speed rushes.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said that Diaby needs to learn how to play chess instead of checkers when it comes to his pass rush and he’s right. Developing effective counters that he can use off his bull rush and long arm will also help. It’s up to outside linebackers coach George Edwards to help unlock Diaby’s vast potential this offseason so he could double his pass rush win rate this year and become an even more impactful rusher.

OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Less Finesse, More Physicality

Time is running out for Tryon-Shoyinka to prove his worth in Tampa Bay. The first-round pick in 2021 did not have his fifth-year option picked up by the team. After back-to-back four-sack seasons in his first two years, Tryon-Shoyinka did record five sacks last year with his fifth sack coming in Week 18 after he lost his starting job to YaYa Diaby. But the Bucs wanted – and needed – to see more production out of him.

Entering a contract year, Tryon-Shoyinka is in the mix for a starting role opposite Diaby in 2024. The departure of Shaq Barrett has created an opening and it’s now or never for the 6-foot-5, 265-pound edge rusher to come alive and live up to his vast athletic potential. Tryon-Shoyinka has flashes of greatness, but they are too few and too far apart for the team’s liking. Part of his problem is an over-reliance on speed and not enough power and physicality when rushing the passer.

The Bucs now have two young edge rushers who have real speed to power in Diaby and rookie Chris Braswell, the team’s second-round pick. Both are physical players who also have a speed-rushing element to their game. Tryon-Shoyinka needs to become less finesse and more physical on the edge this season. He needs to play with a greater sense of urgency and once he gets into the backfield, he needs to finish sacks and tackles for loss. Everything he does on the football field needs to be with more aggression and physicality. Only then will he have a chance at earning a lucrative second contract in Tampa Bay or elsewhere.

OLB Anthony Nelson – More Sacks, Please

Todd Bowles loves Nelson’s football I.Q. and reliable consistency. As a reserve edge rusher, Nelson has the ability to get to the quarterback and also set the edge in defending the run. He’s a complete outside linebacker and has the length that the Bucs like on the edge at 6-foot-7, 271 pounds. Entering his sixth season in Tampa Bay, Nelson is well versed in Bowles’ playbook and will serve as a good mentor to a suddenly young outside linebacker room with Shaq Barrett’s departure.

But Nelson is entering a crucial contract year in 2024. With the Bucs selecting three outside linebackers over the last two drafts – YaYa Diaby, Jose Ramirez and Chris Braswell – Nelson will once again have to prove his worth in Tampa Bay. That means when his number is called, Nelson needs to show up and make some impactful plays in his limited role as a reserve. The former fourth-round pick is coming off a season with his lowest Pro Football Focus grade of 59.4. He had a 63.2 grade the previous season, and posted grades of 69.5 in 2020 and 69.3 in 2021.

Nelson had five sacks in 2021 and a career-high 5.5 sacks to go along with three forced fumbles in 2022 as he was an eight-game starter due to Barrett’s Achilles injury that year. Last season, Nelson had three sacks as a rotational rusher, but did not create any turnovers in the regular season. Yet in the playoff game against the Eagles, he did record a safety. In what could be his final year in Tampa Bay, as Nelson is making $4 million as the highest-paid outside linebacker with a $5.384 million cap charge, he needs to make more impact plays to prove he’s worth keeping. Improving his sack total and forcing a fumble or two would certainly help his cause.

OLB Markees Watts – Learn How To Drop In Coverage

Watts made the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent last year due to his pass rushing ability. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound edge rusher notched one sack as a rookie, and his hit on Titans quarterback Will Levis resulted in an interception by All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in the fourth quarter of the win over Tennessee. What was impressive about Watts was that his 23.1% pass rush win rate was the highest on the team among all outside linebackers and defensive linemen.

In 27 pass rush snaps last year, Watts notched four hurries, one sack and one hit. So why didn’t he see the field more, even as a situational pass rusher? According to the Bucs coaches, Watts wasn’t well-versed in dropping into coverage or some of the twists and stunts packages that Todd Bowles likes to deploy. So if Watts was in the game, it would limit the calls that Bowles could make as a result.

Watts is a natural pass rusher and even though the outside linebacker room is quite crowded due to the arrival of Randy Gregory in free agency and Chris Braswell in the draft, he still has a good chance of making the 53-man roster again, especially if the Bucs decide to keep five edge rushers. Watts will have another offseason and training camp to become more comfortable with his pass drops and getting his timing and responsibilities down when it comes to the Bucs running games up front. If he becomes a more complete outside linebacker this year Watts will not only make the team, but earn much more playing time.