WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 2016 NFL DraftInjuriesFree AgencyGame FilmBang for their Bucs: Defensive End Mike Evans Jersey , Carl NassibNew,13commentsA stats-to-dollars look at key Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2018ESTShareTweetShareShareBang for their Bucs: Defensive End, Carl NassibKim Klement-USA TODAY SportsHBO’s “Hard Knocks” series is a pre-season favorite and introduces a whole new batch of fans to one lucky - or unlucky - franchise ever year.This year, it was the Cleveland Browns. There were many strong personalities on display during the training camp documentary, and one which stood out for being a little more muted yet significant, was defensive end Carl Nassib.As soon as he was waived by the Browns in early September, many fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scrambled to social media to voice their support of bringing him to the Bucs.And bring him to the Bucs they did. Jason Licht swooped in and added the former third round selection to the team, and head coach Dirk Koetter commented about how much they liked Nassib coming out of Penn State.From there, he only got better. By the time the season came to an end, Nassib had gone from being waved by Cleveland to starting seven of the last eight games of 2018 and nine games total.He didn’t cost much, comparatively, but given how much he showed up for the Bucs this past season I wanted to dive into his numbers a bit more. CAP STATS2018 CAP EXPENSE: $773kTEAM RANKING: 36thNFL RANKING: 1,000+POSITION RANKING: 88thJust to clarify. 1,000 NFL players cost more against the cap in 2018 than Carl Nassib did. One. Thousand. So, it’s fair to say there was really almost no chance he’d be considered a rip-off for the Bucs when they claimed him for their own roster.It also puts Nassib in the bargain category simply because he was able to start so many games in his first season for Tampa Bay after being in Cleveland for most of the pre-season.But just how much of a bargain was he? Let’s see if we can settle on his value compared to his pay.TEAM PRODUCTIONNassib was active for all but one game in 2018. The only game he missed was the season finale against the Atlanta Falcons.As a unit, Tampa Bay’s defensive line didn’t quite live up to the hype. Nassib was obviously a late addition. But injuries to Mitch Unrein and Vita Vea derailed the group effort before it ever got going.Further injuries to Beau Allen and Vinny Curry didn’t help. And even Jason Pierre-Paul and Gerald McCoy battled their fair share of wear and tear throughout the year.There were plenty of weeks in 2018 where JPP wouldn’t even practice most or all of the week, just so he could stay healthy enough to play. Still, despite all of this, the Buccaneers defensive line got their first double-digit sack season by a player since 2005, and raised their team sacks from worst in the league in 2017 (22) to 19th in 2018 (38).Of those 38, Nassib was credited with 6.5, second most on the team behind JPP. His two forced fumbles in 2018 were tied for the most on the team with linebacker Kwon Alexander Gerald McCoy Jersey , and his 29 tackles were second along the defensive line.When you combine his sack total with his tackles for loss, Nassib brought ball-carriers down behind the line of scrimmage 18.5 times, again second-most on the team.Combining sacks with hits on the quarterback, Nassib punished opposing passers 20.5 times in 2018. This placed him third on the team behind JPP and McCoy for laying hits on quarterbacks.He definitely held his own.LEAGUE PRODUCTIONHow did Nassib - the 88th highest paid defensive end - stack up against other edge defenders in the league?His sack total ranked 38th in the league. When you consider there are two starting edge defenders on every team, this puts him at the top half of DE2 territory.Pro Football Focus credited Nassib with 27 quarterback pressures in 2018, placing him 67th.Again, according to PFF, when opposing teams ran to Nassib’s side of the line he contributed to stopping them at or behind the line of scrimmage 6.6% of the time. This ranks him 68th among edge defenders.Fair to say he played above his 88th ranked cap hit. But by how much?CONCLUSIONWell, for league stats we considered here he averaged a finish of 58th in the league. The 58th most expensive defensive end was Taco Charlton of the Dallas Cowboys who carried a $2.279M cap hit in 2018.Looking at his team stats, he finished second in most categories. The second highest defensive end in cap hit for Tampa Bay this past year was Vinny Curry who carried $6.5M on the payroll.Average these two out, and you get $4.39M. Nassib cost the Bucs $773k, or $3.617M less than the value he provided the team.In a just world, Nassib would have gotten a nice bonus check at the end of the year.VERDICT: BUCS GOT A HUGE BARGAINKim Klement-USA TODAY SportsAs is the case when you have an impact player your team acquired off waivers, his value to the team heavily outweighed his impact on the cap. Nassib didn't quite earn what his value says he should have comparatively, but he did alright for himself cash-wise in 2018. And he’ll have the opportunity to add value to his climbing status with a solid 2019 campaign as well.Nassib is under contract and is scheduled to make $868k next season. The unit has struggled, but there’s plenty of room for improvement."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 2016 NFL DraftInjuriesFree AgencyGame FilmToday's NFL NewsOpinion PiecesCommentaryHave Patience With Tampa Bay’s SecondaryNew,17commentsThe unit has struggled, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. EDTShareTweetShareShareHave Patience With Tampa Bay’s SecondaryVernon Hargreaves III is still an important piece in the secondary. Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY SportsI already know what you’re thinking. “Evan, this secondary was on pace to be the worst pass defense in NFL history last season and was ranked dead last in the 2017, we have had enough patience with this group.” Trust me, I get it. I am in the same boat when it comes to evaluating this unit’s performance over the past couple of seasons. It’s a pretty simple conclusion: they sucked. But there are a lot more factors that come into play when it comes to the product displayed on the field and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ secondary hasn’t had much luck lately. Whether it be injuries, bad scheme Lavonte David Jersey , or bad coaching - everything that is supposed to help a player in the NFL become an effective player was absent in Tampa Bay over the past two years. Mike Smith’s dogshit off-man coverage scheme was not only abhorrent, but it didn’t play to most of the secondary’s strengths. Players like Carlton Davis III and Vernon Hargreaves III are best when playing press coverage, not sitting seven yards off the line. M.J. Stewart should’ve been playing safety, not in the slot. Brent Grimes should’ve been launched into the sun midway during the 2018 season. And to add injury to insult - literally - Hargreaves has missed the past year and a half due to injury, while Stewart missed half of his rookie season dealing with injuries. Justin Evans missed six games in 2018 as well. Everywhere you looked, there was some type of issue always clouding the defensive backfield.Heading into the 2019 season, a lot of the players from last year’s roster still remain on the team. While that could easily scare most fans, there is a very good chance this unit could turn into a solid group by year’s end. It’s not like this a collection of JAGs. Hargreaves was graded as a potential Pro Bowl player at the combine, Davis was graded as an instant starter, and the combo of Stewart and Justin Evans both graded out as having a “chance” to become an NFL starter - one rung below the instant starter grading bracket. Those four players are enough to make up a solid core, leaving the Bucs with an opportunity to add another player through free agency (unlikely) or the draft. This coaching staff already knows what these guys are good at and are going to play to their strengths, unlike the previous staff. Another example of this would be the move of Stewart to safety, a position that seems to suit his skill set much better than what the staff had him doing last year, which was playing the role of a walking piece of toast. That will leave the team with a need at nickel, which Arians admitted recently as well. Apparently the Bucs offered former New York Jet Mo Claiborne the veteran minimum on Wednesday. While that deal is laughable considering his recent play and the fact that he won’t take a $6.2 million pay cut after making $7 million last season, it’d be nice to see the Bucs land a proven corner to take some pressure off of the youngsters.But outside of adding an inside corner and maybe some depth players, it’s OK if the Bucs take a flier on this position heading into 2019. If the new staff can tap into the potential that is currently available, then the sky is the limit for the young group. Have trust. Have faith. And if it doesn’t work this year, then it’s time to move on, but hopefully we don’t reach that point.