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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Khalil Davis in line for bigger 2021 role?

By Sayre Bedinger

Jan 9, 2021; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) throws a pass as Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Khalil Davis (94) rushes during the fourth quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2021; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) throws a pass as Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Khalil Davis (94) rushes during the fourth quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing back most of the band that won the Super Bowl, which certainly doesn’t leave a ton of room for young players to carve out new roles. With that being said, year two could be the year for 2020 sixth-round pick Khalil Davis to bring his outstanding athleticism into the fold for the Buccaneers’ defensive line.

Tampa Bay’s defensive line rotation took a major hit last season when Vita Vea went down with an injury, but they were obviously able to overcome.

Here’s a quick look at how the snaps among defensive linemen were split in the 2020 regular season for the Bucs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020 defensive line snap counts

  • Jason Pierre-Paul: 943
  • Ndamukong Suh: 786
  • William Gholston: 606
  • Rakeem Nunez-Roches: 482
  • Steve McLendon: 265
  • Vita Vea: 223
  • Pat O’Connor: 63
  • Jeremiah Ledbetter: 54
  • Khalil Davis: 37

Including the 2020 postseason, Davis played just four games total, including a solid 18 snaps against the Washington Football Team in the Wild Card round.

Despite not playing a major role for the team in 2020, Davis could factor in as a second-year player thanks to his relentless style of play, strength, and combination of speed and quickness.

Even in his limited regular season work, Davis had a pair of quarterback hits, one in each of the regular season games he appeared in.

It’s a little surprising that he didn’t see more than 37 snaps given the injury to Vita Vea, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing him along slowly.

If even just as a rotational player in mainly pass rush situations, Davis could be an asset for the Buccaneers in the 2021 season. They have a number of solid veterans all over their defensive front, so rotating him in may not always be necessary, but perhaps he could provide more of a per-snap effectiveness than someone like Rakeem Nunez-Roches who had just three QB hits in nearly 500 defensive snaps last season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers used their 2021 first-round pick on Washington pass rusher Joe Tryon, someone who could factor into the rotation on the defensive front as well this season. Just like getting the ball to a plethora of receivers and talented skill players offensively, finding a healthy rotation on the defensive line is about feeding the right guys.

Even if he sees an increase to a 300-snap role or something of that nature, the former Nebraska star could make some noise in year two for the defending champs.

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