TAMPA — Buccaneers edge rusher Yaya Diaby said Tuesday he expects Tampa Bay’s overhauled defensive front to ease the double-team attention he absorbed last season, when he tied Houston’s Danielle Hunter for eighth in the NFL with 68 quarterback pressures despite drawing extra blockers on nearly every snap.

The Buccaneers selected Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. at pick 15 in this year’s NFL Draft — a player widely considered a top-10 or even top-five talent — and added veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency. Head Coach Todd Bowles had stated multiple times before the draft that pumping up the pass rush off the edge was a top priority this offseason.

“[Diaby] got a lot of attention last year,” Bowles said. “He got the doubles almost every time. But with Rueben over there the hope is they can corner up the market and have the quarterback step up in the pocket, and help each other out as well as help out the interior.”

Diaby, a third-round draft pick in 2023 out of Louisville, has accumulated 19.0 sacks through his first three seasons, including a team-leading 7.0 last year. His pressure rate when being double-teamed was 12.1%, slightly better than Green Bay’s Micah Parsons at 11.8%, according to Next Gen Stats. When asked about the constant double teams, Diaby laughed before answering.

“Nah, it was stressful to begin with, but at the same time, that’s what comes with it,” Diaby said. “Now having guys that can help, it takes the load off a little bit and we all can get after it. I was saying earlier in one of the interviews I was in, ‘How do you block Bain, Vita [Vea], A’Shawn [Robinson], me and Al-Quadin?’ You can’t do it. It’s going to be super-exciting.”

Diaby said he reached out to Bowles as soon as the Bain selection was made. “I texted Coach Bowles immediately, I said, ‘Great pick,’” Diaby said, adding that Muhammad, now entering Year 10, can mentor both him and Bain. The rotation also includes 2025 draft pick David Walker, who is healthy again, along with front-line additions Rakeem Nuñez-Roches and A’Shawn Robinson.

Tuesday’s OTA workout offered an early glimpse of the retooled unit. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey made a play in the backfield on the first 11-on-11 snap, and the defense finished with an impassioned stop near the end zone on the final drill.

“The boys are getting after it, man,” Diaby said. “You see that juice. Our offense is going to need to be ready every practice; we’re going to keep bringing the juice and we’re just going to keep getting better and getting each other better.”

The Buccaneers will continue OTA workouts through the spring before opening training camp later this summer.