Intriguing data-driven take here by a retired NFL defensive back who logged seven years in the league.
Domonique Foxworth spent seven his career with the Broncos, Faclons and Ravens before securing a Harvard MBA and working in executive roles with the NFL and NBA players associations.
Smart dude. Foxworth is now an ESPN personality and host, so perhaps it’s worth noting that during a deep dive on _The Mina Kimes Show_ this week, he ranked the 2025 Bucs as the seventh-best defense in the NFL.
Foxworth based much of his reasoning on data “from Week 9 on” last season while removing forced turnovers from the evaluation.
He claimed the Bucs defense was ranked sixth in EPA per play, and he said the Bucs still had a strong EPA even on non-blitz plays. For those flummoxed by “EPA,” it’s not a government agency tasked with monitoring ozone. It’s a stat metrick that Joe understands but not one that’s worthy a nerdy explanation here. Simply put, Joe finds EPA to be a reasonable metric for grading a defensive or offensive unit, but not when it’s applied to individual players. EPA looks at a unit’s yardage output — or prevention — and factors in field position and down and distance.
Foxworth added he likes how well the Bucs are coached and he believes the Bucs aren’t blitzing out of desperation as many claim.
Pressed by Mina Kimes about Bucs edge rushers, Foxworth countered that plenty of teams with good pass rushers have poor defenses.
“Todd Bowles, his schemes are the best pass rusher,” Foxworth said.
For those wondering, Foxworth has a lot of respect for Jamel Dean, as many stat geeks do.