National outlet identifies under-the-radar stat for why Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby had a terrific season in 2024
In the NFL, production on the defensive side of the ball for defensive linemen, particularly edge rushers, is measured in sacks. Did a player get to a double-digit sack total for the season? Those types of questions. However, there's plenty more to productivity as a pass rusher than just generating sacks. Creating pressures often forces […]
In the NFL, production on the defensive side of the ball for defensive linemen, particularly edge rushers, is measured in sacks. Did a player get to a double-digit sack total for the season? Those types of questions.
However, there's plenty more to productivity as a pass rusher than just generating sacks. Creating pressures often forces incompletions, mistakes, bad decisions and turnovers. As such, a player's pressure rate – while not talked about nearly as often as sacks – can often be indicative of a player's success in any given year.
Pro Football Focus recently put out its list of most underrated player for each team, and OLB Yaya Diaby received that recognition for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Here's what PFF had to say about Diaby:
Diaby didn’t explode in the sack column in 2024, which kept his play under the radar, but his underlying pass-rush metrics suggest he had a breakout season in 2024.
Perhaps most impressive about Diaby’s past season is that he delivered an 18.1% pass-rush win rate, which was a top-10 mark for the position, as were his 70 total pressures. Sacks are often what makes headlines, but Diaby is well on pace to regress positively in that regard, which will likely keep him from remaining underrated. – Jonathon Macri, Pro Football Focus
Diaby registered 70 total pressures in 472 pass rushing snaps. That comes out to a pressure rate of 14.8%, which is an impressive rate. By way of comparison 2025 Pro Bowl OLB Joey Bosa had 39 pressures in 347 pass rushing snaps (11.2%) in 2024.
The next step for Diaby is to figure out how to turn those pressures into more sacks, something where Diaby took a small step back in 2024. He totaled 4.5 sacks after registering 7.5 in his rookie season in 2023.
Diaby will have more help in 2025 on the other side of the line of scrimmage, with veteran edge rusher Haason Reddick coming in on a one-year deal. That should draw some attention from the other side, which can only help Diaby get more one-on-one looks across the pocket.
We'll see if Diaby can bring quarterbacks down with the ball in their hands more often this fall. He's at least got the most important first step down – getting there.
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