Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A big sophomore season for Vita Vea?
By Rob Leeds
The 2019 season will require Vita Vea to step up on defense if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have any hopes of ending their playoff drought.
As training camp edges closer it seems as though everyone across the league has created their own expectations for the 2019 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Analysts and fans alike range in their projections for the team from a winless season all the way up to stealing a game or two in the playoffs.
Where the Buccaneers will end up is still uncertain, but if key players can step up in their individual roles the Bucs’ future could be very bright. The player who needs to step up the most for the sake of the team is defensive tackle Vita Vea.
Vita Vea was drafted 12th overall in the 2018 draft to play alongside Gerald McCoy in a 4-3 defense. That plan has been changed dramatically. After a mediocre rookie season marked by injuries and an uptick in production at the end of the year, Vea finished the season with 3.0 sacks and some valuable experience, but fans still expected more from the first round pick.
After the season ended the coaching staff was removed and Todd Bowles was brought in to reinvigorate the defensive unit. The defense was changed to a 3-4 in the hopes that a new formation filled with blitzes will breathe new life into Tampa Bay’s defense. The Buccaneers also failed to add any real depth for the defensive line in the draft even with the knowledge that Gerald McCoy was potentially not returning to Tampa Bay.
As the summer progressed, relations between the Bucs and Gerald McCoy began to worsen and eventually the nine-year veteran was off to division rival the Carolina Panthers. This was done in part due to the Bucs’ desires to add free agent Ndamukong Suh to replace McCoy and the organization’s overall belief in Vea.