The 50 Most Notable Players In Bucs History (Nos. 11-15)
July 27th, 2025
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
In keeping with the 50th anniversary of Buccaneer football, I’m counting down the 20 most notable players in franchise history.
No. 50 – Mark Cotney
No. 49 – Mike Washington
No. 48 – Richard “Batman” Wood
No. 47 – Aqib Talib
No. 46 – Ricky Reynolds
No. 45 – Keyshawn Johnson
No. 44 – Ricky Bell</span
Mike Evans shares a moment with the late Vincent Jackson.
No. 43 – Vincent Jackson
No. 42 – Mark Carrier
No. 41 – Donnie Abraham
No. 40 – Cadillac Williams
No. 39 – Joey Galloway
No. 38 – Kevin House
No. 37 – Davin Joseph
No. 36 – Shelton Quarles
No. 35 – Michael Pittman
No. 34 – Leonard Fournette
No. 33 – Donovan Smith
No. 32 – Rob Gronkowski
No. 31 – Doug Martin
No. 30 – Baker Mayfield
No. 29 – Ndamukong Suh
No. 28 – Hugh Green
No. 27 – Jason Pierre-Paul
No. 26 – Shaq Barrett
No. 25 – Donald Penn
No. 24 – Brad Johnson
No. 23 – Gerald McCoy
No. 22 – Ali Marpet
No. 21 – Vita Vea
No. 20. Tony Mayberry
No. 19. Antoine Winfield Jr.
No. 18. Warrick Dunn
No. 17. Chris Godwin
No. 16. James Wilder
15. Jimmie Giles
The third member selected for the Buccaneer Ring of Honor was a tight end with rare downfield speed. He still ranks 10th in career receptions, sixth in receiving yards and third in TD catches for Tampa Bay — although his final season with the Bucs was 1986. Giles caught four TD passes against the Dolphins in a 1985 game, prompting Hall of Fame coach Don Shula to remark, “I can’t remember any tight end dominating us that way.” From 1980-82, Giles averaged 18 yards per catch and made three Pro Bowls.
14. Hardy Nickerson
Ranking fourth in career tackles behind Derrick Brooks, Lavonte David and Ronde Barber, this rangy linebacker helped change the culture at One Buc Place. He set a franchise record with 214 tackles in 1993 and followed up with 193 stops in 1997. Nickerson missed only eight games during his 7-year stint with Tampa Bay and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 1990s. He made All-Pro four times as a Buccaneer and was named to five Pro Bowls.
13. Mike Alstott
Tampa Bay’s No. 2 rusher behind James Wilder, Alstott earned six Pro Bowl berths as a bruising fullback. He also ranks sixth in career receptions and Alstott’s 71 TDs are second behind only Mike Evans. He scored four times on the ground during the 2002 postseason and remains arguably the most popular player in franchise history.
12. Paul Gruber
Only Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks and Lavonte David have started more games for Tampa Bay than the fourth overall pick in the 1988 draft, a fixture at left tackle for 12 years. Gruber followed Jimmie Giles into the franchise’s Ring of Honor and opened his pro career by playing in 4,850 consecutive snaps. He finished the 1989 season with zero holding penalties and made the 1992 All-Pro team for a club that finished 5-11. “Paul Gruber played the game the same every time you saw him,” said Tony Dungy.
11. Doug Williams
The 17th pick in the 1978 draft shocked the NFL by leading the ’79 Bucs into the playoffs in only their fourth year as a franchise. Tampa Bay went 29-27 and made the playoffs three times in his final four years as a Buc before Williams left in a contract dispute. Williams tied for the league lead by directing four game-winning drives in 1980 and added three more the following season. The Bucs placed him in their Ring of Honor along with Mike Alstott in 2015.
July 27th, 2025 at 8:41 am
Great job, Ira. Some ninny will come along and nitpick your list or the order. Ignore the ninny! Sage rocks.
July 27th, 2025 at 8:46 am
One gigantic oversight: Scott Brantley.
Eric Hipple wonders where he is.
Until Brady the calling card of the Bucs was their defense. Scott was a key cog in setting and raising that standard.
