Thanks to Tom Brady in recent years and the Tampa 2 defense a few years back, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are among just six teams with multiple Super Bowl wins in the 21st century. This recent success is well-deserved for Bucs fans after the team could hardly put together a winning season for the first 20 years of its existence.
As an expansion franchise, the Buccaneers went 0-26 in their first 26 games, and their 14-season playoff drought spanning 1983 to 1996 still goes down as one of the longest in league history. Despite the lack of historical performance, the Buccaneers have 11 players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and could see that list grow in a few years. With so many great players to choose from, we rank the 10 best Tampa Bay Buccaneers players of all time.
10 greatest Tampa Bay Buccaneers of all time
Honorable Mention:
Simeon Rice, Warrick Dunn, Chris Godwin, Tom Brady, Tristan Wirfs
10) Lavonte David
Buccaneers honors: One-time Pro Bowler, one-time First Team All-Pro, two-time Second Team All-Pro
After the dominant defense of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Buccaneers have been an offensive-oriented team in recent years, relying on Tom Brady and company to win a second Super Bowl in 2020. While the 2020 squad was third in points scored, defensively, Tampa was top 10 in points and yards allowed. At the heart of that defense was linebacker Lavonte David.
Now entering his 13th NFL season, David is the franchise's all-time leader in tackles for a loss, fumbles forced, and fumbles recovered. While he has rarely earned Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors, the 34-year-old has been a consistent presence for the Bucs — ranking fourth in franchise history in Approximate Value.
9) Gerald McCoy
Buccaneers honors: Six-time Pro Bowler, one-time First Team All-Pro, two-time Second Team All-Pro
Another forgotten piece of the 2010s Buccaneer defenses, Gerald McCoy, had a six-season stretch during which he was a Pro Bowler every year while earning All-Pro honors three times. McCoy averaged nearly 20 quarterback hits per year during this period while surpassing at least five sacks every season.
McCoy and David were among the elites at their positions, but McCoy's Pro Bowl count elevates him ahead of his defensive teammate.
8) Mike Alstott
Buccaneers honors: Six-time Pro Bowler, three-time First Team All-Pro, one-time Second Team All-Pro
Was he a fullback? Was he a running back? Labels did not matter for Mike Alstott because one thing held true: he was not an easy man to tackle. NFL defenders were simply roadblocks to be dispatched and run over. But Alstott was more than just a wrecking ball. He had incredible balance, using his low center of gravity to break tackles and stay on his feet while contorted in impossible positions. The Bucs back also possessed surprising quickness, utilizing his deft footwork to keep defenders off balance and burst through holes.
Alstott was a fullback on paper, helping him earn six Pro Bowl nominations and four appearances on the NFL All-Pro Teams. But how many fullbacks surpass 1,100 total yards and score nine touchdowns in a season, catch 65 passes in a year, or run the ball 15 times per game? Alstott redefined what the fullback position could be and was dominant.
7)Hardy Nickerson
Buccaneers honors: Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time First Team All-Pro, two-time Second Team All-Pro
214 total tackles. That is the total recorded by Hardy Nickerson in 1993 when he set the NFL record. Nickerson was an outstanding linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Bucs in '93, but he transformed into an elite player once he suited up for Tampa Bay. During seven seasons in Tampa, Nickerson was a five-time Pro Bowler, made four All-Pro teams, and earned a spot on the NFL 1990's All-Decade Team.
While he was not part of the Super Bowl team, Nickerson helped lay the foundation for the Tampa Bay defense that dominated the NFL for more than a decade.
6) Ronde Barber
Buccaneers honors: Five-time Pro Bowler, three-time First Team All-Pro, two-time Second Team All-Pro, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
On a Buccaneers defense remembered for hard hits and pressuring the quarterback, it is easy to forget about ballhawk and playmaker Ronde Barber. The Tampa Bay corner led the NFL with 10 picks in 2001 and scored 12 touchdowns during his career. He also reached 100 tackles in a season twice; how many cornerbacks can boast that? Plus, only Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks earned more First Team All-Pro nominations among Bucs players than Barber.
One of the best defensive backs of his generation, Ronde Barber is an easy inclusion on this list.
5) Mike Evans
Buccaneers honors: Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time Second Team All-Pro
While he might not reach the peaks of contemporaries like Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans' consistency and longevity have him on course for a potential spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Evans is the only NFL wideout to begin their career with 10 straight 1,000-yard seasons, and he is one year away from tying the league record of 11 straight 1,000-yard campaigns held by Jerry Rice. Evans managed 1,051 yards as a rookie, with Josh McCown and Mike Glennon as quarterbacks. 10 seasons later, the 6-5 wideout led the NFL with 13 receiving touchdowns at age 30.
