Tampa Bay Buccaneers that could make the Pro Bowl in 2021
By Rob Leeds
Moving back to the defensive side of the ball, one has to think that Shaquil Barrett will continue to dominate the NFL, even if at a slightly reduced rate.
Barrett was a complete surprise for the Buccaneers in 2019 and finished the season with the most sacks in the league. This was a massive return on the investment in a cheap free agent and Barrett is playing on the franchise tag in 2020 with a big payday on the horizon.
The Bucs decided to take the “wait and see” approach with Barrett and want to figure out if he can maintain his dominant performance for more than one season.
Being the NFL sack leader in 2019 was huge for Barrett, but many wonder if this year was just a fluke. Fortunately for all involved, this does not appear to be the case and 2020 looks ready to be a continuation of greatness.
Barrett accounted for 37 quarterback hits in 2019 alone and this stat is very important for evaluating his future performance. If this stat was low, that would indicate that Barrett was sacking the quarterback nearly every time that he got through, which would be inefficient and indicates that a decline is likely.
Because Barrett was able to account for nearly twice as many quarterback hits as sacks, this shows that the production in 2019 was not only sustainable, but it leaves room to improve.
All the signs point to Sack Barrett continuing to be the top pass rusher for Tampa Bay in 2020 and the subsequent seasons that he is signed on for.
The Buccaneers have a great pass rusher in Shaquil Barrett and a spot in the 2021 Pro Bowl is his alone to lose.