Bucs Nation
The big boys of the defense are next in line.
The quarter-century team list continues with a visit to the interior of the trenches, where the Buccaneers have housed some of the most fearsome defensive tackles the NFL has seen over the last 25 years.
Let’s dive in.
This may be controversial to some, but I’m going with Gerald McCoy and his longevity in the 2010s.
McCoy, a top-10 pick in 2010, took only a couple years to become one of the most fearsome interior pass rushers in the league. Making six straight Pro Bowls with three All-Pros peppered in, McCoy gave a lot to Bucs teams that won very little. Some may say his attitude was lacking; not enough killer instinct or leadership. Whatever you thought about him as a personality, there’s little denying how impactful he was on the field.
In 123 starts over nine seasons, McCoy generated 54.5 sacks (third in team history), 79 tackles for loss, 22 passes defensed, and 6 forced fumbles. He won’t be a Hall of Famer, but McCoy is one of the defining defensive stars of the 21st century thus far for the Bucs. He should see the Ring of Honor one day.
If Sapp played just one more season with Tampa in the 21st century, first-team would’ve been his. But he didn’t, and just four seasons with only one elite year bumps him down here.
Few dominated the game like Warren Sapp in his prime. From 1996-2002, he tore through every offensive line in the league with little resistance, earning six straight All-Pro selections (four of them first-team), a Defensive Player of the Year award in 1999, and seven straight Pro Bowls. His blowing up pockets and collapsing run paths made everyone’s jobs easier, and the 2002 Bucs aren’t in the conversation for greatest defense ever without him.
However, Sapp sought the big payday with Raiders in 2004, cutting short his time with Tampa. He finished his Bucs career with 77 sacks, which is the most all-time for the franchise – 35 of those came in the 2000s.
Love him or hate him for big personality, no one can deny the Hall of Famer’s place on the Bucs’ defensive Mt. Rushmore with others like Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, and John Lynch.
Drafted just one spot ahead of McCoy by the Lions, Ndamukong Suh mercenaried his way through the league before eventually settling with the Bucs in 2019.
Slightly removed from his prime that included five Pro Bowls, five All-Pro selections (three first-teams), and a few too many curb stomps to feel comfortable about, a reformed Suh gave a needed boon to a Bucs team knocking on the door.
For three seasons, Suh started every game (49 starts) and compiled 14.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss to help complement Barrett, JPP, and Vita Vea as part of a burly, championship-winning front-seven. He provided...