There are some players on the list who represent their era more than individual excellence. Hugh Green and Mark Carrier and arguably Gerald McCoy fit the bill as they stood out as good players on bad teams. Scott was more representative of the early Bucs tradition of stout physical defense. Sorry to see him left off.
July 27th, 2025 at 8:59 am
The list isn’t complete Lou.
July 27th, 2025 at 9:06 am
Wonder if Paul Gruber will be in the finals?
July 27th, 2025 at 9:17 am
Never mind just saw the bottom part
July 27th, 2025 at 9:34 am
Nice write up on Hardy Nickerson especially his part in changing the losing culture. I’d personally have him in the top 5-10, but that’s just my opinion. Great job on the list though.
July 27th, 2025 at 10:03 am
Gruber was a stud on a bunch of sissy teams. If I recall correctly, he broke his leg in his last season right before we finally made the playoffs. Bummer for him.
July 27th, 2025 at 10:33 am
Hardy “Hardware” Nickerson certainly deserves this spot in the rankings. What a pitiful bunch that defense was when he arrived. He set the stage for Brooks, Sapp, and Lynch, resulting in one of the best defenses the NFL has ever seen.
July 27th, 2025 at 12:52 pm
Ira, what was the name of the Bucs DB who was a great secondary player but got kicked off the team cos he was busted for smoking pot? He was a head hunter and better than bigmouth Talib. He smoked pot for pain so it was stupid, but laws are laws even if some of them are BS. Otherwise, this was a fun walk down memory lane. I saw a bunch of these dudes play, BTW.
July 27th, 2025 at 12:58 pm
I seem to remember Kellen Winslow having a pretty good game against Shula’s Dolphins!
July 27th, 2025 at 12:58 pm
Scott Brantley. I almost forgot about him.
July 27th, 2025 at 1:09 pm
Tanard Jackson was a very good player but could not put the bong down.
July 27th, 2025 at 2:02 pm
Alstott was ridiculous. To call him a fullback (he was) seems like a disservice. He was super shifty, very quick to start and stop and could change directions like a deer. Of course we all know about his sheer power too. Side note: Alstott was a super laid back nice dude. I took my son to his camp three years in a row. Dined at the restaurant that he and Dave Moore owned. I thought it was a gimmick…Nope! The food and atmosphere were amazing! One of my favorite Bucs of all time!
July 27th, 2025 at 2:03 pm
You’re right. I remembered Jackson after I asked the question. He was a very good player on some really crappy teams. I always suspected that someone ratted on him, but them’s the breaks.
July 27th, 2025 at 7:53 pm
Gruber didn’t make an All-Pro team much less a Pro Bowl. Doesn’t diminish him, just stating facts.
July 27th, 2025 at 9:19 pm
There’s several “All-Pro” teams every year—AP, USA Today, etc. Gruber made ‘96 USA Todsy first team, plus a couple NEA second team All Pro, according to google. Winfield was All Pro two years ago but didn’t make pro bowl.
Gruber was Joe Thomas before there was a Joe Thomas. He should have been All Pro and gone to pro bowls many times.
July 27th, 2025 at 9:52 pm
If Gruber played for the Niners during that span he’d be in the HOF.
July 27th, 2025 at 10:38 pm
You have Leonard fournette In the top 50 but not Dean, Davis III, Whitehead, or Devin White???
July 28th, 2025 at 3:36 am
It is amazing that the list Ira has put together is pretty spot on. Some folks want to ignore the dudes who played during those early years because they never saw them play. Not you Sage! You have put in the effort to do it right. Much respect from this fan.
It still bothers me a bit that Alstott is not mentioned as a HOF candidate. Anyone who saw him play would have to admit that he could be jaw dropping as a full back or a RB. Lorenzo Neal blocking for him on the goal line was an almost sure TD. 8 of them in 1989. Almost 1000 yards from scrimmage. Yeah he could catch too!
Go Bucs!
July 28th, 2025 at 5:50 am
Always look forward to the updated list. It’s great to have reminders about the players. I have only been a fan since around the early 90s and some of the players I didn’t know a lot about, until now.
Lt. Dan – Well said about Alstott. He also did very well as a high school coach too. Nice guy.
July 28th, 2025 at 10:35 am
I know they wont be included but Brad Johnson and Joe Jurevicious were awesome