YaYa Diaby A Master At Tackles For Loss
January 31st, 2026
Joins an impressive group.
Is YaYa Diaby a future Hall of Famer? If you think that, you’ve probably had too much to drink.
However, has YaYa shown signs he can be a stud player? Yes he has.
YaYa doesn’t have enough sacks for Joe’s tastes. But he is not awful sacking the quarterback. He just hasn’t reached double-digits yet. Maybe that would happen if he ever played in a defense that values an edge rush?
However, YaYa has accomplished something since he came into the league that very few other defensive players have. And the players who YaYa has joined reads like a Who’s Who of future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Per the Bucs’ media relations staff, seven players since 2008 have had 12 or more tackles for loss in each of their first three seasons. They are Lavonte David, Maxx Crosby, Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack, Micah Parsons and J.J. Watt.
Oh, and YaYa.
He’s had 12, 13 and 13 tackles for loss in each of the seasons since the Bucs drafted him in 2023.
Joe sure hopes YaYa’s talents aren’t being burned in a defense that doesn’t highlight sacks from an edge rusher.
January 31st, 2026 at 12:06 am
Really good for a 3rd round pick. There was a time when Crosby didn’t get his sacks too.
January 31st, 2026 at 12:29 am
And I’ll point it out every chance I get that Sacks and tackles for loss are the exact same thing. For some reason people don’t quite get it.
They’re not. Many quarterbacks will tell you a sack or a good hit gets in their head to a degree, especially multiples. And, at times, a sack will injure a quarterback. Diaby pulling down a rusher for a 1-yard loss is not a sack. –Joe
January 31st, 2026 at 12:33 am
AL
I see what you did there 🧐
January 31st, 2026 at 12:51 am
Listen to pro-scouts for other teams when they’re talking about the Bucs, and who on defense you have to game plan for – and nearly every time what you’ll hear is the usual about Vita and Winfield, then they’ll pretty much always say outside of them, the one guy who stands out on tape is Yaya. If the Bucs played more aggressive coverage and actually got up on receivers, as opposed to playing so soft, Yaya would easily have a lot more sacks. Additionally, with Kancey on the field, the Bucs really don’t have another pass rusher, so teams scheme to take Yaya out of the game. But get someone on the other side who poses at least somewhat of a threat – or if Kancey can stay healthy, and that should, more than anything, lead Yaya to get some big numbers. That’s why the Bucs should resign him now – since next year he’s going to get bid up.
January 31st, 2026 at 6:49 am
Yeah ok Rod. I bet you sit around watching the all 22 and listening to “pro scouts” from other teams each week. Sure thing pal. I love how you slide your guy Winfield in there too as if to indirectly submit that he is “still that guy” like he hasn’t been completely dreadful these past 2 years. And listen JAMEIS BOY, before you go blaming Todd Bowles for Winfield’s deficiencies like a victim – please explain why he was all pro in that same Todd Bowles defense 3 years ago. Did he forget how to play? Did he forget how to take good angles, playing assignments correctly, going at the high point of the football when defending? Is that Todd Bowles fault? You’re right though ROD, scouts look at Winfield alright. They say hey – it’s time to throw to the tight end on his side of the field over and over and over again. Go think of another piping hot take about Baker, Jameis boy
January 31st, 2026 at 6:54 am
Starting to get a feeling a Todd Bowles defense sucks, maybe 3 more years of defensive breakdowns and bottom ranks will convince our meathead GM and nepo-owners that their eyes are seeing what fans have seen for the last 3 years, it’s early in the morning, I’m probably still dreaming
January 31st, 2026 at 7:08 am
3 years in, TIME to develop some moves
January 31st, 2026 at 7:53 am
Maybe he can play corner in the Bowzo Defense.
January 31st, 2026 at 8:43 am
WinfieldJr. is overated. His primary reponsibility last year was to get beat on deep throws and to trail long runs by opponents which he did frequently last year. No closing speed and continously out of position are the hallmarks of AWjr. Tykee Smith is tougher and more valuable to the team.
January 31st, 2026 at 8:43 am
@Rod:
“If the Bucs played more aggressive coverage and actually got up on receivers, as opposed to playing so soft, Yaya would easily have a lot more sacks.”
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The old what comes first argument… Pressure on the QB or coverage. I get what you are saying, bc I HATE Bowles soft as Charmin coverage, so I am not necessarily disagreeing with you. But it seems to me that I have watched TOOOO many games where the other teams QB has FOREVER to throw, even with the soft coverage.
To me, Todd wants his pressure to come from his DTs. The Edge is to mostly contain. Outside of Vita, our interior DL sucks (so does most of our Edge players), so the Bucs rarely generate any pressure on the QB.
January 31st, 2026 at 8:47 am
I still maintain it’s the defensive scheme that is screwing up these players. They don’t seem to understand what their responsibility is as if they are being told they need to cover three receivers or multiple areas of the field simultaneously. It’s why virtually every play, there are multiple wide open receivers and huge open gaps with no defender in sight. The Bucs defenders seem to be stuck on an island in the middle of an open sea and nobody ever visits their island.
January 31st, 2026 at 8:59 am
He’s a double digit sack guy if we get someone on the other side. Someone good.
January 31st, 2026 at 8:59 am
Not enough pass rushers. I think Diana has potential to be a 10-15 a year guy with someone else applying pressure. I feel like right now it’s too easy for teams to just lock in on him because no one else is really a threat
January 31st, 2026 at 9:00 am
Diaby. Have to love iPhone autocorrect
January 31st, 2026 at 9:20 am
“Diana” would be the other starting Edge we signed to a FA contract for ’25
January 31st, 2026 at 9:47 am
“WestPhillyBucsFan Says:
January 31st, 2026 at 12:29 am
And I’ll point it out every chance I get that Sacks and tackles for loss are the exact same thing. For some reason people don’t quite get it.
