Could Calijah Kancey Win Defensive Rookie Of The Year?
December 16th, 2023
“Rondé, you got a gold jacket. A red jacket is what you wear after you nail a draft.”
The NFL world is beginning to appreciate rookie Bucs defensive tackle Calijah Kancey.
Will that be enough to get Kancey the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honor for this season? Don’t bet on it. The media types who vote on that care little about the Bucs and don’t watch Kancey, and Kancey’s late start to this season means he didn’t get into any voters’ heads early.
However, Kancey, the No. 19 overall pick, sits now with 4 sacks in 10 games, plus 13 solo tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits. That’s more impressive production than Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter. And Carter is the heavy betting favorite to win the award, per various sportsbooks last week.
It sure helps that Carter, the No. 9 overall pick, plays on a beastly defense in a big market on a Super Bowl-caliber team. The Bucs defense is leaking profusely in a medium-sized market on a team struggling to reach .500.
But that doesn’t takeaway from the reality that Kancey might be a better player than Carter and has a great chance to prove he’s a better rookie than Carter.
Joe is sensing a super-strong finish from Kancey, which is going to put another giant feather in the cap of Bucs general manager Jason Licht.
December 16th, 2023 at 9:55 am
His arrow is pointing firmly up. He’s the kind of player you can build a defense around. I know it’s early, but he reminds of Sapp, who was the catalyst for Dungy’s D.
December 16th, 2023 at 10:13 am
Kancey looks like a keeper. Licht will impress me when he brings in a quality QB. Veteran or rookie. Brady was a no brainer. We need to get better at QB first then the guards.
December 16th, 2023 at 10:13 am
When Carter followed the play and stripped White of the ball he was the only one within two yards.Other Defenders and Market size had nothing to do with it
If you are going to use stats where he broke thru the line and sacked the QB then you have to mention Blocked Kicks, Forced Fumbles ,Touchdowns Scored and all of which are on Carter’s side of the ledger.
When Clancy shows up in the Scoring Section of Team Stats you can start comparing but as of now there is no case for Defensive ROTY except as a Bucs Team Award.
Good pick at 16 and will definitely contribute.
December 16th, 2023 at 10:16 am
After the Hall and JTS picks Licht had better hit on Kancey
December 16th, 2023 at 10:17 am
But seriously I think JTS might be really good at flag football
December 16th, 2023 at 10:59 am
Kancey would need to finish WAY about Carter in sacks. Also, for whatever reason, Carter has PFF of 83, Kancey is like 50
December 16th, 2023 at 11:06 am
I would have thought the same thing, Joe. That is until they awarded him NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors. Of course he earned it, it was just unexpected.
What about Diaby? He has 3 starts and the same number of sacks as #3 overall pick Will Anderson, who has 13 starts. The rookie leader only has 6 sacks.
December 16th, 2023 at 11:12 am
Team Glazier will have some tough decisions to make if we win the nfc south but lose badly in WC weekend. Enthusiasm and fan support are moving in the wrong direction Bowles approach simply isn’t working.
December 16th, 2023 at 11:22 am
Eagles defense is actually worse than the Bucs. They’ve given up 71 more points this season. Bucs defense just has zero interest in playing between the 20s for some reason.
December 16th, 2023 at 1:31 pm
Get this boy in the gym in the offseason and turn him into a man!
December 16th, 2023 at 2:06 pm
He is likely even better in decent defensive scheme. I dont think Bowles knows how to get the most out of linemen, much less develop them. Need a fresh set of eyes to build a defense out of Vea and Kancey do best.
December 16th, 2023 at 2:15 pm
The corner from Seattle will win it
December 16th, 2023 at 2:46 pm
He looks decent but still needs to develop. Bad run stopping right now and is not a game changer like a Jalen Carter or Aaron Donald right now
December 16th, 2023 at 3:42 pm
Aaron Donald is a veteran player; Kancey is a rookie. Kancey won’t win it but he was a great choice by Licht. No surprise there.
December 16th, 2023 at 6:35 pm
I only said Aaron Donald because he played great from year 1
December 17th, 2023 at 1:34 am
Tampa Florida players do not win National awards of any sort Joe.
Rogers folks won’t stand for it!
Go Bucs!