Buccaneers’ star tackle ranks among NFL’s best

Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ stalwart, Tristan Wirfs, is one of the league’s premier tackles.

Tristan Wirfs is firmly entrenched in the NFL’s elite. 2024, was Wirfs’ fifth year as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. His rookie season will forever be a difficult one to top as the former Hawkeye’s indoctrination to professional football was protecting Tom Brady amidst a Super Bowl run and ultimately culminating that run with a title. Still, Wirfs has followed up his stellar rookie season with high-level play in the seasons thereafter.

Tristan Wirfs has more than established himself as a core player for the Buccaneers— Tampa spent big on him a year ago, after showing enough faith in his ability to transition him to left tackle. Tackles, and offensive linemen in general, don’t have a great deal of trackable statistics to clearly indicate a level of performance the way skill positions players do, however, the job of a left tackle is clearly defined— Don’t let people near the quarterback. In 2024, Wirfs understood the assignment, allowing the lowest pressure rate in NFL (among tackles) a highly impressive 1.3%.

Throughout his career, Wirfs has, essentially, always been great. In five seasons, he has secured four Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro nominations. Jason Licht made sure to sign Wirfs to a five-year extension this past offseason which made him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history and while linemen do lack the level of trackable stats other positions possess, sometimes the impact of an offensive lineman is best noted by the performance of those around him.

Last season was a career year for Baker Mayfield. The face of Tampa Bay Bucs’ football tossed 41 touchdowns and threw for 4,500 yards. Mayfield improved in nearly every major statistical category and touched career highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage.

Five years into his NFL career, the trio of Buccaneers’ fans, Baker Mayfield, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers themselves must be quite satisfied with their 2020 first-round selection.

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