Mike Evans has never earned NFL Offensive Player of the Year votes, nor has he been First Team All-Pro. But his dependable production puts him on his record-setting course.
4) John Lynch
Buccaneers honors: Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time First Team All-Pro, two-time Second Team All-Pro, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
Before he was the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, John Lynch was one of the best safeties in the NFL for the Buccaneers. Lynch was the eldest member of the dominant turn-of-the-century Tampa defenses, leading a Tampa defense that allowed just 12.3 points per game in 2002 — the fifth-lowest total of any team since 1978. At 6-2 220 pounds, Lynch was known for his hard-hitting and eclipsed 100 tackles in a season on three occasions.
An All-Pro safety for four consecutive seasons and a Hall-of-Famer, only a trio of Hall-of-Famers and Defensive Players of the Year keeps John Lynch from cracking the top three.
3) Lee Roy Selmon
Buccaneers honors: Six-time Pro Bowler, one-time First Team All-Pro, three-time Second Team All-Pro, 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
It is difficult to comprehend how bad the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were before Tony Dungy arrived in 1996. The team went 0-14 in its inaugural season in 1976 and then lost 12 straight games the following season. With 26 consecutive defeats before finally winning a game, Tampa Bay has the longest NFL losing streak in the Super Bowl. After a brief period of success, the franchise finished under .500 for 14 straight seasons — another ignominious NFL record.
Returning to that glimpse of winning football between 1979 and 1982. These squads were not offensively gifted. At quarterback, Doug Williams regularly had more interceptions than touchdowns, and, save for 1,200 yards on the ground from Ricky Bell in '79, the Bucs did not have much of a rushing attack either. What this squad did possess was defense, specifically Lee Roy Selmon.
Selmon was the Buccaneers' inaugural selection with the number one overall pick in the 1976 NFL Draft. On the field, the defensive lineman was nothing short of dominant. By year two, he had 13 sacks; by year four, he was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was, “a grown man at work among a bunch of boys,” Detroit Lions coach Monte Clark once remarked.
A back injury ended Selmon's career prematurely, but not before he was All-Pro or a Pro Bowler for seven consecutive seasons. He is one of three Tampa players to earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2) Warren Sapp
Buccaneers honors: Seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time First Team All-Pro, two-time Second Team All-Pro, 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
Warren Sapp won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (for best defensive player), the Lombardi Award (for best lineman or linebacker), and the Bill Willis Award (for best defensive lineman) during his final college season at Miami (FL). Yet 11 NFL teams decided to pass on Sapp in the NFL Draft, allowing the future Hall-of-Famer to drop to Tampa Bay with the 12th overall pick. While #2 pick Tony Boselli also earned HOF status and #3 pick Steve McNair was a future NFL MVP, none of those 11 picks can match the long-term impact of Warren Sapp.
On the field, Sapp played like an angry bull. He was strong, fast, and, above all, determined. That is a scary combination for a running back looking to hit the hole or an offensive guard dropping back in pass protection. Sapp's 96.5 sacks are unofficially fourth all-time among defensive tackles, and he tallied a career-best 16.5 sacks in 2000. But 1999 was his finest year, as the big man finished with 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two fumbles recovered en route to NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
At his peak, Warren Sapp was disruptive at a level rarely seen in Pro Football. As a Hall-of-Famer, the Bucs defensive tackle will go down as one of the greats in Tampa Bay history.
1) Derrick Brooks
Buccaneers honors: 11-time Pro Bowler, five-time First Team All-Pro, four-time Second Team All-Pro, 2002 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
The Tampa 2 defense — the brainchild of former head coach Tony Dungy — is known primarily as a prevent defense. With two deep safeties and a middle linebacker also dropping, the Tampa 2 almost becomes a Cover 3 scheme that defensive coordinators employ to limit the offense to short plays by keeping everything in front. But with the disruptive presence of Warren Sapp up front and John Lynch and Ronde Barber in the secondary, the Buccaneers' Tampa 2 defense was a frightening force that pressured the quarterback, forced turnovers, and featured hard hitters all across the field.
Middle linebacker Derrick Brooks was at the center of it all in this dominant Tampa Bay defense — often considered among the best in NFL history. The middle linebacker has arguably the most challenging set of responsibilities in the Tampa 2 scheme, dropping deep on pass plays and attacking the line of scrimmage to defend against the run. He must make reads quickly, have the speed to cover the whole field, and possess the skill to tackle in open space. Brooks used all those skills to become one of the best linebackers the league has ever seen.
Brooks was an 11-time Pro Bowler who led the league in solo tackles three times. His four defensive touchdowns in 2002 (plus another in the Super Bowl) are the league record for a linebacker and helped him earn Defensive Player of the Year. As the centerpiece of an unforgettable defense, Derrick Brooks tops this list as the best Buccaneers player ever.
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