The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have finished just 7-9 — once again missing the postseason — but there are several reasons to be excited about this team heading into the offseason, something you haven’t really been able to say in years past about this franchise.
One of the biggest bright spots of the season was the emergence of rookie linebacker Devin White, who the team selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. White, the former LSU star, got off to a rough start to his NFL career, dealing with tonsillitis in the week leading up to the season opener and then suffering a knee sprain in Week 2 that sidelined him for several games.
But, once White got back on the field and found his groove, he showed exactly why draft experts had him pegged as the best linebacker in last year’s draft class. From body-slamming punters to chasing down running backs, White is ready to take the league by storm and be a cornerstone of this defense for years to come.
And, if you want further proof of just how great he was this season, this stat says it all.
Overwhelming majority of Bucs’ rookie snaps came on defense.
Devin White, despite missing 3 games due to injury, led the pack with 900 total snaps played. SMB right behind him with 898. https://t.co/dx5xHoZt8R
— Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV) January 1, 2020
The Bucs defense came a long way in 2019 under first-year defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. After ranking 27th overall last year, the Bucs defense finished 2019 as the league’s 15th-best defense. If the Bucs can find a way to keep the franchise’s new single-season sack leader Shaq Barrett, they could make an even bigger jump in 2020.
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