Freaks!
May 1st, 2023
“You calling me a freak?”
The Bucs last year too often looked sluggish and unathletic. And apparently Bucs brass saw the same thing.
So one goal the Bucs had in this week’s draft was to add speed. And if you add speed, you are also likely to be more athletic as well.
It looks as if the Bucs not only got speed, but they added a couple of freaks to the roster. And that’s not even counting receiver Trey Palmer, a sixth-round pick who had the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine.
Each summer, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic publishes his Freaks List. This is 100 college football players who are simply physical freaks. Not only is this a popular annual column, Joe knows NFL shot-callers and personnel types monitor the list closely.
Two guys from Feldman’s Freak List last year are now with the Bucs: defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and edge rusher YaYa Diaby.
Here is what Feldman typed of the two last year.
9. Calijah Kancey, Pitt, defensive tackle
He’s a bit undersized at 6 feet, 282 pounds, but man, is the Miami native disruptive. This was a great find by Panthers defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who has deep ties around South Florida. In 2021, Kancey earned first-team All-ACC honors after producing 13 TFLs and seven sacks. Pat Narduzzi says Kancey reminds him of Panthers legend Aaron Donald, and while that is pretty hefty talk, no doubt this guy is special too. Narduzzi told The Athletic this month that Kancey has been clocked running a 4.69 40. Kancey also has vertical-jumped 31 1/2 inches and bench pressed 425.85. YaYa Diaby, Louisville, defensive lineman
The Georgia Military College Freak Pipeline is strong. Diaby has emerged as a solid player, making 39 tackles and three TFLs in 2021. The 6-5, 280-pound senior with the 8-1 wingspan can really move for a big man, topping out at 20.8 mph on the GPS. His vertical jump is in the mid-30s and he broad-jumps 9-11. His bench press also is up to 385 pounds.
Did the Bucs get more speed over the weekend? You bet. Did they get more athletic? Probably.
Speed kills. You can’t fully teach it. You can’t buy it. Either a player is speedy or he’s not.
Now it’s up to Bucs coaches to harness this speed and mold these freaks into football players.
May 1st, 2023 at 6:26 am
I’m Super excited about this draft…
We had a bunch of clunky Pass-Rusher; Licht and Co added some much needed juice…
May 1st, 2023 at 7:01 am
It also stands to reason that getting younger will get us faster….more athletic….
We did lose Miller & Perriman but we never really utilized their speed.
Wow, have we gotten younger…..Brady, Brate, Rudolph, D Smith, Bernard, Lenny, Hicks, Ryan, Nacho, Gholston, Gabbert all traded kin for younger models.
I will be very interested in seeing how the age of our 23 roster compares to 22.
May 1st, 2023 at 7:21 am
Speed kills, but in the trenches this has yet to be proven as Joe Tryon and Logan Hall hasn’t quite lived up to their draft selection. Licht now says, speed with power is the key. I think both Kancey and Diaby fit this bill.
May 1st, 2023 at 7:26 am
And this was before Yaya had his nine sack final season so pretty good prognostication there. And of course Calijah had a very good final year as well. Let’s hope they continue to improve. Could be very good news for us. And Jose Ramirez wasn’t even on that list and we’ve heard similar things about him too.
May 1st, 2023 at 7:38 am
Them Buc coaches…
Where are we at with them at this stage of off season? Are they (whomever they are) capable of coaching these young guns up? I love this Kancey pick. That kid is like chop suey that melts off blockers. Its rather remarkable to my old eyes. But I just have this sinking feeling when I think of the coaching aspect of his and the others rookie season. Are they in good hands? We lost deven (mentally) and I’d hate to see another lose his way.
May 1st, 2023 at 7:45 am
I think some of the coaching changes may make a difference this year. Edwards is well known for developing pass rushers. And our new running backs coach has had good success as well.
May 1st, 2023 at 8:21 am
Wasnt jts considered a freak? The offense is still slow.
May 1st, 2023 at 8:24 am
This is exactly what I wanted…Some Bucs fans wanted a TE or RB early, I wanted pass rushers…The Bucs got them, hopefully they’re NFL caliber pass rushers.
