The Tampa Bay Buccaneers landed a pair of instant-impact players for their defense in the 2023 NFL draft, as defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and outside linebacker Yaya Diaby both made an immediate splash last season.
Kancey, a first-round pick out of Pitt, overcame a calf injury that slowed the start of his rookie campaign, finishing on a dominant tear to finish his first year in the NFL.
A third-rounder out of Louisville, Diaby racked up 7.5 sacks as a rookie, proving to be one of the biggest steals of the entire draft.
Earlier this week at the NFL’s league meetings in Orlando, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles talked about why he’s expecting even bigger things from both players moving forward:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LOvUnIMjICw
When combined with other high-caliber defenders like All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and future Hall of Fame linebacker Lavonte David, Kancey and Diaby should help take the Tampa Bay defense to another level in 2024.
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