The Tampa Bay Buccaneers missed the playoffs last season. They got a head start on building towards the 2026 NFL season. They, like every other NFL team, have holes to fill.

The most obvious is along the edge of their defensive line.

Life is easier in the NFL if you can rattle the other team's quarterback, and the Bucs didn't do a good enough job of that this past season. No one knows what their draft strategy will be in April, but no realistic fan would complain if this team added an edge rusher early in the draft.

Here are some options.

David Bailey is a six-foot-four, 251-pound  edge rusher with a dangerous athletic arsenal. A 2025 Unanimous All-American, he earned Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year honors during his final run with the Texas Tech Red Raiders at the NCAA level. 

Some say that he has size limitations for the NFL as a run defender, but make no mistake. He's the cream of the crop in this year's draft class at the EDGE position. He tallied 52 tackles, 14.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, three passes breakups for the Red Raiders this past season.

There's a chance that David Bailey will be off the board when the Buccaneers are on the clock at the 15th overall selection. If he is, and the Bucs are interested in taking a pass rusher. Miami Hurricanes star Rueben Bain Jr. would be a nice consolation prize.

Bain is a six-foot-three, 270-pound ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He is also a Ted Hendricks Award winner and a 2025 Consensus All-American. He might be the best pass rusher not named Bailey. Keep an eye on him as we venture through the draft process. 

A Third-Team All-SEC nod in 2025, Keldric Faulk spent his entire career with the Auburn Tigers which is quickly becoming rare in today's game. He's a six-foot-six pass rusher. He weighs 276 pounds, and he might be on everyone's draft board come April.

He notched 29 tackles and two sacks in 2025. Those numbers won't jump off the page, but he is certainly impressive. His best season came in 2024. He tallied 45 tackles and seven sacks that season and was consistently wreaking havoc behind the line of scrimmage. 

There's a lot to like about Zion Young. He's speedy. He's athletic. It's also worth mentioning that he was excellent at the Senior Bowl. 

As a member of the Missouri Tigers, he racked up 42 tackles with 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and two pass breakups last season. He was rewarded with First-Team All-SEC honors for his efforts. 

Cashius Howell is one of those guys who should hear his name called towards the end of Round 1 or early in Round 2. He's small by EDGE standards. That is if you see six-foot-two and 253 pounds as being small, but the NFL judges these guys by a different lens. 

In 2025, he racked up in terms of postseason honors. A 2025 First-Team All-SEC nod, he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a Unanimous All-American. 

Credit 31 tackles and 11.5 sacks during his final season with the Texas A&M Aggies for helping him achieve that. He also tallied two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

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