May 1st, 2023 at 8:27 am
Oxycondoms Says:
May 1st, 2023 at 8:21 am
Wasnt jts considered a freak? The offense is still slow.
^^^^^^^^
You can’t get everything in one draft, most of the time. Offense next draft.
May 1st, 2023 at 8:28 am
Steven007 Says:
May 1st, 2023 at 7:45 am
I think some of the coaching changes may make a difference this year. Edwards is well known for developing pass rushers. And our new running backs coach has had good success as well.
^^^^^^^
Agreed, excited about the new coaches, especially Dave Canales.
May 1st, 2023 at 8:49 am
Nice to hear he was productive even before the big breakout last year. How can you not like someone named YaYa?
May 1st, 2023 at 9:13 am
YaYas had good chicken.
May 1st, 2023 at 9:26 am
We have speed. But they spend too much time ignoring the coaching /freelancing /running with great speed in the wrong direction!
May 1st, 2023 at 10:09 am
Joe said, “ Now it’s up to Bucs coaches to harness this speed and mold these freaks into football players.”
Either these ones do that successfully or the next ones will get the chance in a year.
May 1st, 2023 at 10:36 am
Too bad they couldn’t stay consistent throughout the draft with their emphasis on drafting exceptionally gifted athletes. Kancey, Mauch, and Diaby are all in the 9’s for Ras with Kancey and Diaby well above 9.5.
After that the Ras of our picks fell off a cliff. Dennis is a 7.28, which is fine for a special teamer. Payne was a 6.58 which is fine for a big TE #2. Palmer is a 6.18 because despite his speed he’s not very explosive or agile for his size. Ramirez was an 8.10 with his only real knock being his size.
But the real stinker of the draft was Hayes with a measly 4.82. He ran a really good 40, but at 5’11 192 he’s less explosive and less agile than Kancey who outweighs him by almost 100 pounds. The only reason I can think of for drafting him is they want extra depth at gunner, because there’s no way this kid has the chops to play corner or nickel.
All in all I like our draft, especially the first 3 picks but it would have been nice to see more of an emphasis on drafting elite athletes.
May 1st, 2023 at 10:59 am
Joe Says:
May 1st, 2023 at 9:13 am
How can you not like someone named YaYa?
YaYas had good chicken.
Joe, you ain’t lyin
May 1st, 2023 at 11:49 am
RAIDERS USED TO DRAFT FREAKS
They’d get the most physically talented athletes but they couldn’t play football. Kancey produced numbers. I think he’s more than just a freak.
May 1st, 2023 at 12:11 pm
@Sly
FWIW, Kaceys’ DL coach at Pitt said over the weekend, we’re not just getting a player that’s athletically gifted, but as a DT Kancey displayed in college the willingness to learn the assignments of the 10 guys he shared the field with to have a better feel to play a particular siutations/reps and be that leader to call a guy out in order to correct him. Usually you hear that about ILBs/Safeties, kind of rare hearing that about a 3-tech to be that heady of a player while also being a monster between whistles.
May 1st, 2023 at 12:43 pm
I’m from Louisville and have watched Yaya personally, we are in for a show cause the kid can play!!! Absolutely pumped my favorite professional team picked up someone I was gonna miss playing for my favorite college team!
L1C4!
Go Bucs!!!
May 1st, 2023 at 1:06 pm
Joe Says:
May 1st, 2023 at 9:13 am
How can you not like someone named YaYa?
YaYas had good chicken.
—————————————————–
There’s still a YaYas location right off 19 (and 580) in Clearwater. In front of Lowes.
Good Chicken – yes and the honey butter on pita is good too. But unfortunately – every single one of their “sides” are terrible…..
May 2nd, 2023 at 3:01 am
straight-line speed is not a great measure of anything at most positions.
quickness and power are far more important than strength and speed. We’ll see if their measurables translates to the football field. Some of these guys did have success in college, but it’s a big jump to the NFL. Hoping for the best.
May 2nd, 2023 at 6:37 am
‘GET YER YAYA’s OUT!’