Opponents Tried To Expose Lavonte David (It Didn’t Work)

There is senior abuse in the NFL!

Lavonte David is a true NFL graybeard. If the Bucs can find a way to advance to the NFC Championship game in late January, David will be one of the rare 35-year old linebackers.

So Joe gets that teams might have thought last season that David may be slowing down … so let’s get our tight ends and receivers on him and expose him for the old man he is.

But games aren’t played on paper.

Per NextGen Stats, offenses went after David time and again, and quarterbacks were denied time and again. David was the fourth-most-targeted linebacker last season by passes. However, he allowed the third-lowest average yards of separation on those passes. Additionally, only one linebacker allowed smaller windows for receivers/quarterbacks than David.

The way David was targeted, you’d think after a while teams would give up. But this poses a question for which Joe doesn’t have an answer.

Aside from his age, why was David targeted so much? Just on face value that seems dumb.

Did Bucs coach Todd Bowles disguise coverages so well that it tricked quarterbacks into thinking David was the best option to target?

The #Bucs keep another one home: Sources say they agree to terms with their own star LB Lavonte David, who gets a 1-year deal worth up to $10M. The base value is around $9M. pic.twitter.com/MUT5biU5a8

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2024

Lavonte David faced the 4th-highest target rate among linebackers last season (16.7%, min. 25 targets), forcing a tight window on 17.6% of those targets (2nd among LB, min. 25 targets).#GoBucs https://t.co/DBTMLP5qcb pic.twitter.com/MLE7aONw5o

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 12, 2024