Buccaneers investment in the defensive line not panning out

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers allocated a large portion of their resources this past offseason to fix their defensive line. It looks like the experiment was a failure.

General manager Jason Licht had to improve his defensive front last offseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense had a league-low 22 sacks, allowed 6.0 yards per play and gave up 6,049 yards on the season, the most in the NFL.

Licht explored every possible avenue before the 2018 season with the hopes of revamping the Tampa Bay defensive line. First, Licht made a notable splash with the addition of Vinny Curry. After serving as a pivotal member of the Philadelphia Eagles rotation, Curry looked to be one of the Bucs most significant offseason additions.

Then, Licht made a move that stunned the fan base when he traded a third-round pick to the New York Giants for former All-Pro defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Licht then went and added two veteran tackles in Mitch Unrein and Beau Allen in free agency.

Licht added yet another massive body to the new-look unit. He selected Vita Vea in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. With nearly $18 million invested in free agent signings in 2018 alone and a top draft pick, Tampa Bay’s defensive line issues looked to be a thing of the past.

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That has not been the case. Despite the revamped unit, Tampa Bay has continued to field one of nothing more than a mediocre group. Regarding run defense, the Bucs currently allow 128.1 yards per game, and Pro Football Focus ranks the team’s run defense as the worst in the NFL.

The blame can partially land on the injury-riddled linebacking corps. Still, a deep interior group should be able to stifle opposing rushing attacks.

On the pass rushing side, Pierre-Paul and Curry have done their jobs. Although injuries cut Curry’s production in half, he has managed to stay at a similar pace to Pierre-Paul in the hurries and pressures departments. As a team, Tampa sits in the middle of the league with 36 sacks on the year.

It may be a step in the right direction, but the defensive line was supposed to carry the defense. Without a dominant performance in the trenches, the Bucs have allowed 28.8 points per contest, the third-worst mark in the league.

Now, the new additions aren’t the reason the unit has struggled. Although Unrein’s injury has impacted the defensive tackle depth, players that have been around for a while aren’t producing. Noah Spence hasn’t seen more than a handful of snaps, and William Gholston has continued to struggle in a rotational role.

After one season with the reconstructed line, many faces could be out of Tampa Bay in a few months. Curry, Allen, and Gholston are all potential players the Bucs may cut for financial reasons.

After Licht put in so much work to fix the group, it looks like he will have to start from scratch yet again in 2019.

The one positive with the unit is that a foundation is apparent. Gerald McCoy and Pierre-Paul still have a few productive seasons left in them. Plus, Vea appears to be a foundational piece.

Overall, the defensive line wasn’t able to live up to the hype in 2018, but there appears to be a path to success in the trenches.