Big Year For Edge Rushers
February 1st, 2026
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht may have smiled in Mobile, Alabama, last week.
The Bucs need edge rush help again.
Haason Reddick didn’t cut it. (Did he try?) Chris Braswell isn’t a pass rusher and Anthony Nelson is an eighth-year backup who is much better against the run. And Markees Watts couldn’t get on the field in front of those guys.
NFL Network year-round draft guru Daniel Jeremiah just wrapped up his week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, watching prospects and talking to NFL types.
Asked to characterize his big takeaway from the week, Jeremiah didn’t hesitate.
“It’s a good edge rush group,” told The Rich Eisen Show. “And I think that’s going to be, you know, kind of the larger draft class. A lot of times down here in Mobile it’s a little microcosm of what the class as a whole will look like. Man, it’s been some good edge rushers. And Derrick Moore … from Michigan, he’s been as good as anybody.”
The former Browns, Eagles and Ravens scout noted there will be “really good value” in edge rushers take on Day 2 of the 2026 draft, aka Rounds 2 & 3.
Joe hopes and expects the Bucs will try to end their edge rush blues in free agency again next month. As for the draft, it’s too early to try and get in the mind of Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht.
In his opening mock draft of the 2026 season, Jeremiah mocked Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell to the Bucs at No. 15 overall.
February 1st, 2026 at 1:34 pm
loving that creamsicle fit that big dog licht is rocking out there !
February 1st, 2026 at 1:37 pm
(pic of Jason licht sitting on his hands)
February 1st, 2026 at 1:41 pm
You think he can talk Todd into caring about an edge rush like every other defensive coordinator?
February 1st, 2026 at 1:42 pm
Just don’t let Licht decide who the edge rusher shall be
February 1st, 2026 at 1:43 pm
We have a GM incapable of drafting an edge rusher and a defensive guru incapable of coaching or properly using an edge rusher.
This dead horse has been beaten to a pulp. Give it a rest dawg.
Bowles doesn’t believe in sacking the QB. By his own words.
But I hear he likes his roast beef with warm Swiss cheese.
February 1st, 2026 at 1:53 pm
They had better start practicing covering wide receivers
February 1st, 2026 at 1:53 pm
Just make sure…whatever position…..with our first pick….no gambles.
February 1st, 2026 at 2:02 pm
Jason licht is a terrible evaluator of edge rushers.
February 1st, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Is Jason Licht a terrible evaluator or is Coach Bowles a terrible edge rusher utilizer?
February 1st, 2026 at 2:12 pm
bowles is also a terrible evaluator of edge rushers
February 1st, 2026 at 2:12 pm
Max Crosby
February 1st, 2026 at 2:21 pm
Best player available.. if it happens to be an edge or linebacker, great!! But, I do not like it when they reach for players based on athleticism, character, and projections/potential. Hope is not a strategy – and hoping that a lesser known super athlete will somehow blossom into a superstar just because he’s got great character/upside is just not proving to be an effective strategy. (JTS, Braswell, Hall, McFollowum, 2nd round kickers/QB, etc)
I think we should just go and get the absolutely best football player at his position regardless if he’s a jerk/prick. The GM/staff get enough money to “manage” these types of things..
February 1st, 2026 at 2:23 pm
It’s tough to hit a perfect edge rusher. Even Jadeveon Clowney didn’t play up to his draft position. The Bucs have been more unlucky than some other teams, but there’s obviously no science to it and no absolute guarantees. I actually like the Bucs drafting of one in the second or third rounds trying to hit a Danielle Hunter. Will Anderson where he was picked was very risky, but luckily for the Texans, he worked out. The only more-than-average likelihood to succeed edge rushers go in the top 10 typically.
We don’t have a lot of picks that high. And that’s for a reason.
We’d have a better chance in free agency picking people with potential.
February 1st, 2026 at 2:23 pm
Who led you here blind man? He’s been smelling his way around edge rushers land, falsely identifying Turds washed in what he was told they smell like.
February 1st, 2026 at 2:23 pm
Todd can’t develop one, so why bother? Use a pick or two for a quality veteran. Check that. He would just be dropping back in coverage, anyway.
February 1st, 2026 at 2:27 pm
We’ll worry about edge rush when we pick top 5 next year…
meanwhile, Vega Loane or Styles, then TE Trigg
February 1st, 2026 at 2:28 pm
This is the prove it year for JL & TB. Whatever they do it must make a big difference. If not…they’re always hiring at McDonald’s.
February 1st, 2026 at 2:37 pm
The term : Todd Bowles defense is ridiculous ” please stop!
