Diaby declares himself a strong candidate for captain, eyeing a lucrative contract and leading a bolstered Buccaneers defense with new talent.
With Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Yaya Diaby entering the final year of his rookie contract, the pressure is on for starting linebacker to have a productive season.
On Thursday, Diaby joined Kay Adams on the "Up & Adams Show" to talk about his expectations for the upcoming season.
When asked who Diaby would vote for to become the new defensive team captain following Lavonte David's recent retirement, he replied with confidence.
"You're looking at him," Diaby said. "I'm definitely doing whatever I can to earn the trust of the guys. I come to work every day. I earn the trust of the coaches as well and I I do believe that I will take that next step to being the next captain."
Last season, Diaby recorded seven sacks and 50 total tackles last season.
Diaby was virtually unstoppable one-on-one, finishing sixth in the NFL with 51 total pressures, beating out some of the highest paid edges in the league, such as Jaelan Phillips (49), who signed a four-year, $120 million contract with the Carolina Panthers in free agency.
According to NextGenStats, Diaby also had the most pressures in an individual game, matching the Green Bay Packers' Micah Parsons with 11 in Week 3.
Entering a contract year, both general manager Jason Licht and Diaby have expressed interest in getting a long-term deal done.
"I'd love to have YaYa here long term. He's a very good, young player that's probably a little bit underappreciated, I think, overall for what he's done," Licht said at the NFL owners meetings in early April. "He's a good, young player. We like him a lot."
Diaby responded to Licht's remarks on Thursday, telling Adams that it makes him "excited" to hear Licht say that.
"This is where I want to be. Especially with the team that drafted you," Diaby said. "It's nothing but good. I love the fans. I love the coaches. I love my teammates first and foremost. I love my teammates. And I love going to battle with them every single day."
Diaby and the Bucs defensive line should be a much-improved unit from last season, as Tampa brought in veteran trenchmen like Rakeem Nunez-Roches and A'Shawn Robinson, while adding edge rushing talent like Al-Quadin Muhammad and most recently, Rueben Bain Jr.
Diaby was asked about his first thoughts after Bain was drafted, giving nothing but praise to his new partner on the edge.
"He's hungry. And he got that mad look like he's ready to get after it," Diaby said. "As pick 13 came around, I'm like 'whoa Rueben is not off.' I'm like, I'll be so happy to have have him on our team and as soon as they made the pick, I texted Coach Bowles right away and I was like, great pick. Great pick."
With more talent added to the defensive line, Diaby should thrive in Tampa's much deeper defensive front.
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