Buccaneers Sign First-Round DL Calijah Kancey & Third-Round LB YaYa Diaby

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they officially signed No. 19 overall pick DL Calijah Kancey and third-round LB YaYa Diaby to rookie contracts.

This leaves just one unsigned draft pick for the Buccaneers: 

Rd	Pick	Player	Pos.	Note
1	19	Calijah Kancey	DT	Signed
2	48	Cody Mauch	OG
3	82	YaYa Diaby	DE	Signed
5	153	SirVocea Dennis	LB	Signed
5	171	Payne Durham	TE	Signed
6	181	Josh Hayes	CB	Signed
6	191	Trey Palmer	WR	Signed
6	196	Jose Ramirez	LB	Signed

 

Kancey, 22, was a two-year starter at Pittsburgh but was named to the freshman All-American team in 2020. He was third-team All-American in 2021 and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2022, as well as the ACC defensive player of the year. 

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has him rated as his No. 26 overall player and No. 3 defensive tackle. 

The No. 19 overall pick is projected to sign a four-year, $15,493,213 contract that includes a $8,267,791 signing bonus and will carry a $2,816,948 cap figure for the 2023 season.

During his four-year college career, Kancey appeared in 37 games and made 29 starts. He recorded 92 total tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, one forced fumble and three pass deflections.

Diaby, 23, transferred to Louisville from Georgia Military College and was named Second-team All-ACC in 2022.

He’s projected to sign a four-year, $5,465,411 rookie contract that includes a $974,844 signing bonus and will carry a cap figure of $993,711 in 2023.

During his three years with the Cardinals, Diaby appeared in 33 games and recorded 94 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery.