Fantasy football isn't limited to quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. For leagues that use individual defensive players (IDP), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have options at every level of their defense entering the 2026 season.
FantasyPros' expert consensus rankings include 13 Buccaneers across defensive line, linebacker, and defensive back, with Tykee Smith carrying the current highest positional ranking on the team.
Here's where Tampa Bay's defenders stand.
Defensive line
- Rueben Bain Jr.: DL38
- Yaya Diaby: DL39
- Vita Vea: DL71
- Calijah Kancey: DL81
- A'Shawn Robinson: DL90
Bain and Diaby are essentially side-by-side at the top of Tampa Bay's defensive line rankings. The rookie comes in at DL38, with Diaby immediately behind him at DL39.
There's then a considerable drop before another Buccaneer appears. Vea is DL71, Kancey is DL81, and Robinson closes
out Tampa Bay's ranked defensive linemen at DL90.
Linebacker
- Alex Anzalone: LB35
- Josiah Trotter: LB54
- Christian Rozeboom: LB70
- SirVocea Dennis: LB78
- Yaya Diaby: LB88
Anzalone leads the Buccaneers at linebacker as FantasyPros' LB35. Rookie Josiah Trotter is the next Tampa Bay player on the board at LB54.
Rozeboom and Dennis come in at LB70 and LB78, respectively. Diaby also carries dual eligibility in the rankings (Defensive Line/linebacker), where he is listed at LB88.
Defensive back
- Tykee Smith: DB5
- Antoine Winfield Jr.: DB14
- Zyon McCollum: DB81
- Jacob Parrish: DB87
Smith owns the best positional ranking of any Buccaneers defender at DB5. Winfield gives Tampa Bay another highly ranked option at DB14.
There's a much larger separation after the Bucs' top two defensive backs, with McCollum ranked DB81 and Parrish at DB87.
Smith, Bain, and Anzalone lead their respective position groups for Tampa Bay, while Winfield and Diaby also sit near the top of the Buccaneers' options. For IDP managers looking through Tampa Bay's defense, those rankings give a pretty clear picture of which Bucs FantasyPros currently values the most.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: How FantasyPros ranks the Buccaneers’ top fantasy football IDP
