YaYa Diaby (born May 30, 1999) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Military Bulldogs before transferring to the Louisville Cardinals.
Early life Diaby attended North Clayton High School in College Park, Georgia. He is of Guinean descent.
College career Diaby attended Georgia Military College for two years before transferring to the University of Louisville. He had 77 tackles and seven sacks at Georgia Military. In Diaby's first year at Louisville in 2020, he started seven of eight games, recording 18 tackles. In 2021, he had 39 tackles and 1.5 sacks. In 2022, Diaby had 37 tackles and nine sacks. After the season, he entered the 2023 NFL draft.
Professional career
Diaby was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 82nd overall pick. As a rookie, Diaby played in all 17 regular season games and made seven starts. He finished with 38 total tackles (25 solo), one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. He started both of the Buccaneers' postseason games.
In Week 18 of the 2024 season, Diaby recorded five tackles, four for a loss, and one sack in a 29-17 win over the New Orleans Saints, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high
Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2023 TB 17 7 38 25 13 7.5 12 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0 2024 TB 17 17 54 39 15 4.5 13 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2025 TB 17 17 50 29 21 7.0 13 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0Career 51 41 142 93 49 19.0 38 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 3 0 3 -2 0
Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2023 TB 2 2 4 3 1 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 TB 1 1 4 2 2 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Career 3 3 8 5 3 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
References
External links
Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio Louisville Cardinals bio