John Romano: Yaya Diaby wants to take the next step. Right in the quarterback's face.

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Jul 28, 2025

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — When you think about it, the job is among the most basic in the sport.

Do you see the guy over there? The one crouched behind 1,600 pounds of offensive line?

Go get him.

This is the edge rusher in today’s NFL. Sure, there’s some run-stopping duties, maybe even a little pass coverage if the coach wants to get creative. But, for the most part, edge rushers are judged by the number of quarterbacks they scrape off their cleats.

Which might explain the confusion over Yaya Diaby’s job evaluation in Tampa Bay. As a rookie in 2023, he led the Bucs in sacks with 7.5, despite being on the field for less than 50% of the snaps on defense. Fantastic, right? A year later, he was on the field for about 150 additional pass plays and finished with 4.5 sacks. Disappointing, right?

And yet, if you dig deeper into the numbers, Diaby was a better player last year in almost every way.

Except the one way that everyone remembers.

According to Pro Football Focus grades, Diaby finished among the league’s top 10 edge rushers when it came to quarterback hits, hurries and percentage of battles won against offensive linemen. Which basically suggests he was a step — and about six more sacks — away from being a Pro Bowl rusher.

“He got back there. His pressures were good,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “Obviously, he didn’t use his hands enough, but his pressures were good enough to get sacks. Either the ball was out, or the quarterback scrambled one way or the other. We like the pressure he’s bringing. Sometimes you get a bunch of hurries, and sometimes you get a bunch of sacks. Hopefully this year, they’re turning into sacks.”

Pressures are good. QB hits are important. But sacks are sexier and can be far more destructive to an offense. It can be the difference between a scramble and incomplete pass versus an 8-yard loss and third and long.

Which is why Diaby, 26, put in overtime in the offseason to close the gap between pressure and pay dirt.

Through Pilates, his playing weight has dropped from 270 to 260 pounds with an increase in flexibility. He spent time with a couple of pass-rushing coaches and took part in the annual Sack Summit in Las Vegas, where some of the league’s top pass rushers gather to swap trade secrets.

While he’s worked on the physical part of his game, Diaby says a lot of the improvement will come from a better recognition of how offenses are trying to slow him down and what protections are in place for various plays.

“Last year I had tight ends (blocking) me, a lot of chipping. (So) it’s just recognizing what I see and how to beat those things,” Diaby said. “I went to Vegas and talked with Maxx Crosby and Von Miller and those (type of) guys that get chipped a lot and they broke down what they did to help themselves out.”

Diaby also spent time with Bucs Ring of Honor member Simeon Rice, talking about various pass rushing techniques.

“It was amazing; the guy is a genius,” Diaby said. “I said I did certain things a different way and he was like, ‘Yeah, just scratch that. Just do it this way.’ Most of the time, well 100% of the time, he was right. Offensive linemen go off of what you do, so you set up everything.”

As much as Diaby worked to hone his skills, the biggest improvement could come courtesy of Bucs general manager Jason Licht. Recognizing the Bucs did not get enough pressure from the front four last season, Licht signed veteran pass rusher Haason Reddick to play opposite Diaby. While Reddick had a lost season with the Jets in 2024, he put together four consecutive double-figure sack seasons from 2020-23.

And that means opposing offensive coordinators will need to decide which side of the line to devote tight ends and running backs with extra pass protection.

It’s not exactly a make-or-break season for Diaby — he’s signed through the end of 2026 — but there is some urgency in terms of taking another step forward for a team that has been searching for an outside pass rush since Shaquil Barrett was at his peak a few years ago.

“He’s been professional dating back to the spring. Everything he’s done has been with intention,” Bowles said. “I like the way he’s getting off the ball right now — he’s really using his hands a lot more and a lot better. If he keeps that up, he should have a hell of a year.”

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