YaYa Diaby Has More “Awareness”
August 4th, 2025
YaYa Diaby is ready to rock.
Maybe being aware is how YaYa Diaby can pick up where he left off as a rookie, looking like a future stud coming off the edge and burying quarterbacks.
Joe thought maybe NFL offensive coordinators caught up with Diaby last season. Football is a game of adjustments. Notice that once Diaby won a starting gig in 2023, his sack production leveled off after a couple of games.
Joe is convinced offensive coordinators knew little about Diaby. After a few sacks and then starting, he got on teams’ radars.
And last offseason, coordinators had months to develop a gameplan to battle YaYa.
So earlier this summer, YaYa made his own adjustments. He went to Maxx Crosby’s “Sack Summit,” where the best pass rushers in the game, present and past, gathered in Las Vegas to share secrets and help their brothers in arms get more production — and get paid.
Joe asked YaYa during training camp what he got out of it. YaYa’s first response was he grew wiser from attending the “Sack Summit.”
“Is it more awareness,” YaYa said. “I feel like the awareness part is locked in now.
“Just knowing where and when to make a certain move and not get past the quarterback and all those stuff, being able to see what those guys have been able to see, and it was a super great help.”
YaYa will also get help from a sort of new defensive coach: Haason Reddick. Anthony Nelson told Joe back in minicamp that Reddick arrived in Tampa armed with cut-ups of various pass rushers and their moves. Reddick, per Nelson, told his new teammates that some moves don’t work for him but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work for them. You know, a few new tools in the toolbox.
YaYa said Reddick has been a monster help
“Haason has been a super great help so far,” YaYa said. “And it’s just going to continue to get better.
“I’m super stoked to have him, and it’s just going to make our D-line even more explosive and more dominant to be able to get to the quarterback.”
If Reddick has anything close to his normal production, teams won’t single-cover him and that will help YaYa. Teams already can’t single-cover Vita Vea or Calijah Kancey well. So that very likely means YaYa will get single coverage.
A good comparison is when Vea came back off a broken foot to play in the NFC title game in January 2021. The Packers simply didn’t have enough manpower to take care of Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul and Vea. As a result, Shaq went bananas and the Bucs advanced to the Super Bowl.
A productive Reddick should free up YaYa to put the knowledge he learned at the “Sack Summit” to good use. And that means putting quarterbacks on the ground.
August 4th, 2025 at 8:16 am
Ya-Ya…student of the game! That will only make him better.
August 4th, 2025 at 9:08 am
need at least 8.5 sacks from yaya this year
GO BUCS!!!!
August 4th, 2025 at 10:41 am
I thought the Sack Summit was in Colorado on some peak where they were training at altitude. Nope it’s Las Vegas, city of sin.
Yaya gonna be a hand full for everyone who lines up across from him. I expect him to reach double digits this year. Hopefully the OLBers lead the team in sacks.
August 4th, 2025 at 10:47 am
Yaya will have a good season,
But l still think Licht should bring in an experienced veteran Edge Rusher. Someone like a Matt Judon.
I don’t have much confidence in the guys behind Yaya and Hassan
August 4th, 2025 at 11:05 am
Can’t prove it objectively, but looking at the Bucs’ OLB production over Todd Bowles’ years as our DC, I get the feeling that his use of OLBs has changed dramatically over his years here.
Back in 2019, Shaq (19.5 sacks), JPP (8.5 sacks), Nassib (6 sacks) & Acho (1 sack) got 35 of our 47 total sacks. Our DLine of Vea (2.5 sacks), Suh (2.5 sacks), Gholston (1 sacks), Beau Allen (0.5 sacks) & RNR (0 sacks) added another 6.5 sacks. The ILBs added 3.5 sacks & the Secondary added another 2 sacks. Obviously the ‘sack production’ leaned very heavily towards our OLBs (74.4% of the total sacks). Our defense ranked #29 that year.
That distribution changed in 2020, probably because we lost Vea so early in the season. TB seemingly changed how he used his defenders to apply pressure it looks like. We got 48 total sacks that year: OLBs got 18.5 sacks, DLine got 13 sacks, ILBs got 10.5 sacks & the Secondary got 6 sacks. So the OLB ‘productivity’ went from 74.4% to 38.5% (about half), while the DLine ‘productivity’ increased from 13.8% to 27.1% (almost double). Our defense ranked #8 that year. And oh ya, we won the Super Bowl.
That sack productivity changed somewhat in 2021, but not dramatically, even though we got Vea back. We got 47 total sacks that year: OLBs got 23 sacks, DLine got 15.5 sacks, ILBs got 6.5 sacks & the Secondary got 2 sacks. So the OLB ‘productivity’ went from 38.5% to 48.9%, while the DLine’s ‘productivity’ increased from 27.1% to 33.0%. A key IMO is that the defensive personnel stayed largely the same from 2020 to 2021. Our defense ranked #5 that year.
A LOT changed defensively in 2022 (and is still changing). We lost Suh & JPP that year, replaced predominantly by Hicks & JTS. Total sacks dropped to 44 that year. OLB ‘productivity’ fell to 17 sacks, DLine decreased to 13 sacks, but the ILBs increased to 8.5 sacks & the Secondary to 5.5 sacks. Our defense ranked #13 that year (MAJOR defensive personnel changes the culprit?).
Bucs’ defense improved considerably in 2023 (some very good new players & we stayed relatively healthy). Total sacks increased to 47 that year. OLB ‘productivity’ rose to 22 sacks, DLine decreased to 11 sacks, but the ILBs stayed about the same at 8 sacks & the Secondary stayed about the same at 6 sacks. Our defense ranked #7 that year.
Bucs’ defense fell off quite a bit in 2024 (some more very good new players added BUT … injuries took a major toll). Total sacks barely decreased to 46 that year. OLB ‘productivity’ plummeted to 12 sacks, DLine though more than doubled to 24 sacks, while the ILBs stayed about the same at 7 sacks & the Secondary decreased a bunch to 3 sacks. Our defense ranked #16 last year.
What I see is that our sacks have remained exceptionally consistent over those 6 years (44-48 range), but the sack productivity of various defensive position groups has varied tremendously. I have to think that the bottom line is based on player talent & experience: when we had Vea, Suh, JPP & Shaq in there, the results spoke for themselves. We’re back to the point I believe where we’ve got the talent & experience. This defense will kick arse this year IF it can remain reasonably healthy.
August 4th, 2025 at 1:01 pm
I’m still bummed about David Walker being out WHOLE season! I know he was a 4th rounder but for some inate reason I felt him really shocking ppl this year! Barber said so himself…oh well next man up as they say
August 4th, 2025 at 4:56 pm
Plus Simeon Rice’s work with him. I’m thinking he’ll kick A this years. GO BUCS!!!
August 4th, 2025 at 7:33 pm
I wish he had taken the rest of the defense with him.
August 4th, 2025 at 7:43 pm
I know it sounds crazy, but I fully expect Reddick, Kancey, and Yaya to all have double digit sacks.
August 4th, 2025 at 9:47 pm
Now we are cooking with gas.