Even after winning the NFC South for a third straight year and making it all the way to the Divisional Round, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been once again blasted with disrespect all offseason.
While the Bucs aren't being picked to be the second-worst team in the league, they are being predicted to finish in the bottom third, with experts dogging them for not making enough flashy moves. Tampa Bay spent most of its offseason re-signing key players who helped prove the doubters wrong last season, but it doesn't seem to have been enough to earn respect.
Not everyone is down on the Bucs, though. NFL Network's Brian Baldinger recently stepped up to not only defend Tampa Bay but call out two players he thinks could take giant steps forward this season.
NFL Network thinks two Buccaneers players will 'take a big step forward'
All eyes have been on the offensive side of the ball, and rightfully so. The Bucs gave Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans over $150 million combined to return, and invested draft picks in guys like Graham Barton, Jalen McMillan, and Bucky Irving.
It's the defensive side of the ball, though, that Baldinger is excited about.
Calijah Kancey and Yaya Diaby were already names to keep an eye on after fantastic rookie seasons, and that's even more the case after Baldinger recently name-checked them on NFL Network.
“Both these players . . . are really going to take a big step forward for this defense.”@BaldyNFL and @Sara_Walsh drop 2️⃣ @Buccaneers defenders to watch out for in 2024. pic.twitter.com/uV48MzrDuE
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) June 25, 2024
It's not terribly surprising to see someone who knows what they're talking about get hyped about what the Bucs defense could do next season. Afterall, for as amazing as the Tom Brady era was, the defense was instrumental in winning a Super Bowl back in 2020 and was the reason the team stayed competitive last year.
Antoine Winfield Jr., Lavonte David, and Vita Vea get a ton of credit as the leaders on defense, but last season was about identifying the next generation of talent. Diaby and Kancey seem to be at the front of the class, with the former developing faster than some expected. Kancey was injured for large portions of the season but that still didn't stop him from being among the top defensive rookies, with Diaby joining him while getting Rookie of the Year praise.
That was just their first year, which sets the stage for an even better sophomore campaign. Expectations are higher for the Bucs this year than they were last year, even if the disrespect feels the same, but it's having guys like Diaby and Kancey that give fans hope that the doubters can once again be proved wrong.
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