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Buccaneers Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks

Best Buccaneers Players of All Time: Tampa Bay’s Legendary Athletes, According to Fans

December 11, 2024

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Bucs) joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1976 as an expansion team. Despite initial struggles and an NFL record of 26 consecutive losing seasons, the Bucs rebounded and made it to the NFC Championship Game in 1979, and they were one game away from the Super Bowl.

Since then, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won two Super Bowl championships, and each time the team has made it to the big game, the organisation has won the title. Undoubtedly, there have been some great players on the Bucs over the years, but few can be called the best Buccaneers players of all time. You can bet on the current lineup of the Buccaneers at 22Bet login.

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In terms of great players coming through an organisation, a recent study found that fans prefer championship teams of homegrown talent instead of teams filled with expensive free agents. Researchers at the University of Kansas surveyed 1,500 Americans. They found that sports fans prefer championship teams of drafted or ‘homegrown’ players instead of teams with expensive free-agent players on the roster. Sports fans appreciate the hard work and dedication required to build a championship team from the ground up.

Speaking of fans, most NFL fans will surely be pleased to learn that attending a live sporting event is also very good for your mental health. A recent study found that attending live sporting events can improve mental health just as much as finding a job.

A survey from England found that those who had recently attended a live sporting event – professional or otherwise – scored higher in terms of ‘life satisfaction’ than those who had not recently been to a game. The survey of 7,000 adults is the first to examine the mental health benefits of attending sporting events. Overall, sports fans say that watching live events makes them feel ‘more valuable’ and leaves them feeling satisfied. That sounds like a great reason to come to Tampa soon and catch a live Bucs game.

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So, which athletes are among the greatest to ever suit up for the Bucs franchise? StudyFinds researched and checked with 10 sports and football-oriented websites to bring you a list of the best Buccaneers players of all time based on a consensus from those sites. Our list includes the five most frequently mentioned players on these websites. Do you think your favourite Bucc was left off the list? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

1. Derrick Brooks

Legendary linebacker Derrick Brooks is the top player in Bucs franchise history. He was one of the cornerstones of the feared Tampa Two defence developed by legendary coach Tony Dungy and undoubtedly one of the best defensive players of his generation.

‘Widely regarded as the greatest Buc of all time, Derrick Brooks is one of the best linebackers ever to play the game. Brooks spent his 13-year professional career with the Buccaneers and was part of the 2002 Super Bowl-winning squad. He also secured a long list of franchise records in Florida. He is the Bucs‘ record holder for tackles and forced fumbles, while only one player appeared in more games,’ explains Bucs Report.

Brooks played outside linebacker in head coach Tony Dungy’s legendary Tampa Two defence. In this style of defence, linebackers play an essential role in stopping the run and pass defence in the middle of the field. Other legendary linebackers who shined in this system include greats like Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher. Brooks was similar in that he was big, tall and fast and had all the tools to assemble a Hall-of-Fame career as a member of the Bucs.

2. Lee Roy Selmon

Next on the list of legendary Bucs players is one of the early stars of Tampa’s defence – Lee Roy Selmon. He played as a defensive end and occasionally as a defensive tackle in certain situations. Lee Roy Selmon was a relentless defender with a knack for breaking through double-team blocks.

‘Lee Roy Selmon was a defensive [end] who played all nine of his NFL seasons for the Buccaneers from 1976 to 1984. Selmon was with Tampa from the beginning, so he didn’t have a lot of team success, but he had great individual performances,’ Rookie Road explains.

Lee Roy Selmon was quiet off the field but an absolute monster when it was time to put on the gear and play football. Selmon was the top draft pick of the Tampa Bay franchise out of the University of Oklahoma, and he was as relentless a pass rusher as the league has ever seen.

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‘From start to finish, Buccaneers defensive lineman Lee Roy Selmon embodied the heart and soul of the franchise. From the Buccaneers’ first NFL Draft pick in 1976 to his induction into Tampa Bay’s Pro Football Hall of Fame nearly 20 years later in 1995, Selmon led this franchise to new heights, guiding the organisation to the NFC Championship Game in just its fourth year of existence. In 1977, Selmon established himself as a superstar, recording 110 tackles, five forced fumbles and a career-best 13 sacks in a season,’ adds Clutch Points.

Selmon had a fantastic career in the NFL, and he was a Buc the entire time. Selmon played nine seasons and was dominant in all of them. Legendary Bucs general manager Ron Wolf drafted Selmon and later claimed he was a better player than other legends like Reggie White and Howie Long. Whether that’s true or not, Selman’s greatness was often overlooked because he played for the expansion Bucs.

3. Warren Sapp

The third name on the list of the best players in Buccaneers franchise history needs no introduction – it’s Warren Sapp. He was drafted by the Bucs and moved from the University of Miami straight down the coast to Tampa Bay, where he became another defensive heavyweight along the Tampa Bay defensive line.

‘The Bucs’ third Pro Football Hall of Famer, Sapp proved to be the league’s most dominant defensive tackle. He is the franchise’s second-leading sack leader (77) and one of the cornerstones of the unit that led Tampa Bay to its first Super Bowl victory. In 1999, Sapp was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year after collecting 12.5 sacks and leading the Bucs to the NFC title game. In 2000, Sapp set the Bucs‘ single-season record with 16.5 quarterback sacks,’ notes the Tampa Bay Times.

Warren Sapp was dominant in college and continued that greatness in the NFL. He may not have looked as physically dominant as some of the other all-time greats at his position, but he was all that and more. Sapp was a football player and is considered one of the best interior pass-rush defenders of all time. Sapp blocked opponents and freed up players like Derrick Brooks and John Lynch to make big plays on the back end of the legendary Tampa Two defence.