The Tampa Bay Buccaneers own one of the most impressive rosters in the NFL, especially when you consider youth to be an advantage.
General manager Jason Licht has nailed his recent drafts, and that's mostly helped the team own the NFC South in recent seasons, tying the record of four straight division titles since 2021.
Two of those young players stand out, and were named to Bleacher Report's "8 NFL Players with the Best Chances to Turn Into Superstars in 2025."
"Bucky Irving is already close. Among qualified backs, the 2024 fourth-round pick ranked behind only Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Gibbs with a 5.4 yards-per-attempt average in his rookie season. Irving also put up 479 scrimmage yards in the final four weeks of 2024, and he finished the campaign ranked in the top five among qualifiers with 2.7 yards per attempt after contact," BradGagnon wrote.
"The key for the 22-year-old in 2025? His support system is awesome. The experienced Bucs offense remains intact, and he’ll be running behind one of the best O-lines in the league. Division rivals Carolina and New Orleans also had the worst two run defenses in the league last year. The stars appear to be aligned for Irving to become one."
Bleacher Report was also impressed with YaYa Diaby, who enters his third year in the league in 2025.
"Yaya Diaby's sack total actually sank from 7.5 as a rookie in 2024 to 4.5 as a sophomore in 2025, but look a little deeper and the trajectory is there. The 2023 third-round pick more than doubled his quarterback hits number from eight to 20 as defenses keyed on him more following a somewhat surprisingly strong rookie campaign. Six of those hits and 2.5 of those sacks came in his final three games of the 2024 regular season, suggesting the 26-year-old could be on the verge of something special this year," Gagnon continued.