Anthony Nelson's Development Will Be Crucial During the Bucs' Playoff Run

The third-year outside linebacker is having the best season of his career and it will go a long way toward helping the Bucs repeat.

When the Buccaneers drafted Anthony Nelson in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, they knew they were getting a player with all the required tools to have success in the NFL. He just needed some time to put it all together. 

So far in 2021, it looks like that time has come.

Nelson started in place of the injured Jason Pierre-Paul Sunday against the Jets and had the best game of his career. The former Iowa Hawkeye finished the day with three tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, a pass break-up, and a deflection. The sack was the lone takedown on the day for the Bucs and the quarterback was one of only four for the defense.

In terms of advanced stats, per Pro Football Focus, Nelson also led the team with five pressures. Four of those five pressures came out of a true pass set, along with his 36.4% win percentage, which was Week 17's fourth-best win percentage among EDGE players/linebackers with at least 26 pass rush snaps. He finished with a 10.0 in pass rush productivity, which was seventh-best among qualifying players and was a higher mark than the one Trey Hendrickson, Nick Bosa, Frank Clark, Maxx Crosby, Harold Landry III, and others.

Nelson was not just the Bucs' highest-graded defender against the Jets, but he was also the highest-graded player in coverage, the third-highest graded defender against the run and the second-highest graded player when getting after Zach Wilson. PFF grades are nowhere near the end-all-be-all, but they're still a decent reflection of how well Nelson played. 

He's been a solid rotational player all year long, but he really made his presence felt during his first start in nearly a calendar year. Bruce Arians told reporters Monday that Nelson even received a game ball Sunday for his efforts.

“His production has been really, really big," Arians told reporters Monday. "He got a game ball this week. [He] just continues to develop. He has that length, and he has learned to play with power. Now he has some good counter moves. He has learned a lot from Shaq [Barrett] and ‘JPP’ (Jason Pierre-Paul). He’s becoming a real dual-threat.”

Nelson's ascension is coming at a perfect time for the Buccaneers, who are currently without both starting outside linebackers/EDGE rushers in Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul. Tampa Bay needs someone to step up and solidify the pass rush/defend the run on outside while rookie Joe Tryon-Shoyinka -who's flashed several times this year himself- continues to find his footing.

Just one game in, Nelson has done just that.

If the Bucs want to achieve their goal of "going for two", then Nelson will have to keep this up. There's no guarantee Barrett is back for the playoffs and who knows what's going to happen with JPP. 

Nelson has one more game to fine tune everything before the real season begins. Based off what we've seen this year, he should be more than ready by the time the Bucs play their first Wild Card matchup in Raymond James Stadium for the first time in nearly 15 years. 

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