The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are loaded with talent. With ascending players such as Calijah Kancey and Bucky Irving as well as established stars like Baker Mayfield and Chris Godwin. It is almost an embarrassment of riches for the Bucs.
It’s a team that also has several future Hall of Famers. Mike Evans will be near the top five in receiving yards and touchdowns when his career is done. Lavonte David has been one of the most instinctual and productive linebackers to ever play the game. And Tristian Wirfs might be the best offensive tackle in the NFL for the next decade.
However, there is one name that doesn’t get brought up in Hall of Fame conversations when he rightfully should. A player that has been one of, if not the very best, player at his position over the last several years. And someone who stacks up well with the greatest to ever play the position.
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That would be nose tackle Vita Vea. As a nose tackle, it is often his responsibility to clog up the middle of the offensive line. Eating up blocks is not a job that has historically received a lot of attention when it comes to Hall of Fame voting.
In fact, there is only one defensive tackle overall who played more than five years in this century (Warren Sapp). However, there are several names that have come up for consideration in recent years. Specifically, nose tackles Vince Wilfork who was a semi finalist and Haloti Ngata who was a nominee for the first time last year.
These are two modern era players that are reasonable measuring sticks for Vea. Players who played the same position and were asked to do similar things. They are also considered two of the best to ever play the position.Â
Here’s how they compareÂ
What has always grabbed people’s attention from the defensive tackle position is the interior pass rusher. The likes of Merlin Olsen, Joe Greene and Aaron Donald amazed fans with their ability to get to the quarterback. It is a flashy, yet perhaps unfair way to quantify defensive tackle play.
Nonetheless, Vea will never live up to those types of careers as a pass rusher. However, when measured against fellow nose tackles he is ahead of the curve.Â
Wilfork recorded 16.0 total sacks in his 13 year career. Ngata was much more productive in this way with 32.5 sacks, also in 13 seasons. Currently, Vea has 30.5 in just seven seasons.
Again it’s worth emphasizing that this is not usually the primary job for a nose tackle. Vea also plays in an NFL that is more pass heavy than things were 20 years ago. So perhaps sack totals aren’t the best way to measure greatness here.Â
Tackles for loss might be a better barometer of greatness for a nose tackle. Afterall, blowing up running plays is more the primary job description. It has some of the flash of sacking the quarterback, but focuses more on run defense.
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Wilfork once again brings up the rear in this department with 39 tackles for loss in his career whereas Ngata has a whopping 63. However, where Vea was close to Ngata’s sack totals in nearly half the career, he still has a way to go to catch the former Baltimore Ravens star in this area. Vea comes in at just 41 tackles for loss so far.
But again, this is not a perfect way to judge a nose tackle. Afterall, Wilfork comes in well behind the other two in both these categories and he is the most decorated player of the bunch. So maybe a more comprehensive look at these goliaths impact on the run defense.
As you would expect, these three were the foundations of some great run defenses. Not only did they rack up tackles vs the run ( 560 for Wilfork, 517 for Ngata and 222 for Vea), but they opened up opportunities for everyone else around them by demanding the attention of multiple offensive linemen. Everyone on the defense was better due to the attention they drew from opposing offensive lines.
Wilfork led seven defenses to being in the top ten of rushing yards allowed including once in the top five (5th). Ngata was even more impressive with eight top ten rushing defenses and seven of those units being in the top five (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 5th, 2nd and 4th). In his smaller sample size, Vea has been the heart of five top ten rushing defenses with all of those being in the top five (1st, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 4th).
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All of these different ways of measuring nose tackles look favorably on Vea. He will very likely have the most sacks of this group by a wide margin, near the top of the tackle for loss list for nose tackles, and will have led a comparable number of great rushing defenses. However, there is one cold hard fact that works against him in terms of Hall of Fame voting.
The NFL today is very different than it was 20 years ago. It is a more pass heavy league which means sack numbers are elevated and rushing defense has become somewhat devalued. Nowadays the best defensive tackles are considered the ones who can get to the quarterback; which is not the description of a nose tackle.Â
This is a big reason as to why Vea is the least decordated of this group. Wilfork had five Pro Bowls and four All Pro selections because he was a brick wall in the middle of the defense. Ngata had five Pro Bowls and five All Pros because of his powerful run defense and his versatility as a pass rusher. Vea, despite having a better statistical resume, only has two Pro Bowls appearances in his career.Â
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Hall of Fame voters love these types of accolades. Unfortunately, that makes it easy to overlook the big run stuffers in this pass happy age. It may be a part of the reason that Vea has been far and away the best pass rusher of these nose tackles, but it’s something that works against him when pass rushing is a majority of what fans today are looking for.
So will Vita Vea make the Hall of Fame? In truth, it’s probably unlikely. With voters not valuing defensive tackles in general and putting more emphasis on pass rushing, it just puts these big boys at an extreme disadvantage.Â
However, Vea stacks up well when comparing him to the best players at the same position. He has all the girth of Vince Wilfork in the middle as well as the mobility and versatility of Ngata to play along the defensive line. Vea can do everything that you could ask a nose tackle to do.
At this point, we don’t know how much longer Vea will play. He has six years to match his contemporaries and at this pace he should surpass them in most categories in that time. Despite Vea being unlikely to make the Hall of Fame, we might just be watching the best nose tackle of the 21st century.
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