Diaby's Breakout Year: Bucs' Top Young Gun

0:00On April 5th, Tampa Bay Buccaneer's defensive end, Yahya Diaby, is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, and the front office is watching, close. Last season, he posted seven sacks and 50 total tackles, making him a cornerstone for their future. General manager Jason Lickt made it clear at the NFL owner's meetings in Phoenix he loves Diaby long-term, calling him a solid young player who's flying a bit under the radar. Passionately though, Diaby is getting no respect. An NFL insider ranked each team's top defensive end, and Tampa landed at number 29, dead last in the top half. Worse, they didn't even pick Diaby, instead is the new guy, Al Quattro Muhammad, who signed a one-year deal worth up to $6 million back in. March, Muhammad had a breakout with 11 sacks playing rotational minutes alongside Detroit's Aiden Hutchinson last year, but before that, he never topped. Six sacks in seven straight seasons when starting. Diaby meanwhile, keeps building, standing out as one of the bucks's top young guns on

1:03the edge. Dig into the stats, and Diaby shines, he ranked six league-wide with 51 pressures, topping big money stars like Jalen Phillips. Next gen stats show him tying Michael Parsons for most pressures in a single game, 11 against the Jets in week 3, with a sack and four tackles. Just like those around table say, Tampa shouldn't rush an extension, just let this third-round pick prove it in year 3. With vets like Muhammad, Ashahn Robinson, and Rakeem Nunez-Rochess added up front, Diaby set for a monster year as the bucks defense bounces back. Strong. That wraps NFL news today, brought to you with AI. I'm Corey with the story.