February 1st, 2026 at 2:38 pm
I like R. Mason Thomas
February 1st, 2026 at 2:40 pm
Don’t draft an edge rusher, it will be a wasted pick. Trade for an established rusher and draft for Linebacker and other positions of need. Bowles and his staff cannot develop an edge rusher and don’t know what to do with them when they have them, constantly dropping them in to pass coverage. What a waste.
February 1st, 2026 at 2:50 pm
Top college Edge Rushers are Top-15 picks, for the most part
Some with injuries, character concerns may slip a bit
Our problem these past 5 years has been our draft position
19 has been our highest position in the draft for the past 5 years
That’s why it’s been so tough to replace JPP and Shaq Barrett
And Jason Licht don’t like to move up in the draft
He’s known for moving down in the draft, for more picks
Yaya Diaby is a keeper, he’s outplayed his draft position
JTS, Braswell, Hall, has underperform, Kancey has been unavailable
February 1st, 2026 at 2:59 pm
Not real excited about the number of good edge rushers in the draft this year, as many others have also said, the Bucs have not drafted well with edge rushers. They’ve done better when bringing in ERs through free agency. No one has yet to put a finger on the reason why. A hand full of people blame Bowles and Licht for bad evaluation of edge rushers when drafting them, some including my self think it development after they get to Tampa and Bowles defense. However, none of the edge rushers the Bucs have drafted and released have done any better elsewhere so I am just wondering where does the blame lie here
February 1st, 2026 at 3:03 pm
If Styles is gone (and many people seem to think Dallas takes him) I hope the Bucs move down when they pick. That will allow them to take 2 LB’ers and a DT in the first 2 rounds. Then continue with all front 7 players except for a guard mixed in there someplace for O-line depth. Love to see 2 DT’s and 3 LB’ers including an edge in this draft.
February 1st, 2026 at 3:22 pm
draft an edge rusher who is a narcissist…
the team needs more narcissists 🙂
February 1st, 2026 at 3:23 pm
draft 2 dudes on the spectrum and one narcissist !
February 1st, 2026 at 3:24 pm
let’s get crazy
February 1st, 2026 at 3:34 pm
The NFL is gaga over edge rushers. The so-called draft experts think every team needs an edge rusher and these experts keep elevating mid-round edge talent up to the top 100 players. It’s inflation. That’s why so many edge rushers fail, they are over-hyped.
You can bet that Bowles is very heavily involved in evaluating defensive players. Licht’s scouts do the research, but Bowles and his staff are heavily involved looking at tape. Remember when Larry Foote was so excited about David Walker? The accountability is on both Bowles and Licht, but we know what Bowles thinks about the importance of an edge rush.
February 1st, 2026 at 3:37 pm
No worries, we’ve got David Walker. Bases on what I heard last year he’s our very own Maxx Crosby.
February 1st, 2026 at 3:46 pm
Still waiting to be shocked by Braswell.
February 1st, 2026 at 4:21 pm
New England puts alot of pressure without a high class edge rusher with unique defensive schemes. How about someone copying New England without reaching for the moon.
February 1st, 2026 at 4:27 pm
What about the fifth round kid who got hurt before camp even opened or right after?
February 1st, 2026 at 5:21 pm
Any edge safeties? Or corners, that can drop back away from the QB. Bowzo kine edge. He may go back after Plan 9. His fave of all time.
February 1st, 2026 at 5:23 pm
Edge Rushing is a complete fail. No edge rusher wanted.
February 1st, 2026 at 5:28 pm
My question though is if Bowles doesn’t value an edge rush, and it’s been reported right here on JBF with quotes from Bowles that he doesn’t, how does it make sense to go all in on a bad azzed edge rusher? Of course Todd Bowles values an edge rush, just not as much as other defensive coaches. –Joe
Bowles thinks the position and the play isn’t important so why waste picks on someone that won’t be utilized according to their skillset?
February 1st, 2026 at 5:31 pm
In other words if the Bucs trade two 1sts and a 3rd for Crosby and then he drops into coverage is that a smart trade? Is there value in that?
February 1st, 2026 at 6:28 pm
I would move Kancy to outside linebacker, he has very good speed and recognition to play there, I think. BPA in the 1st, move up for a hound if he’s close, meaning both Ohio State linebackers, Bain from Miami. Go from there. Let’s see if we can get some Sapp rumors swirling so we have a guy drop to us?
February 1st, 2026 at 6:30 pm
And by outside LB I mean the edge, he has the speed laterally to do that, especially if he drops a bit of weight.
