Yaya Diaby has heard all the talk about the Bucs needing an elite edge rusher this offseason and took to his social media account on X to talk about it, too.
Tampa Bay’s leading sacker among outside linebackers last year with 4.5 was fired up, and made the following statement:
“I can’t wait to prove all the doubters wrong!! Trust and believe I am an elite pass rusher (FYI watch film)”
I can’t wait to prove all the doubters wrong!! Trust and believe I am an elite pass rusher (FYI watch film) pic.twitter.com/FbAuqVBnXk
— Yaya “Yaski” Diaby (@greatyaya4) February 12, 2025
Diaby isn’t wrong, and he has the numbers – and the film – to back it up.
Yet that doesn’t diminish the fact that Tampa Bay does need another elite edge rusher to play opposite him, as the Bucs had during their Super Bowl run with Shaq Barrett, a 2019 Pro Bowler, on one side and Jason Pierre-Paul, a 2020 Pro Bowler, on the other. The team is expected to target another top-notch edge rusher this offseason via free agency, trade or the 2025 NFL Draft.
Yaya Diaby Made Big Strides As A Pass Rusher With The Bucs In 2024
Although Yaya Diaby’s sack total was down from a team-leading 7.5 sacks as a rookie in 2023 to 4.5 last year, the Louisville product made huge strides in every other area of his game. Diaby had a 77.3 pass rush grade, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked 19th among all edge rushers.
His 65 total pressures, which includes pressures, sacks and QB hits, ranked ninth among edge rushers, according to PFF. That trails the likes of Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson (83), Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (83), Minnesota’s Jonathan Greenard (80), L.A. Rams rookie Jared Verse (83.7), Dallas’ Micah Parsons (70), San Francisco’s Nick Bosa (69), New Orleans’ Chase Young (66) and Houston’s Danielle Hunter (66).
That’s some pretty elite company right there.
Diaby’s 17.4% pass rush win rate, which ranked 11th among edge rushers with at least 200 pass rush snaps according to PFF, was more than double what it was a year ago as a rookie at just 7.5%.
To put that in perspective, three multi-year Pro Bowlers were only slightly better than Diaby in that category in 2024. Garrett had a 23.1% pass rush win rate, while Parsons came in at 20.2%, while Hendrickson’s was 20%.
Again, that’s some elite company to be in.
Diaby’s sack production was minimal at the start of the season with just two sacks in the first seven games. But those two sacks came against Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, two of the league’s most athletic quarterbacks.
After a seven-game sack drought in the middle of the season, Diaby caught fire at the end of the 2024 campaign. He finished with half a sack at Dallas, had another sack versus Carolina and then one more to end the year against New Orleans.
Diaby’s five-tackle, one-sack effort versus the Saints, which included three tackles for loss, earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He then had four tackles against Washington in the NFC Wild Card loss, as well as a third down sack of Jayden Daniels that was negated due to a penalty.
Yaya Diaby Would Cash In If He Was A Free Agent This Offseason
Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby is entering his third year in Tampa Bay, but if he was a free agent he would be in line to make close to $20 million per year based on his age (25), last year’s production and his potential.
Philadelphia edge rusher Josh Sweat, who is about to cash in with a huge contract in free agency fresh off 2.5 sacks in the Super Bowl, earned a 71.5 PFF pass rush grade with eight sacks and 54 pressures. Sweat had a lower PFF pass rush grade and fewer pressures than Diaby during the regular season and is set to earn just under $20 million per year in free agency.
Nolan Smith, the Eagles’ former first-round pick in 2023, had a 70.2 pass rush grade from PFF and finished with 31 pressures and 6.5 sacks during the regular season before adding four more sacks in the postseason. Again, sacks aside, Diaby had a better pass rush grade and more pressures than Smith did in 2024.
Khalil Mack, who will be challenging Sweat to be the highest-paid edge rusher in free agency this year, had a 79.9 PFF grade with 49 total pressures and just six sacks.
As Diaby inches closer to his contract year in 2026, he’ll be focused on upping his sack total this season because sacks get pass rushers drafted high and paid in free agency. If the improvement he made in 2024 is any indication, more sacks are on the way for Diaby in 2025 – and perhaps a Pro Bowl berth as well.
That’s the ultimate recognition for elite pass rushers.