They’re not. Many quarterbacks will tell you a sack or a good hit gets in their head to a degree, especially multiples. And, at times, a sack will injure a quarterback. Diaby pulling down a rusher for a 1-yard loss is not a sack. –Joe”
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The GOAT’s final season, case in point. His major motivation was to NOT get hit
January 31st, 2026 at 10:12 am
yaya hasn’t mastered a damn thing…
if he was a master he’d be playing in the pro bowl…
ponder that…
yaya is a decent #2 edge and a keeper at this point, but the young man has work to do…just ask simeon rice
January 31st, 2026 at 11:17 am
Really need Kancey to stay healthy to provide that pressure up the middle. If that happens, Yaya will start getting double digit sacks
Reddick was a good attempt at picking up another edge. Obviously it failed and did not work out. They need to go all in on ILBs and getting Maxx Crosby.
January 31st, 2026 at 12:22 pm
“They’re not. Many quarterbacks will tell you a sack or a good hit gets in their head to a degree, especially multiples. And, at times, a sack will injure a quarterback. Diaby pulling down a rusher for a 1-yard loss is not a sack. –Joe”
Fundementallty the only difference between the two is the offensive play call and who has the ball.
Outcome is pretty much the same, it’s a forced negative play that progresses the down to gain while furthering the distance to gain.
Functionally it’s simple, culturally it’s got a bunch of glorification tied to it because it can be used to drive a certain statistic or score people more points in fantasy football.
Davids sack & TFL numbers are on his HOF resume, and him being good at either shows you 1.) he can get into the backfield by design or react & 2.) stop the ball carrier with consistency doing so. Big part of what made David as good as he was at his peak, see ball stop ball.
So no, a TFL isn’t a perfect 10 like a sack, but at the very least they’re a believable 7-8 with a great personality.
I like Yaya, I think the physical part he’s got what you want, but as one poster mentioned and rings true me as well. I think Diabys’ next step would be broadening his skill/move set with more pass rush moves. That’ll take him being solid against the run, and little more formidable against whatever OT he lines up against.
I’m of the mind this DL was at its peak with Shaq-Suh-Vita-JPP. You needed all 4 working in order for the edge guys to get 1 on 1s, which is baked into the scheme.
With the two beefcakes we had inside, it made it a lot more likely on a snap to snap basis for them to do control the interior OL. Not allowing IOL to get to the 2nd level, nor get their hands on David-White. While being formidable rum defender just by the nature of their play. Love Kancey, he’s not Suh nor is Logan Hall or Greg Gaines.
Our IDL is the anchor of our front 7, the level of play their makes it so it frees up the surrounding talent to do what they do best relative to the situation. Shaq wasn’t the greatest run defender, but it was hard for say a pulling guard to come chip him if Vea/Suh weren’t clogging gaps and that just a minor example of the difference a solid interior DL plays in our scheme.
That said, Landon Robinson ‘26
January 31st, 2026 at 1:21 pm
I can’t blame Winfield, YaYa, McCullum, or any other player for below par performances. If your backup players don’t know the plays, and we have many backup players on defense, you’re always going to be out of position trying to cover for them. Good coaches, like Bellicheat, make average players overachieve. Great players like Winfield, Vea, McCullum, Dean, YaYa, and Reddick underachieve in Bowles Defense. The only player to drive in bowls defense is Lavonte David. Perhaps that’s why he loves both so much look at Devin White, he left this complicated defense went to LA and made 174 tackles last season, second in the league.
With me, every poor defensive effort, whether is lack of hustle or out of position gets a pass from me as long as Bowles is the head coach
January 31st, 2026 at 1:29 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch get over it. Tackles for loss are usually 1-4 yards and the player who gets tackled is used to getting hammered every time he touches the ball. Quarterback sacks are usually between eight and 12 yards. Also, there’s a different psychological effect of a quarterback sack because he’s not used to getting hit. When you hit a QB hard, you get into his head which causes him to rush throws, have happy feet in the pocket, take off and run too soon. Psychologically and performance speaking, a TFL is just another day at the office for a running back. Please don’t embarrass yourself again by saying this.
January 31st, 2026 at 2:43 pm
ATL Buc
“When you hit a QB hard, you get into his head which causes him to rush throws, have happy feet in the pocket, take off and run too soon“
You thinking this doesn’t apply to ANY ball carrier is hilarious to me.
January 31st, 2026 at 3:47 pm
In prob around 60% of the number of snaps, Deone Walker had 8 as a 21 year-old rookie. As a DT. When Linebackers typically get more TFL’s than what DT’s do. That was more than Vita Vea, also about 40% LESS snaps. And, Vea has only had at least that number (8 and 10) only TWICE in his entire career. Walker also had more tackles, passes defended, etc. With only around 400+snaps versus the 700+snaps of Yaya and Vea. And, that’s while having to be double and triple teamed on almost EVERY play!
January 31st, 2026 at 3:53 pm
Meant LB/EDGE positions versus DT’s.
January 31st, 2026 at 8:47 pm
Overemphasis of edge got us Hassan reddick.
This guy is underrated imo.
January 31st, 2026 at 9:11 pm
Gofortheface30 Says:
January 31st, 2026 at 6:49 am
Yeah ok Rod. I bet you sit around watching the all 22 and listening to “pro scouts” from other teams each week.
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For teams playing the Bucs – yes. I find it way more interesting than hearing the same takes over and over again from Bucs podcasts when they know less than I do about the game.
I know that you, as a Baker Boi, literally know nothing about football and just watch for the Baker commercials, but not everyone is like yourself.