Buccaneers: Five players who must step up for a successful 2017 season

Robert Ayers

Now this is not to say that Ayers was bad in 2016. He was not bad at all. However, the Bucs need more.

Robert Ayers was signed as a free agent from the New York Giants in an effort to give Gerald McCoy some help with the pass rush. He along with rookie Noah Spence were tasked with the assignment of taking the heat away from McCoy. For years, McCoy played big, but was an island to himself. If he didn’t make the big play, the play wasn’t made along the defensive line. The Bucs looked to change that.

To their credit, it did change. The Bucs posted 38 sacks last year, good for ninth in the NFL (tied with Pittsburgh). Can we really say, however, that it was consistent through 16 games? There were flashes of greatness, and there were times of non-existence. Is it wrong to aspire to greatness? We want to see these guys dominate each and every week.

To complement McCoy’s seven sacks, Ayers added 6.5. However, that was down from his 9.5 the previous year in New York. Spence posted 5.5 sacks last year, and CBS NFL expert Pete Prisco believes that he is primed to be the next great NFL pass rusher. But, can we expect that leap to happen in year two? We can hope, but it surely is not a lock.

Someone has to be McCoy’s number two, and it makes more sense to rely on the veteran. That means they need a bit more out of Ayers.