Buccaneers pass rush eyes improvement ahead of season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to get better at getting after the quarterback.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Haason Reddick talks with media after minicamp at One Buc Place. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made some subtle changes to the defense this offseason in hopes of being better for the upcoming season.

The primary change came with the pass rush, which struggled to attack the quarterback without blitzing.

Bleacher Report writer Alex Ballentine believes the Bucs could get better in non-blitz pass rushing this season.

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New York Jets defensive end Haason Reddick on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Houston Texans. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Buccaneers pass rush can improve

"The Bucs were proficient at getting after the quarterback last season. The problem is that they had to be among the league leaders in blitzing to do it. They were ninth in pressure percentage, but they had to blitz 34.2 percent of the time to do it," Ballentine wrote.

"Todd Bowles is always going to be aggressive as a defensive play-caller, but some of their worst defensive performances came against offenses that had answers for blitz packages. Hitting on the Haason Reddick pick would give Tampa another legitimate pass-rusher. He had just one sack with New York last season, but he had 27 in the 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Reddick joining Calijah Kancey and Yaya Diaby to create a legitimate pass rush could see the Bucs move from middle-of-the-pack to the top 10."

There are a lot of things that have to go right for the Bucs, but there's reason to believe it could go in the right direction.

The Bucs have been one of the league's best teams over the course of the decade, but they still need to take that next step forward. Perhaps the pass rush is the way to ensure that happens for the 2025 campaign.

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