February 1st, 2026 at 7:03 pm
What a predicament this team is in. It needs a pass rush, but it has a DC that doesnt trust his secondary to cover, so the pass rush stands no chance of getting there. Quite the quandary.
Seriously though, Licht has to draft as though he’s picking for a real life defensive coaching staff. Pick the best players, period. If Bowles can’t figure out how to use them, hopefully the next coaching staff can.
February 1st, 2026 at 7:08 pm
I like the trade down idea if styles is not there.
There are about five different egg rushers that I like that should all probably be taken between 15 and 40 and there is not much to separate them.
If we can trade down because there is a great player on the board that we don’t need that another team covets and we can get an extra second or third round pick, that would be ideal.
I would love to see a draft that got us Lee Hunter, Anthony Hill Jr or Jacob Rodriguez.
And then 1 of the edge rushers who stood out at Senior bowl. Guys like Jacas, Parker, Moore, Mesidor…
Then in a later round… Madame Tucker,
LB Kyle Louis.
February 1st, 2026 at 7:19 pm
@Joes.
I mean no disrespect and am certainly not challenging ya’ll.
But I respectfully disagree. I don’t believe any player has been developed to rush from the outside. I think YaYa is pretty good in spite of coaching.
Ya’ll have posted quotes from Bowles on how he feels about edge rushers and the numbers from previous seasons back his comments up.
He would rather blitz from the backfield and drop the big uglies into coverage.
That, in my humble opinion, isn’t working.
February 1st, 2026 at 9:26 pm
Resembling The Great Pumpkin, Licht will continue to focus on small school O-lineman while selecting stiffs across the D-line. Maybe a free agent outside linebacker will fall in the Bucs lap.
February 1st, 2026 at 9:30 pm
ModHairKen Says:
February 1st, 2026 at 4:27 pm
What about the fifth round kid who got hurt before camp even opened or right after?
—
Do you mean 4th rounder David Walker ? I swear he played a snap on special teams in the season finale and got hurt again. Probably just one of many nightmares last season.
February 1st, 2026 at 9:38 pm
* might have been Watts in Week 18 I was thinking about.
February 2nd, 2026 at 12:02 am
Texas A&M Cassius Howell is a ball hawk. He is agrgressive, plays violent, has good instincts n field awareness, has a history of batting down balls, and moves swiftly. We need him paired off with David Walker then bring in a free agent. We need to redeem the type of defense that plays with violent. JDean n McCollum are both soft n passive tacklers. Please let’s be done with JDean. He’s not all that folks think he is. He’s no more than below average player and a fluke who gets lucky here n there. If he was a head’s up baller, based on multiple missed opportunities, he would have had an average of at least 7 ints a year. Let’s quit fooling ourselves. Dean, McColloum, JTS, OJHoward, JDarden, n Cade Otton are all passive and soft players. Why do we target these type players? smh
February 2nd, 2026 at 2:35 am
Let’s get excited about the upcoming season. The Robinson hire is looking good.
Let’s get excited to see the changes that are made on defense!
Let’s go, Bucs!!!
February 2nd, 2026 at 9:35 am
Jason Licht cannot draft a great Pass Rusher if his life depended on it. Look at those 2 gems, Joe Tryon and our most recent rookie.
February 2nd, 2026 at 10:14 am
Burn a 2 for Herbig. Hes well worth it and cheap this year. Obviously, we must sign him to an extension. Dude can play, young, has an attitude, healthy and fits our D. Pitt won’t be able to keep him. Hes a player on the rise.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:07 pm
EDGE DRAFTED BY LICHT
Braswell
Yaya
Jose Ramirez
Andre Anthony
JTS
Anthony Nelson
Noah Spence
Licht, please don’t draft an EDGE. You’re not qualified.
February 2nd, 2026 at 9:49 pm
Eh, come on man… Ramirez was a 6th rounder… Anderson was a 7th… those are crap shoots at best.
Spence was having a great rookie season until injuries literally ended his career. Cant put that on Licht.
Nelson was late 4th and has been a solid backup who had actually made a number of splash plays in limited snaps.
JTS was an absolutely terrible pick. Hated it at the time and all he’s done is proven us correct. I know it was covid, but that was just a bad pick by Licht.
Braswell looks to be a bust as well, though you have to wonder how bad Bowles and co are at coaching up / teaching pass rushers. After all, he’s literally NEVER developed a pass rusher anywhere he’s been a coach.
Yaya obviously a keeper and good value for a 3rd rounder.