The Bucs defensive tackle hopes to make a big leap and stay healthy in Year 3
It’s no stretch to say the Buccaneers have needed more consistent front-four pressure for several years now.
The team drafted Calijah Kancey in the first round for that very purpose in 2023, and while he’s definitely been impactful the last two seasons (11.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss in 26 games) and even led Tampa in sacks last year (7.5), availability has been an issue. The 24-year-old has missed 8 starts and left others early due to calf injuries, so he needs to remain consistently on the field to make that leap from good to great.
According to people inside and outside the building, Kancey is poised to reach the next level. Pete Prisco, CBS’s senior NFL columnist, attended Bucs training camp recently and brought up Kancey.
Word is Calijah Kancey has been unblockable at times. He will have his breakout season if he’s healthy. Like a dominant inside player who will push for All-Pro honors.
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) July 29, 2025
Teammate Vita Vea, who knows a thing or two about disruption, offered praise as well.
“I expect big things from him, he has shown a lot,” said the eighth-year nose tackle. “Especially from OTAs to minicamp to now, he has shown a lot of upsides in how he is playing, and how much he has learned in the past couple of years. I am excited to see what he does this year, and I expect nothing but big things from him.”
Bowles made it a point an emphasis to keep Kancey in check and healthy heading into the team’s critical Week 1 tilt against the division rival Atlanta Falcons.
“It would be great for him to start the season and not miss any time,” Bowles said. “We’re monitoring that every day. Obviously, you can’t put a handle on it. He’s feeling great right now. As time goes forward, we’ve just got to make sure we continue to monitor the things he does and how he gets warmed up and everything else, and that it doesn’t boil over into that. That’ll be very important for us.”
For now, Kancey said he’s feeling good and enjoying his time doing what he loves. But as high-energy and disruptive as he is for a pass-rusher (39 pressures was top 20 despite missing those five games), Kancey knows he needs to continue refining his run defense to augment his overall skillset. Per Pro Football Focus, Kancey tallied a poor 36.2 run defense grade last season per their metrics, which ranked 199th out of 219 qualified defensive linemen. His missed tackle rate also nearly doubled from Year 1 to Year 2 (3.7% to 6.7%), per Pro Football Reference.
The undersized tackle (6-foot, 280 pounds) has emphasized refining his approach in the offseason.
“Really [it’s] just having good technique,” he said Monday. “I know [with] me being an undersized guy, I can’t afford to lack technique because I could put myself in bad body positions, versus guys who [are] already bigger than me. It’s really a consistency thing, just being able to do the same thing over and over every play.”
After adding Haason Reddick and rookie Elijah Roberts to a stable that already includes Kancey, Vea, Yaya Diaby, and Chris Braswell, the Bucs should hopefully produce a front seven that can finally pressure passers without needing so much blitz backup.