That production does not create distinctive statistics: In four games, Vea has only seven tackles and has yet to record a sack. But the havoc an elite interior lineman causes by attracting double teams and clogging gaps often allows their teammates clear alleyways to ball carriers and quarterbacks, for the stats that garner paydays and hardware.
What Vea excels at, and the outsized effect it has on a Bucs defense that ranks first in the league in rushing defense, can go unrecognized by those who watch his games casually. To the coaches and players who study him, though, his value is clear.
“He is one of the best players in this league,” Rams Coach Sean McVay said. He added, “He’s such a large individual that has such good ability, such good movement. He’s a problem. He’s a real problem.”
The defensive line’s interior has always been an important, but unrecognized, unglamorous position. Before 2017, the last defensive tackle to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award was Warren Sapp in 1999. The Rams’ Aaron Donald won it in 2017, 2019 and 2020, but he is viewed as an outlier to a traditional interior lineman because of his abnormal power and speed despite being undersized compared to peers.
Today, the 10 highest-paid edge rushers are paid on average about $3 million more annually than the 10 highest-paid defensive tackles, according to overthecap.com.