Bucs See Calijah Kancey Becoming A Dominant Player

As a defensive lineman, it’s difficult to come in and be that up to speed with the flow of an NFL game and make such a large impact. Licht was quick to point out that Kancey would be even further along next year and was the perfect rookie to lead the team’s talented draft class from a year ago.

“Well, he did a lot,” Licht said. “He’s super explosive, he’s very smart. I think he’s ahead of the curve for a rookie. He’s going to be even further ahead next year. He’s a super competitive guy. Usually, your draft class – your whole class kind of takes after the first pick – and Calijah is the perfect example of what you want the rest of the class to fall in line on. He’s always in the building, he’s always trying to improve, and he’s always asking questions.”

Not only was Kancey an impactful rookie, but so was outside linebacker YaYa Diaby. Diaby will have an increased role next year as the presumed No. 1 pass rusher after it was announced that the Bucs will be releasing Shaq Barrett at the start of the league year. They have their sack celebration down, but when it comes to production, each of them is just getting started when it comes to becoming a dominant force for years to come.

“He and YaYa were two best buddies running around all the time, and it’s fun to see,” Licht added. “How those two are going to grow together – I think they can both be dominant players.”

Calijah Kancey Adjusted To The Game And Took Off Later In The Year

Before he became a dominant player, Calijah Kancey rejoined the starting lineup in Week 6 learning how to play to his strengths and capitalize on them regularly. It was an adjustment period for him after he played just 11 snaps in the season opener.

Head coach Todd Bowles started to see him come along later in the year and is hopeful that it will continue with a full sophomore season.

“I’m most happy with him figuring the game out to understand what he can and can’t do as a pass rusher,” Bowles said Tuesday at the NFL Combine. “You could see him taking off a lot more in the latter part of the year. Didn’t result in sacks all the time, but he had [a large amount of] rushes that give you hope that he’s going to be very good.”

Back in early January as the Bucs were gearing up for their playoff run, co-defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers spoke on the progress Kancey made in having to play against full-grown offensive linemen.

It is not easy to make that transition, especially for someone a defensive lineman who is a tad lighter at just over 280 pounds. That put even more emphasis on him being explosive off the snap and recognizing the little things.

“Just keep maturing,” Rodgers said on Kancey’s progress. “The thing coming in, coming from college, these guys have to adjust to the strength level of these guys. Some of these guards are what we call full-grown men. As they adjust to this, some of the stuff that worked in college doesn’t necessarily work here.

“As he adjusts his game and figures out what he can do, the sky is the limit for him because he’s a joy to coach and very coachable. If you tell him to do something, he’ll try to fix it right away. Continue to be coachable and his ability will just take over from there.”

It is a common cliche, but for Calijah Kancey, the sky really is the limit for him as he continues his development. Having a full offseason to focus solely on improving as a Buccaneer will only help the soon-to-be 23-year-old become a game-changer along the Bucs’ defensive line.