The big boys of the defense are next in line.
The quarter-century team list continues with a visit to the interior of the trenches, where the Buccaneers have housed some of the most fearsome defensive tackles the NFL has seen over the last 25 years.
Let’s dive in.
Defensive Tackle
Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images
First team: Gerald McCoy
This may be controversial to some, but I’m going with Gerald McCoy and his longevity in the 2010s.
McCoy, a top-10 pick in 2010, took only a couple years to become one of the most fearsome interior pass rushers in the league. Making six straight Pro Bowls with three All-Pros peppered in, McCoy gave a lot to Bucs teams that won very little. Some may say his attitude was lacking; not enough killer instinct or leadership. Whatever you thought about him as a personality, there’s little denying how impactful he was on the field.
In 123 starts over nine seasons, McCoy generated 54.5 sacks (third in team history), 79 tackles for loss, 22 passes defensed, and 6 forced fumbles. He won’t be a Hall of Famer, but McCoy is one of the defining defensive stars of the 21st century thus far for the Bucs. He should see the Ring of Honor one day.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Second team: Warren Sapp
If Sapp played just one more season with Tampa in the 21st century, first-team would’ve been his. But he didn’t, and just four seasons with only one elite year bumps him down here.
Few dominated the game like Warren Sapp in his prime. From 1996-2002, he tore through every offensive line in the league with little resistance, earning six straight All-Pro selections (four of them first-team), a Defensive Player of the Year award in 1999, and seven straight Pro Bowls. His blowing up pockets and collapsing run paths made everyone’s jobs easier, and the 2002 Bucs aren’t in the conversation for greatest defense ever without him.
@gurutampa Warren Sapp Mixtape! . . . #buccinaroundpodcast #nfl #nflhighlights #warrensapp #bucs #fyp
However, Sapp sought the big payday with Raiders in 2004, cutting short his time with Tampa. He finished his Bucs career with 77 sacks, which is the most all-time for the franchise – 35 of those came in the 2000s.
Love him or hate him for big personality, no one can deny the Hall of Famer’s place on the Bucs’ defensive Mt. Rushmore with others like Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, and John Lynch.
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Honorable mention: Ndamukong Suh
Drafted just one spot ahead of McCoy by the Lions, Ndamukong Suh mercenaried his way through the league before eventually settling with the Bucs in 2019.
Slightly removed from his prime that included five Pro Bowls, five All-Pro selections (three first-teams), and a few too many curb stomps to feel comfortable about, a reformed Suh gave a needed boon to a Bucs team knocking on the door.
For three seasons, Suh started every game (49 starts) and compiled 14.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss to help complement Barrett, JPP, and Vita Vea as part of a burly, championship-winning front-seven. He provided needed swagger, leadership, and sheer production to help Tampa reach the promised land, and it was refreshing to see him do it in a way that required less maiming and general harassment of opponents as in his days past.
Nose Tackle
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
First team: Vita Vea
Tevita Tuliʻakiʻono Tuipulotu Mosese Vaʻhae Fehoko Faletau Vea.
Huge on both syllables and sheer power, Vea has remained one of the best nose tackles in the NFL for the better part of the last 7 years. When you trade away a draft pick that eventually becomes an elite quarterback like Josh Allen, as what occurred in an exchange with the Buffalo Bills in 2018, the return needs to land big.
Vea absolutely has delivered on his promise and then some.
As the 12th overall pick, the near-350-pound Vea took some time to get rolling but once he did, he developed into the unstoppable freight train the Bucs envisioned him as. A terrifying combination of girth and quickness, Vea has been remarkably consistent and available for someone his size. He’s started at least 14 games every year for five out of the last six years, and that one outlier was because of a fractured leg in 2020. Even then, he recovered in just a few months to return and play a huge role in the team’s playoff run and Super Bowl victory.
Since then, the two-time Pro Bowler also led the team in sacks multiple times while continuing to make centers’ lives hell week in and week out. While his career is still going strong, Vea has notched 30.5 sacks in 90 starts, as well as 41 tackles for loss. A dominant force with an infectious personality and captain’s demeanor, Vea will be well-remembered in the bay for a long time.
Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Second team: Booger McFarland
Prior to Vea, there stood Booger.
Drafted in 1999 to be Sapp’s running mate and Brad Culpepper’s eventual replacement, Anthony McFarland came from an All-American pedigree at LSU and didn’t take long to become one of the best run-defending defensive tackles in football.
Once Culpepper (who was a very good player in his own right but didn’t qualify for this list) departed in 2000, McFarland seized the “nose” tackle role and didn’t look back. He provided a reliable blend of stoutness and disruption for the next 7 seasons. Booger started 84 out of 98 games during his Bucs tenure, totaling 20 sacks and 43 tackles for loss.
Eventually, the Bucs decided to trade him to the Colts for a second-round pick, and he ended up being a huge contributor to the latter’s Super Bowl win in 2006. McFarland sadly suffered a career-ending knee injury in camp the following year, but he still put together a career to be proud of.
Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Honorable mention: Chris Hovan
In the transition years following both Booger and Sapp’s departures within a three-season span, Hovan came in as a free agent signing from Minnesota in 2005 to help provide stability in the middle of the defensive front-seven.
He played primarily 3-technique with the Vikings but he embraced a more gritty, nose tackle style during his time with Tampa, which helped contribute to several years of strong run defense in the late aughts.
He provided a consistent, reliable presence for five seasons in Tampa, missing just one game and starting all 79 games he appeared in. He recorded 220 tackles (21 for loss) and 5 sacks, which aren’t flashy numbers, but that shouldn’t undercut the value he brought to the team.
Any good memories of the big guys, Bucs Nation? Linebackers will be next.