Tampa Bay Buccaneers OT Tristan Wirfs Breaks Down How His Top Play Unfolded

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers struck gold with offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs, and his best play thus far may have come on the left side against the New Orleans Saints.

Dec 31, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (78) warms / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The number 13 has been pretty good to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over time.

Buccaneers legendary receiver Mike Evans wears the number today, and with the 13th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, they drafted offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs.

Wirfs, a key part of that Super Bowl-winning team, recently had his best plays in Tampa Bay chronicled by NFL Films and sat down to break down each of them in an in-depth fashion.

The whole thing is worth watching for any football fan that wants to be smarter, but his top play — coming against the non-rival New Orleans Saints — is the one that NFL Films says stands out above the rest.

"Okay, so they got (linebackers) Pete Werner and Demario Davis walked up," Wirfs began. "Davis kind of has a tell. Sometimes it's like the way his arms are, he's either blitzing or dropping...if he's kind of just normal, then he's dropping. You can see right here his arms are kind of normal and he's dropping...If he's coming, he's trying to pick me and let that defensive end loop around, so me and the guard will come up.

"I'll be like, 'Hey, he might be coming. We got to set vertical,' because if I set out and my guard just sets normal, then there's a big, we call it a big window, between us and I'm not going to be able to see Demario Davis. So I try and set back as much as I can. If he comes, pass him off, (and) the guard will pick up the defensive end looping inside."

It's a good look into the amount of focus and communication required when playing offensive line, and a good reminder to those of us watching the action on the field that it's not always simple to point out who is supposed to be doing what on a given play.

Wirfs' understanding of what the Saints defenders may or may not be doing and how it impacts not only himself but the teammate next to him — and the ability to communicate it in real time — comes off as simple for him, but it's a big reason he's not only a team captain but arguably the league's best left tackle today.

He's undoubtedly a big reason the Bucs won their last Super Bowl championship after stepping in as a starting right tackle as a rookie. And he's a key part of the team that will continue to make the Buccaneers playoff contenders for years to come.

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