While outside linebacker Shaq Barrett departs after a mostly stellar five-year stint in Tampa Bay, the good news for the Bucs is that their leading sacker YaYa Diaby is back for his second year.

Diaby, last year’s third-round pick, showed plenty of promise in unseating Joe Tryon-Shoyinka as the starter opposite Barrett at midseason. He wound up recording a team-high 7.5 sacks.

“Obviously YaYa had a great year for a rookie,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said. “We’re looking forward to him taking an even bigger step next year.”

YaYa Diaby Has Work To Do To Become A More Efficient, Effective Pass Rusher
While he had a strong Bucs debut, YaYa Diaby has a lot of work to do to become more of a down-in, down-out pass rushing threat. While Diaby’s sack total was impressive for a part-time starter, his pass rush win rate left a lot to be desired. Diaby had 30 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, but saw action on 376 passing downs.

That equates to just a 6.7% pass rush win rate, according to PFF. Against true pass sets, which takes out screen passes, RPOs (run-pass options) and play-action passes, Diaby had a 12.2% pass rush win rate, which is better, yet still not ideal.

This illustrates the argument that sacks are simply individual plays for those that believe pressures are more important.

To put Diaby’s pass rush win rate in perspective, Shaq Barrett had a 15% pass rush win rate and an 18.8% pass rush win rate against true pass sets at age 31. But Barrett only finished with 4.5 sacks and – for those who value sacks over pressures – and that low sack total certainly didn’t come close to matching his $18 million average salary. Barrett’s Tampa Bay career ends with him having 45 sacks in red and pewter, which ranks fifth in franchise history.

Diaby’s pass rush win rate wasn’t even as good as Tryon-Shoyinka’s, which was 10.8%, and his pass rush win rate against true pass sets is also inferior to JTS’ 17.1%.

“His whole thing will be getting the game down mentally, understanding what the opposition is trying to do to him,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said about Diaby. “That echoes for most young guys, especially pass rushers. Offensive linemen have a lot of tricks to their trade to try to do things to pull you down and do things to offset your pass rush game.

“I think YaYa overcame it last year with a lot of strength. The mental part of it and getting a year under his belt mentally, I think he’ll be better served when he rushes the passer.”

Todd Bowles Expects More Sacks From YaYa Diaby
Yaya Diaby told Pewter Report he wants to work on his flexibility in the 2024 offseason to become more agile, in addition to working on more secondary pass rush moves. Doing so could help him beat more offensive tackles and compile even more pressures and sacks next year.

Diaby topped out at nine sacks at Louisville during his senior season, but believes he can record even more in the NFL in Tampa Bay with more experience.

When asked if he thought YaYa Diaby could eventually be a double-digit sacker in Tampa Bay, Bowles seemed fairly optimistic.

“I can’t tell you whether he’ll be a double-digit sack guy,” Bowles said. “I would love him to be, but I know he’s going to be in that vicinity.”